- Joined
- Apr 4, 2020
- Messages
- 59
- Points
- 8
Character Name
Pirate John Goldsmith
What sort of authorization do you want?
Lore Information
What lore information would you like to be authorized to know?
Proficiency Request:
Item(s) Request:
Pirate John Goldsmith
What sort of authorization do you want?
Lore Information
What lore information would you like to be authorized to know?
Proficiency Request:
Telephone Gold
Item(s) Request:
One 'Miller' coin
(Alternative) One Miller-used, non-Monrovian coin
One CPF coin
The Full Explanation:
So, ‘telephone gold’ is a legitimate currency resource: Synthesized gold derived from electronics and muriatic (hydrochloric) acid. The process of stripping valuable metals from electronics isn’t necessarily difficult, but it does require some additional resources, practice, and (presumably) some street-smarts and a little smelting know-how.
The Sources
The process takes about a month to complete, but its yield is decent enough: With old graphics cards and CPUs as a source material (PCIE contacts being gold-plated, RAM chips and ethernet ports—also a decent source), the gross yield, assuming source materials are purchased, and taking opportunity costs into mind, is about $9 per old school desktop computer, circa early to mid-2000s. (Some dedicated to this stuff can bring in as much as $1,500 per month--which is pretty cool.)
The Apocalypse
In the apocalypse, of course, I figure desktop computers might indeed be more common loot targets than not: They’re still usable via generator’s power source, still hosting a wealth of offline-capable processes (spreadsheets, mathematics, word processing/printing, offline maps, etc.). As such, other gold sources would presumably be better targets for the likes of those with applicable know-how of valuable metal extraction.
Other good sources of gold, pre-acid-dip, include printers, cameras, gold fillings, and landline wires. Of these, I’m just assuming landline wires would remain a little more available to half-decade-in wanderers searching for alternative gold sources during the rise of post-apocalyptic towns.
Introducing a unique situation:
The Interesting Facts
In late 2015, the percentage of United States adults with household landlines intersected with that of wireless-only households. Despite mobile devices currently being inversely related to income level, (due to purchased Internet/cable/service provider/etc. bundle services), this wasn’t true for the early to mid-2000s. Ergo, suburban areas, roundabouts upstate New York, wouldn’t be a half-bad location for landline-lubbers seeking, well, actual telephone gold.
Also interesting is the prevalence of small businesses roundabouts Rochester--most of which, circa 2015, still owned (and used) landline services: Roughly one in three Olmstead County employees worked for small businesses.
TL;DR: For those capable of doing so, sourcing gold from suburban landlines in upstate New York seems pretty lucrative, yeah? (With the proper skills to do so, at least.)
The Process Itself
The process itself is sort of lengthy, but its own TL;DR is that it’s possible to utilize muriatic acid (hydrochloric acid diluted to 14.5 – 29 percent), %3 hydrogen peroxide, %99.9 percent methyl alcohol (auto antifreeze), a blow torch, and some clay, to make a surprising amount of ‘telephone gold.’ The muriatic/hydrochloric acid, itself, can also be made from commonly salvagable materials.
Honestly? Even when using simple coffee filters, it’s a reasonably optimizable process. Separating notable metals from copper, led and zinc are a little tougher, but I figure it’ll at least present some fun RP if / when one of these characters botches the process.
The Reason
Well, matey, one could likely figure the motive: It’s to counterfeit currency—and in aspiration of becoming an actual pirate, with an actual, 500-ton, lateen-sailed galleon, and sail the seas onto distant desert shores in search of the apocalypse’s source location.
But. In present scope:
It’s to counterfeit CPF coinage, any Miller-specific coinage, and to have an available resource to counterfeit low-value coinage of adjacent and/or distant town and/or city establishments. Depending on the currently established economy of each, I figure the word ‘counterfeit,’ itself, is sort of a hazy area: Local governments persisting without national/union regulation, mayhaps their currencies are already similar?
That is to say: With metal impurities, here and there, and carrying quirky shapes, here and there. A counterfeit coin, via this whole process, would of course render a less-than-legitimate-looking coin. While the idea leans towards simply having enough pocket change for travel, it’s also to gain a sort of ‘physical shibboleth’ to use if communicating with shadier folk of obscure currencies. Of note: This is all simply done for street-level bartering with potentially shady folk. Wouldn't be geared towards anything economical, and may not even be used as currency, either.
The Nonweapon Proficiencies
Jinichi’s Cave (and Jinichi, himself) would be a better alternative, but this process isn’t one best affiliated with established trade sources.
The proficiency of telephone gold bootlegging, itself: The likely-rogueish Simone. She’s met as a surviving Miller fieldworker, having escaped and armed herself with a picket-pistol Beretta, effectively, alongside the flank—actually fleeing successfully from the Hunting expertise of a Man with Wings (Blackwell). I figure she’s a scrappier type of person, and possibly a town-know-how survivalist. And that she’d have likely known about this stuff, over the years. John, having learned a thing or two in Jinichi’s residence, would probably be at least privy to manage some of the processes.
The Request
(All other items are self-gathered, currently.)
So, ‘telephone gold’ is a legitimate currency resource: Synthesized gold derived from electronics and muriatic (hydrochloric) acid. The process of stripping valuable metals from electronics isn’t necessarily difficult, but it does require some additional resources, practice, and (presumably) some street-smarts and a little smelting know-how.
The Sources
The process takes about a month to complete, but its yield is decent enough: With old graphics cards and CPUs as a source material (PCIE contacts being gold-plated, RAM chips and ethernet ports—also a decent source), the gross yield, assuming source materials are purchased, and taking opportunity costs into mind, is about $9 per old school desktop computer, circa early to mid-2000s. (Some dedicated to this stuff can bring in as much as $1,500 per month--which is pretty cool.)
The Apocalypse
In the apocalypse, of course, I figure desktop computers might indeed be more common loot targets than not: They’re still usable via generator’s power source, still hosting a wealth of offline-capable processes (spreadsheets, mathematics, word processing/printing, offline maps, etc.). As such, other gold sources would presumably be better targets for the likes of those with applicable know-how of valuable metal extraction.
Other good sources of gold, pre-acid-dip, include printers, cameras, gold fillings, and landline wires. Of these, I’m just assuming landline wires would remain a little more available to half-decade-in wanderers searching for alternative gold sources during the rise of post-apocalyptic towns.
Introducing a unique situation:
The Interesting Facts
In late 2015, the percentage of United States adults with household landlines intersected with that of wireless-only households. Despite mobile devices currently being inversely related to income level, (due to purchased Internet/cable/service provider/etc. bundle services), this wasn’t true for the early to mid-2000s. Ergo, suburban areas, roundabouts upstate New York, wouldn’t be a half-bad location for landline-lubbers seeking, well, actual telephone gold.
Also interesting is the prevalence of small businesses roundabouts Rochester--most of which, circa 2015, still owned (and used) landline services: Roughly one in three Olmstead County employees worked for small businesses.
TL;DR: For those capable of doing so, sourcing gold from suburban landlines in upstate New York seems pretty lucrative, yeah? (With the proper skills to do so, at least.)
The Process Itself
The process itself is sort of lengthy, but its own TL;DR is that it’s possible to utilize muriatic acid (hydrochloric acid diluted to 14.5 – 29 percent), %3 hydrogen peroxide, %99.9 percent methyl alcohol (auto antifreeze), a blow torch, and some clay, to make a surprising amount of ‘telephone gold.’ The muriatic/hydrochloric acid, itself, can also be made from commonly salvagable materials.
Honestly? Even when using simple coffee filters, it’s a reasonably optimizable process. Separating notable metals from copper, led and zinc are a little tougher, but I figure it’ll at least present some fun RP if / when one of these characters botches the process.
The Reason
Well, matey, one could likely figure the motive: It’s to counterfeit currency—and in aspiration of becoming an actual pirate, with an actual, 500-ton, lateen-sailed galleon, and sail the seas onto distant desert shores in search of the apocalypse’s source location.
But. In present scope:
It’s to counterfeit CPF coinage, any Miller-specific coinage, and to have an available resource to counterfeit low-value coinage of adjacent and/or distant town and/or city establishments. Depending on the currently established economy of each, I figure the word ‘counterfeit,’ itself, is sort of a hazy area: Local governments persisting without national/union regulation, mayhaps their currencies are already similar?
That is to say: With metal impurities, here and there, and carrying quirky shapes, here and there. A counterfeit coin, via this whole process, would of course render a less-than-legitimate-looking coin. While the idea leans towards simply having enough pocket change for travel, it’s also to gain a sort of ‘physical shibboleth’ to use if communicating with shadier folk of obscure currencies. Of note: This is all simply done for street-level bartering with potentially shady folk. Wouldn't be geared towards anything economical, and may not even be used as currency, either.
The Nonweapon Proficiencies
Jinichi’s Cave (and Jinichi, himself) would be a better alternative, but this process isn’t one best affiliated with established trade sources.
The proficiency of telephone gold bootlegging, itself: The likely-rogueish Simone. She’s met as a surviving Miller fieldworker, having escaped and armed herself with a picket-pistol Beretta, effectively, alongside the flank—actually fleeing successfully from the Hunting expertise of a Man with Wings (Blackwell). I figure she’s a scrappier type of person, and possibly a town-know-how survivalist. And that she’d have likely known about this stuff, over the years. John, having learned a thing or two in Jinichi’s residence, would probably be at least privy to manage some of the processes.
The Request
One CPF coin, to create a clay mold.
One ‘Miller currency coin,’ if such a unique currency exists.
(Alternative) One ‘Miller-used’ coin, of whatever town they might frequent—if it isn’t simply Monroe.
(All other items are self-gathered, currently.)
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