Hands are gold coins used in the Kingdom of the Reach before Aegon's Conquest.
About
The Kingdom of the Reach had gold coins known as "hands",[1][2] which are smaller and thinner than gold dragons, roughly half their weight and value.[2] They feature the hand-shaped sigil of House Gardener on one side and the likeness of the current king on the other. They are known to have been made with Garth XII's effigy.[1]
History
The current currency system of Westeros was established shortly after the unification of the Seven Kingdoms following Aegon's Conquest.[3] According to a semi-canon source, some of the Seven Kingdoms' coins were co-opted by the Targaryens as denominations within their new unified currency system.[4]
The hands are still in use, albeit rare.[1][2]
Recent Events
A Feast for Crows
During the search of Rugen's apartments by Qyburn, a coin that had been minted during the reign of Garth XII Gardener, King of the Reach, is found beneath his chamber pot. This leads Queen Regent Cersei Lannister to believe that the Tyrells have played a role in her brother's escape.[1]
Taena Merryweather tells Cersei that Olenna Tyrell keeps a large chest of House Gardener gold coins from before Aegon's Conquest, which further fuels Cersei's suspicions of the Tyrell.[2]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 A Feast for Crows, Chapter 7, Cersei II.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 A Feast for Crows, Chapter 16, Jaime II.
- ↑ Fire & Blood, The Sons of the Dragon.
- ↑ Westeros.org: Westeros coin "Silver Stags" (June 18 2020).