Dungeons & Dragons' Gold, Silver, & Copper: Actual Values Explained
The value of Dungeons & Dragons' gold, silver, and copper is easy to calculate, showing the currency is worth more than players may have thought.
Dungeons & Dragons is an immersive tabletop RPG fantasy experience known for its in-depth, often player-made, world building. A big part of that is its in-game currency, something players need to purchase new equipment, buy a night's stay at the local tavern, or bribe an enemy for information. While Dungeons & Dragons game has a set currency, it's easy to determine the real-world value of the coins using simple math.
Gold pieces, silver pieces, and copper pieces form the D&D Forgotten Realms currency system. Ten silver pieces equals one gold piece, while ten copper pieces equal one silver piece. It's universal in any Dungeons & Dragons location, although different regions will have different names for each section of currency. For example, in Waterdeep, locals would call their coins dragons, shards, and nibs, respectively. Some cities will also mint their own unique form of currency, useless beyond their borders. Additionally, there are platinum and electrum coins, though these appear in gameplay far less frequently.
There are two ways of equating the in-game currency of Dungeons & Dragons to real-world money. The first is to look at the cost of an item in the game and compare to the real-world price. However, this method is not strong, as item costs can vary depending on where in the Forgotten Realms a campaign takes place, making it hard to find a standard to compare. The second is to take the weight of each coin and look at that metal's cost per ounce, a much more direct conversion that often fluctuates over time.
According to Dungeons & Dragons 5e, each coin weighs approximately one third of an ounce. Using that knowledge, all it takes is researching how much an ounce of gold, silver, and copper is worth and dividing it by three. Based on current prices at the time of this writing, one gold piece is worth $596, one silver piece is worth $8.72, and one copper piece is worth a whopping nine cents. Knowing this is how prices are calculated, it's astonishing how big the gap is between the cost of items in-game and in the real world. For example, in Dungeons & Dragons, a mace costs five gold pieces, converting to $2,980, while its actual price is closer to $100. Some specialty maces in the real world do surpass the $3,000 mark, but the Dungeons & Dragons item is a common bludgeoning weapon.
Fortunately, gold is a much less rare commodity in Dungeons & Dragons than in the real world. Each player often starts with a set amount of gold pieces, determined by class and background. Parties can quickly gain wealth by looting dungeons and downed enemies, or completing various quests around the local town. The value of currency in Dungeons & Dragons is also known to change, as prior editions of D&D had gold coins weighing less than 5e, so it is possible they will change again.