What's the difference? Well, strange coins are a currency, weapon parts are a material. Glimmer and Marks are currency too, but a different kind of currency when compared to Strange coins for example. Now, what makes a currency different from the materials is manly the way they're earned and spent. In a logical economy, and we all know how much Bungie hate's logical things. You can take a material, and convert it into a currency. Currencies really are only a representation of a material. The theory being as I understand it that a dollar bill is representative unit of a nation's wealth, most traditionally gold and precious metals. Which brings me to this simple and honest truth. I have over a hundred exotic shards. I have friends with stacks of silken codexes and royal amethysts in their vault, their glimmer hoards rocket in the hundreds of thousands. One of my friend's was very saddened not to be able to purchase exotic engrams for motes, seeing as he'd stockpiles hundreds of them, across the vault and his characters. He's nearing the thousands in motes. Since the Taken king dropped, these reserves have mostly only increased believe it or not. Since the change of motes, after the initial grind to 40, he hasn't done a single bounty. Choosing to stack the old telemetries with the new ones, maxing out an exotic weapon in roughly 20 motes of light. I have done this too. Glimmer is only more common, and with the change to strange coins, The Strange coins are arguably the most valuable item in the game by virtue of being the only valuable item in the game. Exotic shards are basically exotic weapon parts, used for infusing exotics almost exclusively, but much to my surprise this hasn't tapped down my exotic shard reserves much at all. If anything, since the taken king, I dismantled most all of my exotic gear. I'm spending them much, much slower than I'm earning them, and that's true for everything in this game except for strange coins right now. If anything Exotic shards are arguably the least valuable item in the entire game, and here's why. 7 strange coins is roughly worth, one exotic shard right? Well, not anymore. I absolutely understand that not everyone is under this situation, not everyone, hell most likely not even most players, have over 50 exotic shards at any given time. But they will. It is an inevitable and guaranteed to happen that you will get duplicate exotics before you get new ones eventually, no matter what, unless you play one character once a month or something, you will catch up. Xur will sell them, and then you'll get the same item from the nightfall. It will happen to everybody. Guaranteed. But there is only one sink for them, increasing the power of an exotic weapon you already have. That too is a finite line of progression. You can't upgrade your armor or guns forever, plain and simple. This is why many year one players where getting massive stockpiles of armor materials and weapon materials. So when it comes to an economy, I suggest you start considering avenues that parody real life economics. If I have hundreds of pounds in gold, some one will give me their money for it. So why can't I sell my exotic shards for strange coins now that Xur doesn't? I have supply, he doesn't and there's still demand. It's that simple. I was wrong, when I said exotic shards are the least valuable item in the entire game right now. That hyperbole is a little unfair, but they are certainly not worth 7 strange coins, one way or the other, I'd say they're not even worth one. But Etheric light is absolutely worthless. And by proxy so is Skolas and the prison of elders it's a negative return investment of your time to play that activity. I understand you're honing your definition of the game. I wish motes always worked like this, but I have a suggestion. Speaker should exchange etheric and exotic shards for either glimmer, or strange coins. Ascendant and radiant materials should be exchanged for strange coins which then can be turned in to motes Via Xur, or even vice versa. Consider this bungie, the speaker is a permanent vendor, always there, Xur is not, so consider removing the exchanging motes for coins from xur and giving it to the speaker. Since Xur is charging coins for what he once asked motes for, it is absolutely unfair and completely absurd not to offer a fair equivalent two way, 1-1 exchange rate for them. And you wouldn't be wrong to be thinking "oh! there's the reall purpose here!" No, no, no, no! It's an example of a greater problem overall. Which is the liquidity of our Assets in the Tower. Nothing is held to any sense of logic or value or exchange except for random and arbitrary values, some of which I don't even think where entirely intended. I really do think that the current exchange rate for motes of light to strange coins, is rep-upgrades from the factions, which must be some odd 500-1, oh and that's 500-1 motes of light. A mote of light that the player has is worth a hundredth of a mote that the player doesn't have. To be fair, that's really two halves of a hundredth, because a rep upgrade grants you five motes and five coins. Isn't that rate insulting? I feel insulted! I feel devalued. I feel like my items within the game world are actually worth less, (not worthless) by the mere virtue that they belong to me. A mote of light shouldn't be less valuable because it belongs to the player. And I really think that since bungie is getting the hang of their progression system, the new light level system is wonderfully executed, it's time to fix the other half, no more than, the other 3 fourths of that system. Currency and materials. I really, really find it strange feeling so heavily punished for having such an excess of gold.