As is the case with all Bethesda games,Fallouthas a wealth of lore behind it. Its world history, politics, characters, and important events are all fleshed out in the game’s dialogue and journals, with external content like books and spin-offs also contributing to the rich tapestry that isFallout’s lore.
One ofFallout’s most interesting world-building elements is its use of bottle caps as currency. While the answers are in the game, players will need to do a little digging to find out whyFallout’s citizens use bottle caps and where they all came from.
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Why Wastelanders Use Bottle Caps
While other forms of currency do exist, such as theNCR’s own physical bills, bottle caps are the most widely used currency across the Wasteland. Bottle caps are predominantly used as, while they are widely available, there are a finite number of them. Just as real-world currency functions, bottle caps within theFalloutuniverse strike that perfect balance between having enough of something to make it available, but having just too little of it to make it actually valuable.
In theFalloutuniverse, bottle caps also can’t be reproduced, as the vast majority of the technology needed to make them was destroyed duringthe Great War. Bottle caps are also very difficult to reproduce without a printing press and the necessary machinery, thus making the resource limited. Counterfeit bottle caps do exist with the Wasteland, often appearing misshapen and discolored. A bottle cap is only considered genuine when the correct metal is used, and the correct paint is applied.
The History Behind Bottle Caps As Currency
The intrinsic value of bottle caps quickly led to their use by members of the Hub, the primary center of all trading in the New California area, and within just ten years, bottle caps became the new norm in Wasteland currency. This stretched across the Wasteland, being adopted throughout the New California Wasteland,the Capital Wasteland, as well as in Appalachia. Soon, the bottle cap was used by all, with vendors far and wide accepting the currency in exchange for goods.
That’s not to say that there wasn’t any competition. Around 100 years later, the New California Republic (NCR) attempted to introduce their own currency to the Wasteland. These dollar bills were said to be backed by theNCR’s wealth of gold reserves, with each bill being associated with a specific value of gold.
This didn’t last long, however, as during an attack bythe Brotherhood of Steel, much of the NCR’s gold reserves were completely destroyed, as were the machines that printed the coins and paper bills. This quickly led to a frenzy, with citizens of New California rushing to cash in their bills for physical gold, and being told that their demands could not be met, much like the real-world’s “Black Tuesday” event that sparked the Great Depression.
To combat this, the NCR dropped their currency’s association with gold, instead deciding to back the currency with faith alone. This didn’t work out too well, withmany NCR citizensbecoming completely disenfranchised with this type of currency, and turning to using other means to trade goods.
At this time, the bottle cap returned to New California, with its value being backed by water as opposed to gold; every bottle cap has a standardized volume of water associated with it. While the NCR initially resisted the bottle cap’s reintroduction, the merchants of the Hub were persistent, and the bottle cap soon made its wayback to the Mojave.
However, the Hub had their own nefarious purposes for reintroducing the bottle cap. Before they brought the currency back, the Hub seized control of the majority of working local printing presses, and destroyed a handful that they couldn’t take control of. They also set about taking control ofhidden caches of bottle caps from around the Wasteland. Once the bottle cap returned to the mainstream, the Hub was decisively in control of the market.
The Hub’s dominance over the bottle cap stock market led to some schisms across the merchant guild, with different merchant factions repeatedly trying to seize control over bottle cap printing presses and various caches. TheCrimson Caravan Companyis one such faction that aims to retain its monopoly over the bottle cap industry, and isn’t afraid to use a small army to do so.
When the player reaches the Mojave inFallout: New Vegas, bottle caps and older NCR bills are both used for the exchange of goods and services. The savage Legion faction also have their own currency, which is also often accepted by most merchant caravans, especially those who reside nearthe New Vegas stripwhere essentially any currency is considered legal tender.
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Different Variations of Bottle Caps
As any fan of theFalloutseries will know, there are quite a few different types of bottle caps to find throughout the Wasteland. The standard bottle cap comes froma Nuka-Cola bottle, and features 21 crimped edges, thus being easily identifiable by vendors to ensure their validity.
Counterfeit bottle caps, as should be expected, can’t be used by the player at any vendor or store. These caps have virtually no purpose at all inFallout’s gameplay, but are an important part of the game’s lore and world-building.
Alongside Nuka-Cola bottle caps, Sunset Sarsaparilla caps are also used. These caps have the same value as Nuka-Cola caps, but with every unopened Sunset Sarsaparilla, a chance to find a rare Star bottle cap can be had. These rarer bottle caps, which have a blue star on them, are used in the “Legend of the Star"quest inFallout: New Vegas, which givesFalloutplayers various rewards when the caps are handed to Festus.
