Miser's forge

A miser's forge is a device spoken of in tavern tales, always owned by "a friend of a friend." Few can claim to have seen one with their own eyes, although its handiwork does appear in marketplaces from time to time.

The device described in the stories is a small, phlogiston-powered forge that melts down a coin of a high denomination and then use the resulting metal to gild lower-value coins — creating surprisingly effective forgeries. A single gold piece melted in a miser's forge can cover up to five coins. The coins covered are typically of lower denomination, used to defraud merchants. However, on occasion coins are discovered with gilding that makes them appear cheaper (suc as gold coins covered in silver) in order to avoid paying taxes.