Even amid all kinds of difficulties, change was quietly taking place.
As the government officially mandated the acceptance of paper currency for taxes, military pay, and public-works payments, merchants who refused it would face heavy fines, leaving people with no choice but to start using paper currency.
The currency exchanges also gave people growing confidence. They opened every day for gold exchanges. Although there was a limit, they had never once failed to honor their word.
Someone really did exchange a stack of paper currency for gleaming gold coins, and the news spread rapidly.
"That paper... can really be exchanged for gold!"
"My cousin exchanged five in Franklin Harbor, and didn't lose a single coin!"
Trust began to build. Merchants discovered that carrying paper currency was far safer and more convenient than hauling silver coins. After soldiers received their pay, their families could buy grain directly in town instead of exchanging it several times. Even in remote villages, peddlers had begun accepting paper currency in exchange for salt.
At the same time, the issuance of Gold Mine Revenue Bonds attracted the wealthy. When the first batch of gold ingots transported back from the New World was publicly displayed as it was paraded through the streets, public confidence soared. Some people began calling paper currency "Gold Bonds," saying that it was "as light as a feather, yet heavier than the mountains."
Although the older generation still stubbornly used gold and silver currency, the younger generation had already begun accepting it. The amount of paper currency circulating in the markets rose day by day, and when giving change, people could now skillfully pull bills bearing the Northwest emblem from their money pouches.
A silent monetary revolution was quietly taking root amid doubt and cautious observation.
With the successful issuance of Gold Mine