D&D 5E (2014) Value of 1 lb. of mithral?

[KarinsDad]

Oops. Misread OP's post.

 

[aramis erak]

D&D has always stipulated that 50 coins equate to 1 pound. But mithral/adamantine do have different wieghts, so we can assume that 50 adam. coins weighs much more than 50 copper coins.

So the whole thing is flawed.

No, it has not. In fact, 3E is the first place I recall seeing 50 cn = 1 lb.
Holmes (page 9) gives a 300 coins to 30 pounds as the limit of a bag.
Moldvay/Cook BX used 10 cn = 1 lb. (B63).
Mentzer BECMI uses 1 pound = 10 cn. (Basic, P 61)
Alston's Cyclopedia also uses 10 cn = 1 lb. (p. 226)
AD&D 1E specifies 10 cn to 1 pound as well (PHB 9)

I can't find the reference for coin weights in the Core Rules 2.0 PHB RTF...

And Holmes, Moldvay, Mentzer, Alston, and Gygax all had all coins (for convenience) measured at 10 to the pound.
3.0 and later used a much more realistic (but still heavy) 50 to the pound. The Roman denarius was 240 to the troy-pound, or about 291 to the US pound (643 to the kg)... as were early medieval silver pennies (typically of 90% silver, 10% copper and/or tin for durability).

Edit: For comparison US coins per pound, rounded nearest integer
Penny 181, Nickel 91, dime 200, Quarter 80, half dollar 40, dollar 56.
And UK coins: penny: 127, two pence 64, 5d. 140, 10d 70, 20d 91, 50d 56, 1£ 48, 2£ 38, 5£ 16
The €2 coin is about 53 per pound. The €1 is about 60.5 per pound, and the €0.01 is about 197 per pound.

http://www.usmint.gov/about_the_mint/?action=coin_specifications
http://www.royalmint.com/discover/uk-coins/coin-design-and-specifications
http://europa.eu/legislation_summar...roducing_euro_practical_aspects/l25028_en.htm
​

Now, as to Mithral... I've assumed it's just another name for platinum myself...
Silver in color: check.
Harder than iron: check
nearly impossible to work with medieval tools: check
not meltable with a typical blacksmith's forge: check
Worth more than gold: Check (tho' only a few dollars an ounce more recently)

Tho' I'm tempted to make it 10x as valuable as platinum, just for S&G's...

 

[Celebrim]

Now, as to Mithral... I've assumed it's just another name for platinum myself...

I don't think it was intended to be any real metal, but its described properties make it closer to Titanium.

 

[Agglomérante]

It's just lightweight steel, imho.

 

[aramis erak]

I don't think it was intended to be any real metal, but its described properties make it closer to Titanium.

Excellent point... hadn't thought of that... but yeah, half the mass, and stronger still... either one will do.

 

[Agglomérante]

Well, there's always 3.5e:

http://www.d20srd.org/srd/specialMaterials.htm#mithral

Mithral is a very rare silvery, glistening metal that is lighter than iron but just as hard. When worked like steel, it becomes a wonderful material from which to create armor and is occasionally used for other items as well. Most mithral armors are one category lighter than normal for purposes of movement and other limitations. Heavy armors are treated as medium, and medium armors are treated as light, but light armors are still treated as light. Spell failure chances for armors and shields made from mithral are decreased by 10%, maximum Dexterity bonus is increased by 2, and armor check penalties are lessened by 3 (to a minimum of 0).

An item made from mithral weighs half as much as the same item made from other metals. In the case of weapons, this lighter weight does not change a weapon’s size category or the ease with which it can be wielded (whether it is light, one-handed, or two-handed). Items not primarily of metal are not meaningfully affected by being partially made of mithral. (A longsword can be a mithral weapon, while a scythe cannot be.)

Weapons or armors fashioned from mithral are always masterwork items as well; the masterwork cost is included in the prices given below.

Mithral has 30 hit points per inch of thickness and hardness 15.

[table="width: 500, class: grid, align: left"]
[tr]
[th]Type of Mithral Item[/th]
[th]Item Cost Modifier[/th]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Light armour[/td]
[td]+1,000gp[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Medium armour[/td]
[td]+4,000pg[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Heavy armour[/td]
[td]+9,000gp[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Shield[/td]
[td]+1,000pg[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Other item[/td]
[td]+500gp/lb[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]

I'd add some expense for the difficulty in working with mithral, say. It takes longer. Still, 500gp per pound without the deduction works out to 10,000gp for a single 20lb mithral ingot. Too valuable for my scenario, alas.

 

[EvanNave55]

influx caused lower market price

One other thing to keep in mind is that if there is this mine with tons of mithral here, the huge influx of mithral will cause the market price of it to plummet. IMHO I think the market price of mithral within a region around this mine would actually be lower than gold. However this could vary wildly so you could use this to justify any price lower than normal near the cave.

 

[Agglomérante]

One other thing to keep in mind is that if there is this mine with tons of mithral here, the huge influx of mithral will cause the market price of it to plummet. IMHO I think the market price of mithral within a region around this mine would actually be lower than gold. However this could vary wildly so you could use this to justify any price lower than normal near the cave.

Good idea!

In my scenario the Phandelver mine's been running for hundreds of years with skeletal miners. I did the math using the 1e DMG mining table and even if there's just a trace of mithral in the host rock (0.001% if memory serves) it works out to a 60' cube stack of smelted mithral after 500 years of three shifts of 10 skeletons digging.

 

[TarionzCousin]

In my scenario the Phandelver mine's been running for hundreds of years with skeletal miners. I did the math using the 1e DMG mining table and even if there's just a trace of mithral in the host rock (0.001% if memory serves) it works out to a 60' cube stack of smelted mithral after 500 years of three shifts of 10 skeletons digging.

Is that with or without smoke breaks?

#undeadrights!

 

[jrowland]

As an aside,

I've always considered Mithral to be equivalent to a modern steel, essentially an alloyed stainless steel like SAE 630 uh...HERE SOMEWHERE.

Dwarves and Elves know the secrets to alloying steel and manufacture mithral. It's not found in nature, and in my games, mithral trade bars make no sense (you make mithral for a functional PURPOSE, you trade/ship the components: Chromium, iron, nickel, Vanadium, etc) YMMV

FWIW, Adamantium I have from meteorites only (material plane) or more common in the outer/inner planes as a regular mined metal.

Back on topic, J.R.R. Tolkiens Middle Earth when the Dwarves still populated and mined moria, it was worth 10 times its weight in gold. Of course, by the time of the hobbit, it was effectively priceless. So 10x weight in gold seems about right if you want Mithral Trade Bars.