No you didn't imagine it. It was very much a major thing in DS9. So much so that some of its unique properties were spoken of in "Who Mourns for Morn?".
It is discussed at length starting on page 2 of the thread and on for a couple pages after that.
How Dose Starfleet Pay For Stuff?
- Thread starter elax92
- Start date
It is discussed at length starting on page 2 of the thread and on for a couple pages after that.
No, you didn't imagine it.
Actual latinum (by itself) is liquid, and unsuitable to use as currency. So it has to be "pressed" - i.e. put into a container of gold - before it can be used.
The actual gold can be replicated, but the latinum inside it can't be.
T'Girl said:
Good point.
It seems to me only logical that for humans for be out there in space, there has to be some form of ''international'' currency that they use, even if they don't have any on Earth itself, because going up to races like the Ferengi and saying, ''We can't pay you money, but how about a barter or trade?'' might work on some people, but certainly not on all.
Earth is also widely depicted as being a centre for the Federation, a vast galactic power, but if every other race uses money and Earth doesn't, then that immediately puts them in a position of less power in a galaxy where others can just come in over the top of them and outbid them for stuff. So, it seems to me that there has to be *something* they pay with when they're on the galactic stage.....
Whether individuals in Star Trek's time are allowed to have their own money, for example Harry Kim in the above mentioned exchange with Quark, or whether it's some kind of 'pot' into which all officers on a given ship can dip into, similar to how Doctor Bev charges her purchase on Deneb IV to the Enterprise's account, now that's another good question.....
I would make it more there is a reasonable exchange rate with recognized "currency."
Personal story, Seattle (where I live) is a very international city, years ago after visiting family in Brazil I still had some reals on me, I was able to make a purchase here with them at the current exchange rate., the cashier just entered what I was using into her cash register. Euros are as good as dollars, and a lots of people seem to end up with Canadian money in their wallets.
So, in the Star Trek universe, if they'll take it, you can use anything in your financial account. You put in Yen and it comes out Pound Sterling.
I've heard this before, and that would make sense if the purchase was "mission oriented." But would Beverly and Harry be able to do the same for a personal item that they were buying solely for themselves?
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^ Aye, good point. My only answer would be that if they've gotten that much over money back home on Sol III that humans have been conditioned from birth to live without money, and that the state provides for them whatever they want through replicators anyway (Want a new set of curtains? It's as easy as clicking your fingers), then maybe this hypothetical ''Ship's Petty Cash'' pool can be used for personal purchases, because the Federation isn't really that bothered what it gets used for. It's just that Starfleet officers need access to *something* currency-based, for those occasions when they need money while out there in the great unknown.
The Vanderbeltians ( let's call them that
) with their thriving money-based economy aren't gonna take kindly to Starfleet ships rocking up on their doorstep and trying to barter Katarian Bobblebeads in exchange for their favor. Neither would the Barzans be inclined to even have the Federation at the table to buy their wormhole if they were the only guys who didn't have money in their pockets. So, there are definitely times when even the enlightened 24th century types need to bring out the Benjamins, digital or otherwise. 
The ultimate irony is that the Star Trek show which really went to town on the whole ''Humans Don't Use Money/Humans Don't Want For Anything'' philosophy, had a scene in it's very own pilot episode where Beverly peruses an exotic alien market bazaar and says ''Charge It To My Account!'' when she sees some shiny fabric that she likes.
The Vanderbeltians ( let's call them that
) with their thriving money-based economy aren't gonna take kindly to Starfleet ships rocking up on their doorstep and trying to barter Katarian Bobblebeads in exchange for their favor. Neither would the Barzans be inclined to even have the Federation at the table to buy their wormhole if they were the only guys who didn't have money in their pockets. So, there are definitely times when even the enlightened 24th century types need to bring out the Benjamins, digital or otherwise. The ultimate irony is that the Star Trek show which really went to town on the whole ''Humans Don't Use Money/Humans Don't Want For Anything'' philosophy, had a scene in it's very own pilot episode where Beverly peruses an exotic alien market bazaar and says ''Charge It To My Account!'' when she sees some shiny fabric that she likes.
How is that even possible?
Earth is a Federation member world. Whatever currency the Federation uses, Earth must therefore use.
While there probably is a interstellar common "currency" that comes with being as Member of the Federation (the credit), I think in addition that each Member likely has their own currency that they use the majority of the time internally and sometimes in interstellar commerce too.
Just because a species holds a membership in the Federation, doesn't mean the Federation is involve in everything they do.
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It may simply come down to a pedantic definition of the term "money". It may simply be that they don't use easily replicatable pieces of paper currency an have "evolved" into a purely digital, almost bitcoin-like paradigm that's easy to regulate and monitor. Same effect for commerce, but no need to carry anything around.
Good thing, too, since Starfleet seems to be diametrically opposed to the concept of pockets in most of their uniforms.
That would make about as much sense as each state in the USA using its own currency.
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