Not sure if anyone brought this up, so I would appreciate a link to an other discussion. ^-^
Alright, so we know that crowns are the currency in the game. But what are they, exactly? They appear to be coins with a crown insignia on them, and they appear to be made out of copper, silver, gold, and combinations of them. But who do they belong to? Could they belong to the Strangers, or the Knights?
At first, it appears that crowns did not originate with Strangers, since they just state them as "shinies". But could they even be the Knights'? They are found everywhere, and yet it is used throughout Cradle, meaning it also is used in areas not with the knights, like Emberlight. The planet itself is a makeshift of other planets, so how does everyone else get a hold of them?
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That, or Hex gave me the impression that everything has to be realistic. MAJJYKZ MUNY!
What are these "Crowns"?
You see, enemies are simply living pinatas.
Now hand me my bat.
But what about the grinchlins?
They *ahem* removed *ahem* their fillings into treasure troves in fear of their possessions being looted (again and again and again) by us.
But I still won't hesitate taking their hearts.
Link to other discussion:
http://forums.spiralknights.com/en/node/60222
Crowns in the real world:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Czech_koruna
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danish_krone
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icelandic_króna
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norwegian_krone
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swedish_krona
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austro-Hungarian_crown
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estonian_kroon
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hungarian_korona
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slovak_koruna
No-one "owns" the crowns, rather some seat of government (either by the upper Gremlin society requiring a way to organize the large amount of Gremlins, or the Strangers due to their impartiality) developed the currency, and it falls into common use when other races wish to trade with them. Therefore it stands to reason that it was not the Knights who brought it to cradle, as the Strangers were here before we arrived, and seem experienced in business. It also explains why crowns litter the clockworks.
One idea suggests Strangers call every treasure "shinies", and crowns seem to be a form of treasure which its abundancy (is that a word?) makes it a valid currency.
Now that I think about it, are crowns used on Isora back when the knights were there?