KKC Theory Wiki

Auri's Silver Coin Gift to Kvothe Is More Than a Penance Piece

plausible symbolism · popularity 92 · 1 source thread

Auri's silver coin, only 'shaped like' a penance piece, may be a meaningful crafted object Rothfuss won't explain.

About: Auri, Kvothe

Also involves: The Moon, Shaping

The theory§

This theory contends that the silver coin Auri gives Kvothe is more than the keepsake it appears to be. The narration hedges its description: the coin is 'shaped like an Aturan penance piece' yet gleams silver, and Kvothe has never seen a coin like it. Auri presents it with the words that it will keep him safe at night, 'as much as anything can'. Asked directly on a stream whether the coin only resembles a penance piece or truly is one, Rothfuss conspicuously refused to answer, treating the question as one he would not address. The coin, key, and candle Auri gives across her gifts echo the tools of Taborlin the Great, and Auri's strange intimacy with objects raises the possibility she shaped the coin herself, its form a product of her intention rather than a mint.

Evidence§

  • It was shaped like an Aturan penance piece, but it gleamed silver in the moonlight. I’d never seen a coin like it.
    The book's own hedged description: only shaped like a penance piece, silver, unfamiliar to Kvothe. — u/keycoinandcandle
  • To me, that indicated that it was either an earlier mint or something unrelated entirely.
    OP's core inference: the coin is not an ordinary penance piece. — u/keycoinandcandle
  • Pat singled out the question, then emphatically avoided answering it, which is as close to a hint as Pat tends to give. So with that said, something is up with that coin.
    OP's key evidence: Rothfuss conspicuously dodged the is-it-a-penance-piece question. — u/keycoinandcandle
  • His key, his COIN, his candle?
    Echoes Taborlin the Great's tools, framing the gifts as significant. — u/Skybreakeresq
  • I think the hint here is that Auri has the word you used. “Shaped”. Auri’s relationship to objects and how she interacts with them makes me think of grammarie and shaping, so perhaps it reminds him of a penance peace because that was her intention on shaping it?
    Refines theory: Auri may have shaped the coin herself, its form her intention. — u/yorel0950
  • if this IS a penance piece then it is a religious token and so it would, in church terms, be a token that grants the bearer sanctuary.
    Explains how a coin could literally keep him safe at night. — u/MattyTangle
  • It could also mean he couldn't think of a cool answer on the spot so said that instead.
    CounterCounter: Rothfuss's dodge may be improvisation, not a deliberate hint. — u/Possible_Pace_9448
  • that he's never seen one tells us that it is not a prennace piece
    CounterCounter: Kvothe's unfamiliarity argues the coin simply isn't a penance piece. — u/forwantoftheprice

Book refs: NOTW

Tier reasoning§

tier verified: hedged textual wording plus author's dodge make this a reasonable reading, plausible holds

Contributors§

Source threads§