DLCS Coin Exchange Rates Question - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

DLCS Coin Exchange Rates Question

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
zombiegleemax
Aug 24, 2003 13:52:09 While I'm waiting for the DLCS from Amazon, could someone with the book let me know what the currency exchange rates are now? I thought I could just use some of my older books to figure this out, but they seem to have changed a number of times between first and second edition dragonlance, and on top of that now in 3E Platinum pieces are 10 to a gold piece instead of 5.

Original Modules
5 Platinum = 1 Steel = 2 Iron = 2 Bronze = 10 gold = 20 Silver = 100 Copper

Leaves from the Inn of the Last Home
5 Platinum = 1 Steel = 2 Iron = 5 Bronze = 10 gold = 20 Silver = 100 Copper

Tales of the Lance / Saga
5 Platinum = 1 Steel = 2 Iron = 2 Bronze = 20 Silver = 40 Gold = 100 Copper

Thanks,
#2
talinthas
Aug 24, 2003 14:14:06 1 plat = 5 steel/iron = 10 bronze = 100 silver = 200 gold = 500 copper.
#3
zombiegleemax
Aug 24, 2003 15:08:44 I wonder why they chose to make iron and steel pieces interchangeable? Though I guess it makes more sense than iron being worth the same as bronze pieces.

Interesting. Thanks for the info
#4
brimstone
Aug 25, 2003 11:37:40
Originally posted by Yelm
I wonder why they chose to make iron and steel pieces interchangeable? Though I guess it makes more sense than iron being worth the same as bronze pieces.

Well...actually there is a typo in that table.

I believe it is supposed to be:

1 plat = 5 steel = 10 bronze/iron = 100 silver = 200 gold = 500 copper

The row headings are correct on the Table, the column headings are not.
#5
zombiegleemax
Aug 27, 2003 7:52:27
Originally posted by Brimstone
Well...actually there is a typo in that table.

I believe it is supposed to be:

1 plat = 5 steel = 10 bronze/iron = 100 silver = 200 gold = 500 copper

The row headings are correct on the Table, the column headings are not.

ahh . . . .

in my game its like this: 1pp=5stl=10 ip=50bp=100sp=200gp=500cp
#6
zombiegleemax
Aug 27, 2003 8:53:51 So I was looking at this thread and got kinda confused. I've never played the game so the currency conversion was never important to me. If someone bought an item in a novel, the fact that it cost 5 steal or 5 copper didn't make a difference to me. Of course I knew that steal was worth a lot more than copper, but you get my point.

Anyway, if I'm understanding this correctly (and I'm pretty sure I am), silver is worth more than gold.
1 steel = 20 silver
1 steel = 40 gold

I'm just curious as to what the reasoning for this is. I know gold isn't a very practical metal, but then again neither is silver. And gold is a more precious precious-metal than silver is.

So yeah, why is silver worth more than gold?

**Ok. It's steel now. I'm blaming it on working the graveyard shift. I do actually know the difference between steel and steal.**
#7
cam_banks
Aug 27, 2003 8:59:17
Originally posted by TheSlyOne

Anyway, if I'm understanding this correctly (and I'm pretty sure I am), silver is worth more than gold.
1 steal = 20 silver
1 steal = 40 gold

I'm just curious as to what the reasoning for this is. I know gold isn't a very practical metal, but then again neither is silver. And gold is a more precious precious-metal than silver is.

So yeah, why is silver worth more than gold?

Good question. I've never really plumbed the depths of the rationale behind the other coinage metals, since it's not been something that came up. Silver has properties that gold doesn't - it's harder, for one thing, and when alloyed with other metals tends to hold its shape and is more useful for making things with. The coins in Dragonlance seem heavily weighted towards their utility in a world recovering from constant war, not how pretty they are as in pre-Cataclysm Krynn.

Hence why platinum (one of the hardest metals) is top, steel is next, iron & bronze are third, silver fourth, etc.

Oh, and it's "steel", not "steal". "Steal" is what the thieves do to the coins, not what it's made of.

Cheers,
Cam
#8
zombiegleemax
Aug 27, 2003 11:19:48 You know, this is something I have never quite grasped in DL. I like the setting, but steel more valuable than gold? Ok, makung gold commonplace (relatively) is doable, but making steel that valuable makes you wonder at all the swords and armour out there. I mean Sturm was walking around in enough of the stuff to probably buy a castle just in material alone (ignoring craftsmanship of the armour and sword)....well maybe not a castle, but a nice sized manor. DL has never had a deficit of steel or iron weaponry and armour. Most of the original company had many steel or iron bits of armour and weaponry.

Heck, with iron being that valuable, you could never trust your average city guard with a sword, let alone afford to actually equip them with said swords.

I suspect if I ran DL, I would just plop the gp back into the steel value system, and just let steel be steel.
#9
zombiegleemax
Aug 27, 2003 11:33:47 I never understood why they decided to use steel pieces and iron pieces and whatnot. If they're being used as currency, then they aren't doing a very effective job of being utility.

Better to let the precious metals represent the worth, I thought, then actually using the utility metals. But maybe I'm missing the point.
#10
zombiegleemax
Aug 27, 2003 12:07:13 in DL the minneral composistion is differant than on earth. steel is rare. most things are made of weaker mettals, such as iorn. or evan brass. whereas silver&gold are more common.
#11
talinthas
Aug 27, 2003 12:15:46 the original bertrem's guide has a good explanation for this.
#12
zombiegleemax
Aug 27, 2003 12:34:27 It is difficult to say, because I have not seen prices listed for 1 pound of iron/gold/stl ...

So I am guessing coins do not represent the worth of the materials and labor used to make them. Take a $1000 dollar bill for instance does it cost $1000 to make ?

Lets look at a hand axe. It is 4 pounds. Lets say that the handle is .5 pounds. So that leaves 3.5 pounds of metal. And lets say it is made out of iron. In dnd it is 50 coins to a pound. So that is 175 iron coins. Now divide that by 2. So your 6 Stl Handaxe should cost (for the iron) 87.5 stl. But it only costs 6 stl.

So it would seem that coins have an inflated value and buying regular stl would be cheeper.

I hope that makes sense =)
#13
zombiegleemax
Aug 27, 2003 12:53:58 Also regular people cannot mint coins. Its illegal. Counterfeiting as it were. Cities and Nations can Mint coins but a Paladin cannot melt down his plate mail, make coins from it, and use them. This means that exchange rates are set by the people minting the coins. More gold coins are made and that means they are worth less. Silver is rarer so fewer coins are made so its worth more than gold. Steel is needed in weapons, plows, etc. so its use in coins is not as wide spread as the relatively useless precious metals, as such the coins that are made of steel are fewer and more expensive.
#14
zombiegleemax
Aug 27, 2003 13:02:03
Originally posted by L33t Angel
Also regular people cannot mint coins. Its illegal. Counterfeiting as it were. Cities and Nations can Mint coins but a Paladin cannot melt down his plate mail, make coins from it, and use them. This means that exchange rates are set by the people minting the coins. More gold coins are made and that means they are worth less. Silver is rarer so fewer coins are made so its worth more than gold. Steel is needed in weapons, plows, etc. so its use in coins is not as wide spread as the relatively useless precious metals, as such the coins that are made of steel are fewer and more expensive.

Exactly =)
#15
zombiegleemax
Aug 27, 2003 14:55:16 Alright, that makes sense. Thank you!
#16
zombiegleemax
Aug 27, 2003 14:58:27
Originally posted by talinthas
the original bertrem's guide has a good explanation for this.

the whoose and the what now?
#17
brimstone
Aug 27, 2003 15:56:53
Originally posted by talinthas
the original bertrem's guide has a good explanation for this.

Did it explain how the Steel pieces keep from rusting? (like maybe they're stainless steel...or the DL equivilant?)

I mean...my friend the other day (actually...it may have been my father, I don't remember). Anyway...they touched the blade of my sword and didn't tell me. Two days later, I have a nice little, oddly thumb-shaped, spot of rust on my sword. It took me 2 hours to clean that out.

So surely, steel pieces, being handed around, would rust, if it didn't have some chromium in it or something.

Of course, now that I've said all that, one could say that a steel piece wouldn't have to be made out of steel at all, nor would a gold piece have to be gold.

Technically, the coinage could be more like our bill notes of today. They are backed by the governement's steel supply or gold or whatever that minted them, yes?

Although I know, this usually isn't the case with coins...just notes.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 zombiegleemax Aug 24, 2003 13:52:09	While I'm waiting for the DLCS from Amazon, could someone with the book let me know what the currency exchange rates are now? I thought I could just use some of my older books to figure this out, but they seem to have changed a number of times between first and second edition dragonlance, and on top of that now in 3E Platinum pieces are 10 to a gold piece instead of 5. Original Modules 5 Platinum = 1 Steel = 2 Iron = 2 Bronze = 10 gold = 20 Silver = 100 Copper Leaves from the Inn of the Last Home 5 Platinum = 1 Steel = 2 Iron = 5 Bronze = 10 gold = 20 Silver = 100 Copper Tales of the Lance / Saga 5 Platinum = 1 Steel = 2 Iron = 2 Bronze = 20 Silver = 40 Gold = 100 Copper Thanks,
#2 talinthas Aug 24, 2003 14:14:06	1 plat = 5 steel/iron = 10 bronze = 100 silver = 200 gold = 500 copper.
#3 zombiegleemax Aug 24, 2003 15:08:44	I wonder why they chose to make iron and steel pieces interchangeable? Though I guess it makes more sense than iron being worth the same as bronze pieces. Interesting. Thanks for the info
#4 brimstone Aug 25, 2003 11:37:40	Originally posted by Yelm I wonder why they chose to make iron and steel pieces interchangeable? Though I guess it makes more sense than iron being worth the same as bronze pieces. Well...actually there is a typo in that table. I believe it is supposed to be: 1 plat = 5 steel = 10 bronze/iron = 100 silver = 200 gold = 500 copper The row headings are correct on the Table, the column headings are not.
#5 zombiegleemax Aug 27, 2003 7:52:27	Originally posted by Brimstone Well...actually there is a typo in that table. I believe it is supposed to be: 1 plat = 5 steel = 10 bronze/iron = 100 silver = 200 gold = 500 copper The row headings are correct on the Table, the column headings are not. ahh . . . . in my game its like this: 1pp=5stl=10 ip=50bp=100sp=200gp=500cp
#6 zombiegleemax Aug 27, 2003 8:53:51	So I was looking at this thread and got kinda confused. I've never played the game so the currency conversion was never important to me. If someone bought an item in a novel, the fact that it cost 5 steal or 5 copper didn't make a difference to me. Of course I knew that steal was worth a lot more than copper, but you get my point. Anyway, if I'm understanding this correctly (and I'm pretty sure I am), silver is worth more than gold. 1 steel = 20 silver 1 steel = 40 gold I'm just curious as to what the reasoning for this is. I know gold isn't a very practical metal, but then again neither is silver. And gold is a more precious precious-metal than silver is. So yeah, why is silver worth more than gold? Ok. It's steel now. I'm blaming it on working the graveyard shift. I do actually know the difference between steel and steal.
#7 cam_banks Aug 27, 2003 8:59:17	Originally posted by TheSlyOne Anyway, if I'm understanding this correctly (and I'm pretty sure I am), silver is worth more than gold. 1 steal = 20 silver 1 steal = 40 gold I'm just curious as to what the reasoning for this is. I know gold isn't a very practical metal, but then again neither is silver. And gold is a more precious precious-metal than silver is. So yeah, why is silver worth more than gold? Good question. I've never really plumbed the depths of the rationale behind the other coinage metals, since it's not been something that came up. Silver has properties that gold doesn't - it's harder, for one thing, and when alloyed with other metals tends to hold its shape and is more useful for making things with. The coins in Dragonlance seem heavily weighted towards their utility in a world recovering from constant war, not how pretty they are as in pre-Cataclysm Krynn. Hence why platinum (one of the hardest metals) is top, steel is next, iron & bronze are third, silver fourth, etc. Oh, and it's "steel", not "steal". "Steal" is what the thieves do to the coins, not what it's made of. Cheers, Cam
#8 zombiegleemax Aug 27, 2003 11:19:48	You know, this is something I have never quite grasped in DL. I like the setting, but steel more valuable than gold? Ok, makung gold commonplace (relatively) is doable, but making steel that valuable makes you wonder at all the swords and armour out there. I mean Sturm was walking around in enough of the stuff to probably buy a castle just in material alone (ignoring craftsmanship of the armour and sword)....well maybe not a castle, but a nice sized manor. DL has never had a deficit of steel or iron weaponry and armour. Most of the original company had many steel or iron bits of armour and weaponry. Heck, with iron being that valuable, you could never trust your average city guard with a sword, let alone afford to actually equip them with said swords. I suspect if I ran DL, I would just plop the gp back into the steel value system, and just let steel be steel.
#9 zombiegleemax Aug 27, 2003 11:33:47	I never understood why they decided to use steel pieces and iron pieces and whatnot. If they're being used as currency, then they aren't doing a very effective job of being utility. Better to let the precious metals represent the worth, I thought, then actually using the utility metals. But maybe I'm missing the point.
#10 zombiegleemax Aug 27, 2003 12:07:13	in DL the minneral composistion is differant than on earth. steel is rare. most things are made of weaker mettals, such as iorn. or evan brass. whereas silver&gold are more common.
#11 talinthas Aug 27, 2003 12:15:46	the original bertrem's guide has a good explanation for this.
#12 zombiegleemax Aug 27, 2003 12:34:27	It is difficult to say, because I have not seen prices listed for 1 pound of iron/gold/stl ... So I am guessing coins do not represent the worth of the materials and labor used to make them. Take a $1000 dollar bill for instance does it cost $1000 to make ? Lets look at a hand axe. It is 4 pounds. Lets say that the handle is .5 pounds. So that leaves 3.5 pounds of metal. And lets say it is made out of iron. In dnd it is 50 coins to a pound. So that is 175 iron coins. Now divide that by 2. So your 6 Stl Handaxe should cost (for the iron) 87.5 stl. But it only costs 6 stl. So it would seem that coins have an inflated value and buying regular stl would be cheeper. I hope that makes sense =)
#13 zombiegleemax Aug 27, 2003 12:53:58	Also regular people cannot mint coins. Its illegal. Counterfeiting as it were. Cities and Nations can Mint coins but a Paladin cannot melt down his plate mail, make coins from it, and use them. This means that exchange rates are set by the people minting the coins. More gold coins are made and that means they are worth less. Silver is rarer so fewer coins are made so its worth more than gold. Steel is needed in weapons, plows, etc. so its use in coins is not as wide spread as the relatively useless precious metals, as such the coins that are made of steel are fewer and more expensive.
#14 zombiegleemax Aug 27, 2003 13:02:03	Originally posted by L33t Angel Also regular people cannot mint coins. Its illegal. Counterfeiting as it were. Cities and Nations can Mint coins but a Paladin cannot melt down his plate mail, make coins from it, and use them. This means that exchange rates are set by the people minting the coins. More gold coins are made and that means they are worth less. Silver is rarer so fewer coins are made so its worth more than gold. Steel is needed in weapons, plows, etc. so its use in coins is not as wide spread as the relatively useless precious metals, as such the coins that are made of steel are fewer and more expensive. Exactly =)
#15 zombiegleemax Aug 27, 2003 14:55:16	Alright, that makes sense. Thank you!
#16 zombiegleemax Aug 27, 2003 14:58:27	Originally posted by talinthas the original bertrem's guide has a good explanation for this. the whoose and the what now?
#17 brimstone Aug 27, 2003 15:56:53	Originally posted by talinthas the original bertrem's guide has a good explanation for this. Did it explain how the Steel pieces keep from rusting? (like maybe they're stainless steel...or the DL equivilant?) I mean...my friend the other day (actually...it may have been my father, I don't remember). Anyway...they touched the blade of my sword and didn't tell me. Two days later, I have a nice little, oddly thumb-shaped, spot of rust on my sword. It took me 2 hours to clean that out. So surely, steel pieces, being handed around, would rust, if it didn't have some chromium in it or something. Of course, now that I've said all that, one could say that a steel piece wouldn't have to be made out of steel at all, nor would a gold piece have to be gold. Technically, the coinage could be more like our bill notes of today. They are backed by the governement's steel supply or gold or whatever that minted them, yes? Although I know, this usually isn't the case with coins...just notes.