Glinten is a glassy substance, with an iridescent hue that varies depending on how much charge it has left. Small changes in charge cause major changes in appearance, so the color of glinten is a reliable indicator of its value. Gold glinten (glinten that creates gold) acquires a greenish hue at full charge. Silver glinten takes on a bluish hue.
The main use of glinten is as currency. This is important because the politically divided nature of the Locus inhibits the use of paper currency; paper currency derives its value from the strength of the government that backs it, and no nation in the Locus controls enough of its major trade routes for paper currency to be practical. Glinten, on the other hand, is universal in its value, and is accepted everywhere as a means of exchange.
Glinten coins generally carry denominations ten to twenty times greater than their gold or silver counterparts. The reason the ratio is not larger is because glinten is less dense than metal, so a glinten coin of a given size weighs less. Thus, a gold glinten coin might be as valuable as fourteen gold coins of equal volume, but a hundred gold coins of equal weight.
Denominations of glinten are highly standardized, as glinten coinage is controlled by enchanteries rather than national governments. The standardization of glinten coinage further enhances their universal acceptance, as a transaction denominated in glinten has a precise and unambiguous value. Prices in glinten generally quoted simply in the number of pieces of glinten, without referring to any specific denomination; this refers to the smallest glinten denomination in circulation, as different types of glinten coins have values in precise numeric ratios.