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<blockquote data-quote="der_kluge" data-source="post: 1760611" data-attributes="member: 945">I also have this file saved on my hard drive, which I always found to be interesting:HOW MUCH DOES A COIN WHEIGH?&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; (Source unknown)A coin weighs 1.6 ounces avoirdupois or 1/10 pound American in official AD&amp;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&amp;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 Conquerer (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&amp;D erroneously calls a &quot;longsword&quot; 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 &quot;longsword&quot;.Other common monetary units:&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; Unit&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Value&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; --------------------------------------------------------------------&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; Groat&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; 2 pennies (&quot;tuppence&quot;)&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; Shilling&nbsp; &nbsp; 12 pence&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; Sovereign&nbsp;&nbsp; Variable, depending on gold content.&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; Pound&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; 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.__________________________________me again... gold tends to weigh more, which this author doesn't really cover.&nbsp; According to <a href="http://www.onlineconversion.com/weight_common.htm" target="_blank">Online conversion</a> 1 pound equals 453.59237 grams.And, according to another site I found, a nickel weighs approximately 5 grams.That would give us a 90 nickels to 1 pound ratio.&nbsp; More or less.If we assume that gold nickel would weigh more than a standard nickel, a 50 gold nickels to 1 pound ratio wouldn't be out of the question.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="der_kluge, post: 1760611, member: 945"] I also have this file saved on my hard drive, which I always found to be interesting: HOW MUCH DOES A COIN WHEIGH? (Source unknown) 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 Conquerer (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 "longsword" 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 "longsword". 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. __________________________________ me again... gold tends to weigh more, which this author doesn't really cover. According to [URL=http://www.onlineconversion.com/weight_common.htm]Online conversion[/URL] 1 pound equals 453.59237 grams. And, according to another site I found, a nickel weighs approximately 5 grams. That would give us a 90 nickels to 1 pound ratio. More or less. If we assume that gold nickel would weigh more than a standard nickel, a 50 gold nickels to 1 pound ratio wouldn't be out of the question. [/QUOTE]

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