[John Wick Series] – How much is the Golden Coin worth? Feat. Marker

The underworld of the John Wick series feels much more mysterious as it depicts it coexists along together with the real world.

How much is a Golden Coin worth? What is so special about a Marker? What do these items have to do with John Wick?

 

 

Jean-Jacques Rousseau claimed the ‘social contract’ theory by his book Du Contract Social ou Principes du droit politique.

He explains that People form a society by implicit agreement of ethical and political rules of behavior that is called a social contract. People could gather and form tribes or villages by simple rules.

However, to establish larger clans and nations, ‘law’ or ‘order’ in a written form under agreement was necessary.

 

 

The law itself may be evidence of the human morale and justice. However for any kind of law, rather than the conduct of justice, laws are more important as a ‘wedge’ or a ‘pillar’ that serves as the backbone and bind society for force.  

The underworld of John Wick is very controversial in such terms that the most vicious crime syndicates have each a representative under the High Table and the High Table establishes ‘social norm’ that these outlaws must abide which nobody could not dare to challenge against the High Table.

 

 

What does all of these have to do with the Golden Coin?

The Golden Coin of the John Wick Universe does not have ‘quantitative’ value in other words, each Golden Coin itself doesn’t have a value measurable in terms of numbers.

Rather the value of the Golden Coin would depend on ‘whose coin it is. In other words, the Golden Coin’s value represents the ‘qualitative’ value of the withholder which is not measurable by numbers.

 

 

Each Golden Coin itself is a ‘contract’ marked as a completion of an exchange of services or items of value.

Berrada who was the former boss of Sofia Al-Azwar of Morocco confirms this fact as below.

""You see that coin? The first coin ever minted in this facility. Next to it, the first Marker. Not easy to track down, believe me. Now this coin, of course, it does not represent monetary value. It represents the commerce of relationships. A social contract in which you agree to partake.”

 

 

Thus, having a lot of Golden Coin is more of a symbol that one has done many ‘exchanges of service or goods’ or it could symbolize that one is highly credible and capable of completing tasks as the Golden Coin is a contract or mark of a completed deal.

So a Golden Coin given by a nobody and a Golden Coin given by John Wick have a different value and a simple drink could cost a Golden Coin while a night at the best room at the Continental Hotel (Episode 2, Roman Continental Hotel) would also cost the same single Golden Coin.

 

 

Thus, holding a lot of Golden Coins doesn’t necessarily give you any kind of economic wealth in the real world so real-life currency such as dollars are used as well such as when the Camorra and the Tarasoff mob puts a bounty on John Wick.

On the top of the Golden Coin used in the John Wick Universe, it states ”Ens Causa Sui”.

 

 

This means "Something made within itself” which may refer to what the Golden Coin stands for.

On the opposite side of the Golden Coin is stated “Ex Unitae Vires”

 

 

This means ‘Out from unity comes a strength” which may refer to the importance of abiding by the rule or the power of credibility in the Underworld of the John Wick series.

Thus, real life money and currency such as dollars are used to compensate for actions as well because the Golden Coin itself doesn’t have a quantitative value.

Because ironically, honor and credibility are such a great norm in this criminal universe, some persist on fighting with John Wick by honorable methods while those who aren’t interested of such honor and know that they don’t stand a chance sneak up or mass up by numbers to kill John Wick and take the bounty that will be paid in dollars.

 

 

The real-life currency is controlled and marked by the managers of the Continental Hotel just as the Golden Coins are controlled by management and those who serve the High Table.

In John Wick episode 2, Winston marks the 7 milllion dollar bounty that Santino D’Antonio orders to administration.

 

This ledger tracks the order Santino made in dollars

 

The Marker is a much more powerful ‘contract’ than the Golden Coin. It is one of the most sacred ‘contracts’ or ‘symbol that no one in the John Wick underworld can disobey or deny.

Santino D’Antonio remarks as below to John and burned John’s house as John constantly refused Santino’s demands.

“A marker is no small thing, John. For a man to grant a marker to another. It is to bind a soul to a blood oath.”

 

 

The Marker itself has an engraving that states "Quod Debitum Sanguine”

This means literally a “Blood Debt”

The Marker allows the Marker withholder to demand anything to the one under debt.

 

 

Even when John is declared ‘Excommunicado’, the Marker is effective and Sofia Al-Azar had no choice but had to fulfill John’s demand to meet with her former boss Berrada even if she was the manager of the Continental Hotel of Casablanca.

Thus the Marker stands as a blank cheque (blank check) and the most powerful contract that the obligor must serve the recipient of the Marker and cannot harm the recipient with any means.

 

 

John Wick is a person with great credit and notorious for his skills throughout the whole John Wick Universe.

Although he may have broken the rules by conducting business (not business exactly but killing Santino D’Antonio) on Continental grounds, he is responsible enough to seek for all methods he could and pay for all of his actions.

 

 

In other words, he may break the rules but does every means to compensate for the consequences whether the tasks are considered impossible or not.

This is embedded by the book that John looks for right before the moment he is Excommunicado.

John searches for Russian Folk Tale by Alexander Afanasyev(In Russian Александр Николаевич Афанасьев)1864 which is in Russian Narodnye russkie skazki  written in 1864.

 

 

The page that John Wick uncovers is the story of Vasillisa the Fair or Vasillisa the Beautiful (In Russian Василиса Прекрасная)

This is a story that invovles the Baba Yaga and is similar to the Cinderella plot.  Vasillisa has to fulfill several impossible tasks given by the Baba Yaga or she might be eaten.

With the help of a magical doll that Vasillisa’s dead mother gave, the Baba Yaga would inevitably give Vasillisa the ‘fire’ that she needed and Vasillisa would later happily liver on after.

 

 

This story not only includes the Baba Yaga that John Wick is called but also shows more of John Wick’s character as he shall also fulfill any ‘impossible’ tasks despite how hard it would be.

By the way Ernest was played by the NBA player Boban Marjanovic who played for the Los Angeles Clippers, Philadelphia 76ers, Dallas Mavericks and the Houston Rockets.