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ShortQuests -- Pocket Sized Adventures! An all-new collection of digest-sized D&D adventures designed for 1-2 game sessions.

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="tomBitonti" data-source="post: 1760993" data-attributes="member: 13107">(1) a typical coin measures slightly more than 1" in diameter, 1/10" thick.(2) a cubic foot holds approx 12,000 stacked coins (stacked, not loose)(3) a cubic foot of loose coins fills approx 5 feet x 5 feet x 1/2" depth, or 3 feet x 3 feet by 1".Working backwards;(3) is OK:One cu ft has 1728 cu in;    5 ft x 5 ft x 0.5 in    60 in x 60 in x 0.5 in    1800 cu in    3 ft x 3 ft x 1.0 in    36 in x 36 in x 1.0 in    1300 cu inThe first figure is probably close enough for gov't work;it's a little low once you throw in the packing density.The second figure is somewhat low, expecially when packingis thrown in (a depth of 1.5 in probably is more correct,with packing), but still close enough.(2) is a bit off -- for stacked coins:Working from the coin volume:    pi * (0.5 in) ^ 2 * 0.10 inyields    0.075 cu in / coinAs a side note, based on this, a 75% packing should easily bepossible for stacked coins.One cu ft has 1728 cu in; 0.075 cu in / coin gives us:    23,000 coins / cu ft [1.00 pack]    17,000 coins / cu ft [0.75 pack] (about)That's with a simple rectangular stack, which is less dense than ahexagonal pack.(1) Doesn't jive with the figure of 50 coins / lb:Working from 18 ct yellow gold @ 1000 lbs / sq ft:    1000 lbs / (12 in) ^ 3    1000 lbs / 1728 cu inOr,     0.58 lb / cu in    1.72 cu in / lbCoin densities work out to:    13.3 coins / cu in [1.00 pack]    10.0 coins / cu in [0.75 pack]That is:    17.2 coins / lb (18 ct yellow gold)For silver, one has:      Silver SG: 10.5 gm / ccHowever, this example doesn't use pure gold; instead,"18 ct yellow gold" is used, with about 5/6 the densityof pure gold:        Gold SG: 19.3 gm / cc  18 CT Gold SG: 16.1 gm /ccThat gives:    26.4 coins / lb (Silver)There is a little improvement with tin, copper, and electrum:         Tin SG: 7.3 gm /cc    Electrum SG: 8.5 gm /cc      Copper SG: 8.9 gm / ccGiving coin yields:    38.0 coins / lb (Tin)    32.6 coins / lb (Electrum)    31.1 coins / lb (Copper)Allowing for further adulteration of the gold, the followingseem reasonable:    gold:   20 coins / lb   [orig: 17.2]    silver: 30 coins / lb   [orig: 26.4]    copper: 35 coins / lb   [orig: 31.1]    tin:    40 coins / lb   [orig: 38.0]I've deliberately asjusted the counts high to allow for alloyswith lighter, lesser value metals.</blockquote>

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