Zorkmid

The zorkmid (abbreviated zm) is the fictional unit of currency in the Zork series of interactive fiction computer games. Infocom minted zorkmid coins for inclusion in The Zork Trilogy package released in 1987. They depict the image of Belwit the Flat, ruler of Quendor in 699 GUE. The date on the coin is an anachronism, as in the Zork timeline Quendor was not renamed the Great Underground Empire ("GUE") until 770.

It is not known on what standard (if any) the zorkmid is based, but it is stated in one of the novels that a zorkmid is enough to mail a letter, buy a comic book, or purchase a tray of fudge so good it will "melt you down to your toes".

Contents

1 Collectibility
2 Denominations
3 Other uses
4 See also

Collectibility

The zorkmid coin that was included with the Zork Trilogy has become very collectible lately. Every month or so, one can be found selling on Ebay for US$50 up to $125 or more, despite only being made of a copper composite. [link]

Denominations

These are the known denominations of zorkmid currency:

Value	Type	Material	Shape	Other Information
1 zm	coin	copper	round	Obverse depicts Belwit the Flat, 2nd ruler of the Flathead Dynasty, and the date 699 GUE. Reverse depicts Egreth Castle and the motto "In Frobs We Trust"
1 zm	coin	gold	round	Obverse depicts Idwit Oogle Flathead, 11th king of the Flathead Dynasty, the date 857 GUE, and the motto "In Frobs We Trust"
5 zm	coin		round	Also called a "quint-zorkmid" coin. It has a square hole in the center. Obverse bears the phrase "5 Zorkmids."
5 zm	bill	paper		Accepted in the change machine at the GUE Tech school.
10 zm	bill	paper		Accepted in the change machine at the GUE Tech school.
100 zm	bill	paper		Contains the motto "In Frobs We Trust." This bill is not accepted in the change machine at the GUE Tech school.
500 zm	coin	gold
500 zm	bill	paper		A green paper bill which is accepted in the change machine at the GUE Tech school.
10,000 zm	coin	gold	octagonal	It bears the phrases "Ten Thousand Zorkmids" and "In Frobs We Trust". It is also a valuable collector's item.
100,000 zm	bill	paper		Only one of these bills was ever printed, at the personal request of J. Pierpont Flathead.

Image:Zorkmidback.jpg|1 zm, reverse, "In Frobs We Trust" Image:Zorkmidgold.gif|1 zm, gold, obverse, "Idwit Oogle", "857 GUE". As seen in . Image:500zorkmid.gif|500 zm bill, obverse. As seen in Zork Grand Inquisitor.

Other uses

The term "zorkmid" has since been adopted in NetHack and tends to make appearances in hacker-written games.

Among other GUE candy bars, the player obtains a "100 Zorkmid" bar, a parody of 100 Grand Bars in .

On the digital pet site Neopets, "nerkmids" (a variation of zorkmid) are a highly sought after item, as they allow players to use a vending machine which dispenses rare items.

Zorkmid

Collectibility

Denominations

Other uses

See also