For the overview of all forms of currency, see currency. |
This is an overview article, listing content appearing in multiple games. |
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The United States dollar,[1] commonly called pre-War money, was the official currency of the United States of America before the Great War. In post-nuclear United States, they were superseded by various other forms of currency, principally bottle caps, but also NCR dollars, legion coins, and various forms of scrip.
They appear as a bound stack of banknotes in Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas, Fallout 4 and Fallout 76.
Background[]
United States dollars (USD) were the pre-War currency of the United States of America.[2][3] Pre-War money appears as a bound stack of banknotes, and is used to represent undisclosed large sums of cash.[4][5] Although the United States and its economy were eliminated in the Great War, automated pre-War vendors such as those at the Sierra Madre Casino & Resort or the Nuka-World amusement park continued to recognize the validity of the dollar.[Non-game 1] Outside of this limited usage, pre-War money is essentially worthless in the wasteland, its value lying entirely in its utility as scrap paper or kindling.[6]
Various coin denominations, such as pennies, dimes, and quarters, are mentioned throughout the games via dialogue and text, such as a 50-cent cost printed on the front of pay phones and 25-cent cost on the magazine vending machines. $20 bills appear most prominently in the games,[7] with $100[8] and $200 denominations mentioned.[9]
Prices throughout the series[]
Throughout the wastelands, pre-War costs and totals of various products, including foodstuffs, vehicles, literature, and entertainment, are shown.
Named prices | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Item | Price | Games | Refs | |
Corvega Coupe | $199,999.99 | Fallout | [10] | |
Vault 13 construction costs | $400 billion (projected) $645 billion (actual) |
Fallout | [Non-game 2] | |
Penalty for private use of a Vault-Tec notebook | $50 | Fallout 2 | [Non-game 3] | |
Calculator's backup systems in Vault 0 | $24 billion $2.3 billion (after cuts) |
Fallout Tactics | [Non-canon 1] | |
Vault 0 leisure amenities | $12.4 billion | Fallout Tactics | [Non-canon 1] | |
Gasoline per gallon | $7450.99 (regular) $8500.99 (premium) |
Fallout Tactics | [Non-canon 2] | |
Giddyup Buttercup | $16,000 | Fallout 3 | [11] | |
Pulowski Preservation shelter | Approx. $1.50 per use ($0.25 in concept art) | Fallout 3 | [12] | |
Violation of the New Amended Espionage Act | $500.00 | Fallout 3 | [13] | |
Capitol Post newspaper | $56.00 | Fallout 3 | [14] | |
D.C. Journal of Internal Medicine | $48.00 | Fallout 3 | [15] | |
Big Ranch Nevada State Lotto Jackpot | $11,000,000 | Fallout: New Vegas | [16] | |
Slots | $50 | Fallout: New Vegas | [17] | |
Mr. House's claimed net worth at 30 years old, c. 2050 | $30,000,000,000 | Fallout: New Vegas | [18] | |
Sierra Madre Casino & Resort chip | $100.00 | Dead Money | [19] | |
Astoundingly Awesome Tales | $29.00 per issue | Fallout 4 | [20] | |
Boston Bugle | $56.00 per issue | Fallout 4 | [21] | |
Boylston Club annual membership fee | $500,000 | Fallout 4 | [22] | |
Vehicle coolant from a Red Rocket station | $103.99 (Class A coolant) $113.99 (Class C coolant) |
Fallout 4 Fallout 76 |
[23] | |
General Atomics Galleria bowling | $5,000.00 per game | Fallout 4 | [24] | |
Grognak the Barbarian | $23.00 per issue | Fallout 4 | [25] | |
Guns and Bullets | $33.00 per issue | Fallout 4 | [26] | |
Hot Rodder | $35.00 per issue | Fallout 4 | [27] | |
Joe's Spuckies Meatball Spuckie/Large Tonic special | $55.00 | Fallout 4 | [28] | |
La Coiffe | $43.00 per issue | Fallout 4 | [29] | |
Live & Love | $39.00 per issue | Fallout 4 | [30] | |
Pay phone use | $0.50 per call, $0.25 for emergency calls | Fallout 4 | [31] | |
Picket Fences | $32.99 per issue | Fallout 4 | [32] | |
RobCo Fun | $40.00 per issue | Fallout 4 | [33] | |
Slocum's Joe large coffee/jelly donut special | $30.00 | Fallout 4 | [34] | |
Tesla Science Magazine | $35.00 per issue | Fallout 4 | [35] | |
Unstoppables | $15.00 per issue | Fallout 4 | [36] | |
Bio med gel | Approx. $1,000.00 per pint | Automatron | [37] | |
Harbor Grand Hotel | $118,764.32 per night (including tax/fees) | Far Harbor | [38] | |
Vim! Pop factory attractions | Tours and Tasting, $70 (adult), $60 (child), $55 (group) History of Vim, $40 (adult), $30 (child), $25 (group) |
Far Harbor | [39][40] | |
Vim! Pop Incorporated quarterly gross income (Oct. 1 to 23) | $72,047,501 | Far Harbor | [41] | |
Bulk seafood for Vim Captain's Blend | Approx. $10,000 | Far Harbor | [42] | |
Cappy ashtray | Small: $20.00, Large: $30.00 | Nuka-World | [43] | |
Cappy's Candy Cigarettes | $5.00 per pack | Nuka-World | [43] | |
Nuka-World off-site parking | $15.00 an hour | Nuka-World | [44] | |
Slocum's Joe donuts | $22.00 each, $200.00 per dozen | Creation Club | [45] | |
Slocum's Joe coffee | Single espresso: $12.00, Large coffee: $15.00, Cappuccino: $17.00, Double espresso: $18.00 | Creation Club | [45]
| |
Appalachian Prosperity Act | $2.6 Billion | Fallout 76 | [46] | |
Potential fine for improper Watoga Emergency Services report filing | $1,000.00 | Fallout 76 | [47][48][49] | |
West Virginia "Lucky Hits!" Lottery Company Jackpot | $300,000.00 | Fallout 76 | [50] | |
Great Appalachian Sweepstakes 2nd Prize | $100,000.00 | Fallout 76 | [4] | |
Watoga Estates real estate | $134,000 | Fallout 76 | [51] | |
Cranberry Heights office real estate | $220,000 | Fallout 76 | [52] | |
Rockwell Clearing House cash prize | $100,000,000.00 | Fallout 76 | [53] | |
Slocum's Joe coffee | $28.00 | Fallout 76 | [54] | |
Newspaper | $1.00, Monday - Friday | Fallout 76 | [55] | |
Refueling for the Kovac-Muldoon orbital satellite | Est. trillions | Fallout 76 | [56] | |
Parking meter, per minute | $0.01 | Fallout 76 | [57] | |
Lemonade | $50 | Fallout 76 | [58] | |
Project Siphon holotape | $15,000,000 | Fallout 76 | [59] | |
West Virginia "Lucky Hits!" Lottery Company lottery ticket | $5.00 | Steel Dawn | [60] | |
Donation quota for The Sanctum | $155,000 | Expeditions: The Pitt | [61] | |
Solcum's Joe gift card for top contributor | $300 | Expeditions: The Pitt | [61] |
Variants[]
Green seal[]
A stack of pre-War bills, bound with a green band.
Red seal[]
A stack of pre-War $20 bills, bound with a red band.
Notes[]
- An antique Lincoln coin collection is a miscellaneous item in Fallout 3; in conversation with Hannibal Hamlin, Leroy Walker and Abraham Washington, the Lone Wanderer will refer to it as a "collection of pennies."[62][63][64]
- In Fallout 3, pre-War money may be used as ammunition for the Rock-It Launcher.
- In Fallout 4, pre-War money may be used as ammunition for the Junk Jet.
- In games prior to Fallout 76, pre-War money had trade value and zero weight, making it a useful junk item to barter with.
Behind the scenes[]
- In Fallout, bottle caps were designed to be equivalent to the US dollar, at a 1:1 exchange rate, as noted in several comments in dialogue files:
- HEATHER.MSG: "caps are a form of money. equivalant to a dollar each"
- HUNTER.MSG: "1500 caps is equivalant to 1500 dollars. Children is considered male plural"
- High-resolution textures for Fallout 4 identify the banknotes as $20 bills. The strap is placed over the portrait, but the design of the bill is based on the Series of 1905 $20 Gold Certificate, commonly known as the "Technicolor" note.
References[]
Non-game
- ↑ Fallout: The Roleplaying Game Rulebook p.84: "Pre-War money can still be found, but it’s more of a novelty or collector’s item these days. Those stacks and bundles of green banknotes can be traded for a tidy little stack of caps if you know who to sell them to, and there are a few places— often with still-functioning vending machines— which still accept these old notes as money."
- ↑ Vault Dweller's Survival Guide p.1–1: Important Vault statistics
- ↑ Fallout 2 manual page footers
Non-canon