Indeed this bug was reported before.
But between it being reported and now, I've hardly been near my computer at all so have been unable to do anything about it.
The earliest I'll be able to check it out is next week on Monday; but even then, I cannot make any promises.
I'll definitely sort it out though when I find the chance to do it.
You cannot sell or toss a Merchant License, can you? I can't remember now.
Even a minor act of Piracy (e.g. sink/capture a hostile ship without having a LoM to allow it) will lose you your Merchant License though.
And then your crew can get envious again.
Also, if you aren't a pirate and have zero Letters of Marque, you are considered a merchant and do not even require the licence.
On the other side of the spectrum, as soon as you officially join the Pirates, your License no longer works to keep your crew happy.
Basically, it only helps for the crew if you have a Letter of Marque, but don't want to switch to Divide the Plunder Mode.
This could be because you need plenty money fit your trading schemes.
There should be no real need to "hide" your money anymore, unless you are a pirate.
If you're not, then you can buy a Merchant License to save you the trouble of that hiding.
At the moment, Fame does not serve much purpose, but that is something I still intend to improve on.
Hiding money does not add to your fame and will therefore eventually become quite counterproductive.
Unless you deliberately want to remain unknown.
If you leave the service of a country on good terms, you get to keep your land.
You only lose your land if you leave or are kicked out on bad terms.