GPs to $$

[CleverName]

I thought I read a rule of thumb conversion for $ to GPs in the DMG or PHB, but I can't find it.

If anyone remembers something like this, please let me know.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Viktyr Gehrig]

I don't remember any such conversion-- though, for a rule of thumb, remember that coins are assumed to be a tenth of a pound each.

Find the dollar price of gold per ounce (should be easy), then multiply that by 1.6.

 

[Geoff Watson]

You can't really have a GP/$ conversion, as there are many differences in finance and manufacturing.
The main difference is mass production (Modern items can be made cheaply in bulk, while D&D items have to be individually hand made).

Geoff.

 

[the Jester]

It doesn't convert well... I wouldn't even try for a rule of thumb, the variation is too great (imho).

 

[isoChron]

Hm, just take the gold prize nowadays and look how much a piece of gold weighs. Somewhere in the books is a rule for that.
If I remember it right its a pound per 1000 goldpieces. Can be wrong.
I'm not firm with the strange mass units like Pound and Ounce. Is it right that 1 pound is 16 ounces?
The prize for Gold in London is today 333Euro (or $) / ounce I think.
So 1 goldpiece would be 1.6 ounces at 532.8 Euro (or $).
Let's say 530 $.

If 100 goldpieces would weigh 1 pound this would be 5300 $ per goldpiece ... a little high.

In the middle ages a Fullplate with a sword and a warhorse were at the same prize with a small farm (all inclusive).

Fullplate: 1500 gp
Longsword: 15 gp
Warhorse (bit, bridle, military saddle): 422 gp
---------
1937 gp

1937gp * 530 $/gp = 1026610$.
1 Million $ for a medieval farm ? Think about it.

Copper was common, silver for the local traders, gold for the upper class and rich merchants. A medieval farmer has seldom seen a goldpiece and nearly never owned one.

DM: "Oh, it's only 2 gold for the room."
Player: "HOW MUCH ?!?"
DM: "2 ! And it comes with breakfeast."
Player: "ARGL !"

On the other side it is quite possible that no equation will fit.
My 2Cents

Bye

 

[Darkness]

Hm, just take the gold prize nowadays and look how much a piece of gold weighs. Somewhere in the books is a rule for that.
If I remember it right its a pound per 1000 goldpieces. Can be wrong.

It's 50 coins to a pound (PHB, p. 96 / DMG, p. 150).

 

[The Souljourner]

Hehe, we did this conversion once, using the price of a full grown cow as our measuring stick. Unfortunately that was in 2nd edition and now there's no price for cows that I see in the SRD.

So, let's go for meals... the price of meals stays about the same compared to everything else, right? So... a poor meal would be like a cheap McDonald's lunch, call it like $4. A common meal would be at like TGI Friday's at about $12 And a good meal would be a steak at the Outback at about $20. This all corresponds to 1 sp, 3sp, and 5 sp for those meals in the PHB.

So, if we assume 1sp = $4 (US$) then we see that a gold piece is about $40. Which makes a night's stay at a good inn $80, which seems reasonable. A mug of ale is $1.60, which is reasonable considering the quality of most of the ale back then.

Some of the prices seem to be kinda far off using $4 per silver piece, but it's not too far off.

-The Souljourner

 

[Datt]

I searched using Google and found this pretty cool website.
http://www.eh.net/hmit/goldprice/
According to it back in 1258, Medieval times I believe, the price of gold was 0.888889 British pound per fine ounce. This is measured in Troy ounces so, 12 Troy ounces = 1 Troy pound. I use Troy weight because that was the metric system standard back in the day and since I am comparing it to British pounds it only seems right.
0.888889 * 12 = 10.666668 pounds per pound of gold.
10.666668 pounds/lb / 50 gp/lb = 0.21333336 pounds/gp
1937 gp * 0.21333336 pounds/gp = ~413 pounds.



*edited for fuzzy math and clarification*

 

[The Souljourner]

Pounds per pound huh? Stupid British monetary system!

So you're saying 5gp = ~1 pound? That sounds like it makes everything awfully cheap... or did you mean pounds as they were valued back in the day?

-The Souljourner

 

[Datt]

This is pounds as they were vauled back in 1258. Not as todays standard. Inflation over the last 744 years has brought that up just a bit.