Electrum Pieces!!!

[Tuzenbach]

Hey, how come there's no more electrum pieces?! I'm gunna cry!

But seriously, what the hell's electrum, anyway?

What's it look like?

What's it weigh?

Why isn't it in 3E?

 

[Odhanan]

Hey, how come there's no more electrum pieces?! I'm gunna cry!

But seriously, what the hell's electrum, anyway?

What's it look like?

What's it weigh?

Why isn't it in 3E?

Heh. You remind me of one of the very first thoughts I had back in 2000 when reading the PHB. Indeed, I was wondering, "where the hell are the electrum pieces?!"

The simple answer is: you can reintroduce them to the game on your own. 1:5 GP, or whatever rate fits your imagination. Which makes me think...

 

[JustKim]

Electrum's an alloy of gold and silver. It looks paler than gold and more yellow than silver, a lot like a US quarter. All coins in D&D weigh the same, so I expect electrum would too. In 2E, their value was half a gp, so the ratio would actually be 1:5 silver, not gold.

Why is it not in 3E? The coinage system was revamped for simplicity. Platinum used to be worth 5 gp.

 

[Rogue765]

Electrum is a naturally occuring amalgamation of gold and silver. It was used as coins by the early Greeks because they did not have the technology to seperate the silver from the gold. As later people learned how to properly do this, electrum fell out of favor as a form of coinage.

Personally, I never liked electrum pieces in the game. If you want a coin that's half the value of a gold piece, just mint a gold piece that's half the weight, or cut a regular gold piece in half.

 

[Crothian]

My guess is that they got rid of electruim since so few people kne3w what it was.

 

[Tetsubo]

I have used electrum as an Elven form of currency. They made it into rings. Poor humans eventually started using them as wedding bands.

I've had Dwarves use mithril as coinage as well.

 

[Umbran]

Electrum's an alloy of gold and silver. It looks paler than gold and more yellow than silver, a lot like a US quarter.

Hr? I'm looking at a US quarter right now - but a nickel or dime would do, as they're all the same metal on the outside. While it is a copper-nickel alloy, it really isn't yellow at all. I'm holding it up to the fine silver I use to make jewelry, and while they don't have the same luster or sheen, the quarter is pretty much just as pale.

 

[JustKim]

Hr? I'm looking at a US quarter right now - but a nickel or dime would do, as they're all the same metal on the outside. While it is a copper-nickel alloy, it really isn't yellow at all. I'm holding it up to the fine silver I use to make jewelry, and while they don't have the same luster or sheen, the quarter is pretty much just as pale.

The yellow I'm referring to is the tarnish of a quarter that's been in circulation for a while. New quarters and new electrum may have the same steely color too, I've never seen anything new made of electrum. It was just for reference.

 

[Varianor Abroad]

This has "mess with PC heads" written all over it.

 

[TheAuldGrump]

Electrum's an alloy of gold and silver. It looks paler than gold and more yellow than silver, a lot like a US quarter. All coins in D&D weigh the same, so I expect electrum would too. In 2E, their value was half a gp, so the ratio would actually be 1:5 silver, not gold.

Why is it not in 3E? The coinage system was revamped for simplicity. Platinum used to be worth 5 gp.

It also often contained a trace of copper. I never did understand why it was in the game, other than a gamer showing off his erudition. (Not that I know anyone like that... )

I am actually more annoyed with Platinum coins. Minting platinum is a bear. (The stuff is harder than steel, which means that you can't use a steel press...)

The Auld Grump