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Cute Russian comic. The home of the official English version is here if anyone wants to skip ahead (or support them): https://boosty.to/gabiconomics-en
Agio (from Italian aggio) is - simply put - an exchange rate... with a twist.
Historically, agio referred to a premium paid above nominal value when exchanging depreciated paper money for full-value metallic coins (such as gold or silver) of the same denomination. It reflected the difference in real value between weaker and stronger forms of currency and was especially common during periods of monetary instability or inflation.
In modern usage, agio has become a broader commercial term, referring to exchange rate differences, premiums, or discounts in financial transactions. It is used in contexts such as bond pricing and foreign currency exchange, where it denotes the difference between nominal (or face) value and market value. While the original meaning tied specifically to currency conversion has largely become historical, the term has expanded to describe value differentials more generally and is sometimes even used in place of “exchange rate” in certain contexts.
It’s still a step from the physical labor of miners, wheelwrights, and the “undesirable” labor of plague doctors to the non-physical labor of a bank teller, though admittedly not to the level of the bank manager. It may not be a place in “high society” and ultimately falls into the same class, but it still seems like a step up from the roles we’ve seen them in so far.
Yeah it is notable IMO.
I've been really thinking about this during recent installments, whether this cutesy but unfair world is the product of some way more overtly unfair and far less cute stuff in recent history. Whether this state of affairs is a step up in quality of life and agency for the scalies or a step down. I can make an educated guess that they are probably recently emancipated rather than recently subjugated, but I'm really curious to learn more concrete stuff. Little details like a goblin bank teller do a lot of environmental story telling.