A while back I bought some silver coins on a whim. I discovered this week that they've appreciated considerably (despite the price drop yesterday). Selling them would trigger capital gains taxes, which does not excite me*. And so, in the way that many terrible ideas are born, I found myself in Discord asking science fiction authors if they'd be willing to get paid in physical silver coins for their writing.
The response was immediate and enthusiastic, but not for any financially sound reasons. Here are a few choice selections of how authors were feeling about being paid in silver:
"yes because that would be hilarious" — Isabel J. Kim
"I'll just throw them in the water [to create sunken treasure]" — Erin Barbeau
"I got paid in beer one time and I’ll always treasure that, would love to add silver to the weird payments list" — Parker M. O'Neill
"if offered paypal or silver, I think I would choose silver" — M.R. Robinson
"I'm still not convinced this isn't a fae scheme" — Matt Spoon
"all contracts to contain a ‘bullion prerogative’" — Louis Inglis Hall
"this would be an absolutely incredible bit" — Elijah J. Mears
By this point I was having visions of a full John Wick-style economy where science fiction authors just walk around with stacks of coins, paying for everything from conventions to Clarkesworld memberships with bullion.
So this is an official announcement: from now on every
Think Weirder contract will contain the "bullion prerogative" proposed by Louis Inglis Hall
**, at least until I run out of my very small amount of bullion.
Joe
*I want you all to rest assured that I have been made aware that bartering silver will trigger a capital gains event. I am an upstanding citizen, and I will scrupulously record and pay every cent I owe to Uncle Sam.
**If you're interested in coins and SFF, I'd recommend Numismatic Archetypes in the Year of Five Regents by Louis. This isn't an ad or anything, it's just a really good story that fits this post surprisingly well.