On the demonetization of the Quatloo of Triskelion, Tom DeLorey writes:

In this episode, the bridge crew of the USS Enterprise was captured by an alien race from the planet Triskelion and forced to participate in gladiator-style games while the audience bet on theoutcome of each match in the planet's unit of currency, the "quatloo." Capt. James T. Kirk, for example, had to fight against a slave or "drill thrall" called Shahna, played by the actress AngeliquePettyjohn, who was dressed in the standard (and sexist) Star Trek style for a woman from an alien civilization (meaning as little clothing that the standards of the 1960s allowed on television).During the match, which was supposed to be to the death, wagers were called out in units of quatloos by the leaders of the planet. Kirk managed to defeat Shahna though he declined to kill her andhelped in defeating the evil Providers, who ran the games.

The episode was not one of the series' best but it was one of the few that had anything remotely like a money reference.

Many readers asked the same question. What the heck was a "quatloo" and where was "Triskelion"? The correspondents had never heard of the place nor the currency unit. A smaller number of Trekkiesamong the readership caught the reference and wrote, essentially, "Hey, cool reference."

Eventually the letters came to the attention of the news editor and of Margo Russell, our editor. Margo thought it cute, but the news editor mildly admonished me. Somewhere in my files I stillhave a clipping of my quatloo filler.

Today, being older and wiser and more experienced, I can only look back at that time and ask myself, "What was I thinking?"

Still, I am not going to take any credit for introducing the concept of "fake news." That kind of thing happened long before I was born.

To read the Coin World article, see:
Did you hear about the quatloos of Triskelion?(https://www.coinworld.com/voices/gerald-tebben/did_you_hear_aboutt.html)

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
THE 'RICHMOND DOLLARS' (https://www.coinbooks.org/v23/esylum_v23n09a26.html)