How did Albion's economy start? How were prices decided?

If any of the earliest Albion players could offer some insight, it'd be much appreciated! Or perhaps players who play in the newest servers. I just want to understand how prices of things now, are decided

Did SBI have a hand in setting the prices of items at all, or was it 100% determined by players from the launch?

Like with Pork Omelettes and the gold-to-silver exchange rate considered, were they worth (3,500-4,000 silver in US) relatively the same today, as they were back in launch?

Was it like in day 1 of launch, some bloke arbitrarily decided to set Pork Omlettes to 1,000 silver, and then it gradually increased to the price of 3,500-4,000 silver today?