|
|
|
The Coin Question
|
|
Using the information below I have changed the coin weights to match those of medieval times. All coins weight 1/240 of a pound. You can find coins valued at 1, 2, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100 of the metal type it is issued in thus a common coin is a 5 sp coin as well as a 10 sp coin which is equal in value to a 1 gp coin.
HOW
MUCH DOES A COIN WEIGH?
A coin weighs 1.6 ounces avoirdupois or 1/10 pound American in official
AD&D rules. This is, of course, just plain stupid.
I just got a catalogue of ancient and medieval coins ($95.00 to $2,000
plus per coin, if you're interested) and let me tell you something:
Great honking enormous coins like presented in AD&D were not at all
common.
Okay, we already know that the standard unit of English currency was the
penny or denier during the middle ages (penny=denier). The prototype ideal
English penny was minted under William the Conqueror (some scholars may disagree
with this). It was a coin that was two centimeters in diameter and made of high
grade silver. It weighed, surprise, surprise, one pennyweight. How much was a
pennyweight? It was legally defined as a weight equal to 1/240th a pound.
Thus, an English penny theoretically weighed 1/240th a pound. How much
was a silver penny worth? Well, according to some sources I've read, you could
buy what AD&D erroneously calls a "long sword" for around 20 to 40
pennies, depending on the century.
Okay, so for the sake of simplicity, we have a silver coin weighing
1/240th a pound (that's about 0.0667 common US ounces [avoir.] or 1.89 grams for
our European readers). Around 20 to 40 of these silver coins could buy a "long sword". Other
common monetary units:
Unit
Value
Groat
2 pennies ("tuppence")
Shilling
12 pence
Sovereign
Variable, depending on gold content.
Pound 240 pence--no pound coins
were minted in medieval times. Gold tends to value 10 to 50 times silver per weight depending upon market pressures. |
|
E-mail me @ xthulhu@crosswinds.net Planescape, Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, Etc... are the Trademarked property of TSR Inc. a subsidiary of WOTC |
