Petting My Samurai

But he is right, a gold coin is wealth. Most commoners don't see this object throughout their entire lifetimes. A construction laborer earns 50 bronze coins a day at the cost of slaving away for over 12 hours while doing back-breaking, arduous work. If (a big and very unlikely 'if') he saves every penny of his pay, he would need to work for 200 days, or more accurately, spend 2400 hours actively hauling bricks.

I don't know why this Eric guy is being so generous with me today, but I'm starting to feel nervous. Perhaps this amount of money is a pittance to a count, but even then, why throw it at an outsider like me? Is he trying to recruit me or something? Or is this simply a situation akin to that of a billionaire tipping hundred bucks when all he bought was a morning coffee?