There is a moment in “Fallout” season 2 episode 6 where the dangerous villain Hank MacLean (Kyle MacLachlan) ponders the nature of war. He explains to hero Lucy (Ella Purnell) that conflicts are upsetting because of humankind’s tendency to fight over nothing, citing bottle caps — which are used for currency in the “Fallout” world — as a “petty” reason for people killing each other. Of course, privileged folks like Hank don’t have to worry about collecting bottle caps in order to survive, but they are one of the main forms of currency in the Wasteland.
To understand the significance of bottle caps in the universe of “Fallout,” we must revisit the games on which the show is based. “Fallout 1” explains that Hub merchants began using bottle caps as currency so they could conveniently trade water, leading to them becoming a widespread form of tender. But why bottle caps, you ask? Well, they are durable and difficult to manufacture due to the post-apocalyptic society lacking the technology to create them following the Great War. This makes bottle caps extremely valuable. What’s more, bottle caps are difficult to counterfeit, and that goes a long way in keeping them pure.
Bottle caps aren’t the only type of currency used in the “Fallout” universe, mind you, but they are pretty common in the games and TV series. And when you consider that they enable people to purchase the commodities they need to survive, you can understand why they are fought over. It’s a cool concept for a post-apocalyptic universe, yet the idea of bottle caps being used as currency isn’t a far-fetched notion at all.
Was Fallout’s currency inspired by real life?
“Fallout” is a stellar video game adaptation because it’s informed by the lore of the games, such as bottle caps being used as currency. However, “Fallout” wasn’t the first fictional property to come up with this idea, as Carl Barks’ Scrooge McDuck tale “Tralla La,” published in “Uncle Scrooge” #6, features them at the heart of the titular region’s commerce system. That said, the unusual currencies used in both “Fallout” and “Uncle Scrooge” have parallels with real-world history.
Once upon a time, countries in all around the world used shells as their main form of currency. Cowrie shells were particularly prominent for the same reasons bottle caps are in the “Fallout” universe — they were hard to come by and very valuable. Granted, shells aren’t bottle caps, per se, but they are similar in the sense that they show traditional money isn’t the only thing that can function as currency in a society.
Be that as it may, bottle caps have also been used as currency in the real world. In 2005, beer companies tried to coax Cameroonian citizens into buying their products by offering big prizes that were listed on the insides of the caps. Given that the prizes were so appealing, their winners were able to use the caps to exchange the caps for goods and services. They didn’t become legal tender across the board, but it proves that “Fallout’s” post-apocalyptic currency has some credibility in the actual world.
