I wasn't sure I completely agreed with your gemstone sizes, I so I did wrote my own version, this is the result...
I listen to various D&D podcasts, and the one thing that has always bugged me is a character's ability to reach into their pockets and pay for an item that costs thousands of gold pieces. This got me thinking, even if someone paid for high end items in Platinum, that would still be many lbs worth of coins. So I wondered what other precious metals coins might be minted from in D&D.
The Player's Handbook states that 50 coins weigh 1lb making 1 coin approximately 1/3oz. To be exact, one coin weighs 0.32oz.
I found a webpage detailing the values per pound (lb) of each metal in D&D. While I already knew the 4 basic coin metals, I was interested to learn that Mithral was worth 5X more than Platinum, and Adamanatine was worth 10X more than Platinum. These two metals would make great high value coins, with the Mithral coin probably less common in circulation (similar to the Electrum coin). The addition of Adamanatine would automatically bring a 5,000GP item (100lb of coins) or 500PP (10lb of coins) item down to just 50AP (1lb of coins). I also noted that certain territories minted special coins that were really only usable within their borders (looking at you Waterdeep) for simplicity I have omitted these coins.
Then I got to thinking about currency in general and what the actual size of a coin might be. Thanks to the webpages I found, I not only had the values of the metals, but also their density in lbs/ft3.
Now while I do find pounds, ounces, feet, and inches easier to visualise. I feel they become unwieldy for smaller measurements. After some research I found that ounces can be split down further into drams and grains, but this is not easy to calculate on a machine programmed to work in base 10. Similarly fractions of an inch are just as awkward when you get down to 47/64ths etc. For this reason I decided to convert my results to the metric system.
I found a calculator online that allowed me to take the density for these metals and solve the volume of a given mass. From there I was able to reverse calculate the volume of each coin. The coins depicted in the Player’s Handbook are, I believe, specific to Waterdeep. Again, understanding that different territories will use different shapes for coins, I cannot possibly account for every coin shape a player may encounter. For this reason, and the sake of simplicity, I am assuming all coins are round and roughly 1.5-3mm thick.
Having figured out coinage, I remembered that Gems are also used as a form of currency. While there are defined values for Gems in the books, there is no mention of weight. Some research turned up some interesting results from earlier editions but it still didn't satisfy my curiosity.
So I researched the density (or specific gravity) of the various Gems. The results were given in g/cm3.
Then I had to decide what shape each gem would be. For simplicity (and with the exception of pearls which are spheroid) I categorized gems into 2 shapes, Cabochon (opaque stones) and Round Cut (transparent stones), and then determined size in mm based on the carat weights of each stone. I found a very handy gem weight calculator online that did all of the hard math for me 😊.
For visualisation purposes, Cabochons are generally pebble shaped, flat on the base with a domed surface, I have generalised thicknesses for each size category and assumed that stones are circular, or very close to circular.
Round cut stones are synonymous with diamonds, and gems in general (usually used to portray gems in cartoons etc) which is why I picked this particular cut. I have tried to keep the measurements as symmetrical as possible.
For all three types (cabochon, round cut, and spheroid) measurements are written as Length X Width X Depth of the stone in mm.
Now, back to D&D. In 5e, gemstones are listed with values, but no information as to size. Browsing the Internet, I discovered that the most comprehensive information regarding gemstones in D&D was published in the AD&D 1e DMG, with further refinements published in Dragon Magazine issue 8.
The tables published were still not exactly easy to read as they listed type or size against the same value of gem with a footnote stating that larger low value gems wold be worth the same as smaller high value gems.
There were originally 6 tiers of stone value... 10gp Ornamental / Very Small 50gp Semi-Precious / Small 100gp Fancy / Average 500gp Fancy (Precious) / Large 1,000gp Gem / Very Large 5,000gp Gem (Jewel) / Huge
For my tables, I removed the size from the value table as it makes things confusing. Instead the values listed in the table will represent an average sized stone of each tier. With a sliding Value-per-Carat scale based on stone actual size. Additionally I have pegged the weight of an "average" sized stone as 1 carat, and adapted the size values round that which allowed me to add one more size category (gigantic)...
So we will have a table of stone size/type with cost per carat listed in the grid denoting rarity.
Finally I have included a spell components table to visualise those also – note that where a stone is required to be in powdered form, or multiple stones are required to meet the designated value, I have used the lowest cost per carat as no-one in their right mind would grind up a more expensive (larger) stone unless absolutely necessary.
Standard Exchange Rates Including Mithral and Adamantine Coins
CP
SP
EP
GP
PP
MP
AP
Cp
1
1/10
1/50
1/100
1/1,000
1/5,000
1/10,000
SP
10
1
1/5
1/10
1/100
1/500
1/1,000
EP
50
5
1
1/2
1/20
1/100
1/200
GP
100
10
2
1
1/10
1/50
1/100
PP
1,000
100
20
10
1
1/5
1/10
MP
5,000
500
100
50
5
1
1/2
AP
10,000
1,000
200
100
10
2
1
Coin Dimensions
Coin
diameter (mm)
thickness (mm)
Copper
23.5
2.1
Silver
21.5
2.4
Electrum
18.5
2.4
Gold
16
2.4
Platinum
15
2.4
Mithral
30
3.2
Adamantine
27.5
2.4
Stones by category
Ornamental
Fancy
Semi Precious
Precious
Gem
Jewel
Agate (Banded)
Bloodstone
Amber
Alexandrite
Emerald
Diamond
Agate (Eye)
Carnelian
Amethyst
Aquamarie
Opal
Jacinth
Agate (Moss)
Chalcedony
Chrysoberyl
Black Pearl
Opal (Black)
Ruby
Azurite
Chrysoprase
Coral
Blue Spinel
Opal (Fire)
Sapphire (Black)
Quartz (Blue)
Citrine
Garnet
Peridot
Ruby (Star)
Hematite
Jaspeer
Jade
Topaz
Sapphire (Blue)
Lapis Lazuli
Jet
Pearl
Sapphire (Star)
Malachite
Moonstone
Spinel
Sapphire (Yellow)
Obsidian
Onyx
Tourmaline
Quartz (Star Rose)
Sardonyx
Zircon
Gold pieces per carat by tier and size
very small
small
average
large
very large
huge
gigantic
0.01ct-0.5ct
0.51ct-1ct
1.01ct-10ct
10.01ct-24ct
25.01ct-100ct
100.01ct-1,000ct
> 1000ct
Ornamental
1
5
10
50
100
500
1,000
Fancy
5
10
50
100
500
1,000
5,000
Semi Precious
10
50
100
500
1,000
5,000
10,000
Precious
50
100
500
1,000
5,000
10,000
50,000
Gem
100
500
1,000
5,000
10,000
50,000
100,000
Jewel
500
1,000
5,000
10,000
50,000
100,000
500,000
Example dimensions (mm) for specific carat weights
Excellent work! Really detailed and extremely useful for stuff like bags of holding, carrying capacity, and exploration.
Sidenote, I've heard some people under the impression that coins in d&d represent the actual value of the metal used in the coin (eg, you melt the coins into ingots and the ingots are worth the total of the coins), which is untrue. If that were the case 100 Copper (or 1 gold) would buy you a tablespoon of flour. They're currency, and similar to how pennies cost 2 cents to make in the US and a hundred dollar bill is a sheet of paper, they have value based on agreed worth not utility.
So, your prices for precious metals (dusts, rods, adamantium pieces) are off. they'd cost much less. if you base it off of the value of copper in pre-industrial societies, reasonably a copper piece will buy you about half a pound of regular copper.
Gems 10gp
agate azurite. Quarts (blue) hematite. Lapis lazui malachite. Indian
Gems 50 gp
bloodstone. Moonstone. Onyx. Amber amethyst. Jade pearl (white)
gems 500gp
garnet. Black pearl. Topaz (gold \yellow)
Gems 1000gp
EMERALD opel. Sapphire. Ruby
gems. 5000gp
emerald (clear) diamond.
———————————————————
SIZE. WEIGHT. × BASE VALUE
6'dia. 14 ibs. 50000gp
3'dia. 2 ibs. 5000gp
2'dia. ½ ibs. 1000gp
1'dia. 0.064 ibs. 100gp
½'dia. 0.008. Ibs. 20gp
¼' dia 0.001 ibs. BASE VALUE
⅛'dia. 0.000125 ibs. BASE VALUE \10
This is my opinion if you have any questions please contact me
ENJOY!!
Hi Im the nimble king
Please follow and comment
Hi Im the nimble king
Indian was a mistake sorry
Hi Im the nimble king
Hi there,
All of the gems for use in treasure are listed here.
Pun-loving nerd | She/Her/Hers | Profile art by Becca Golins
If you need help with homebrew, please post on the homebrew forums, where multiple staff and moderators can read your post and help you!
"We got this, no problem! I'll take the twenty on the left - you guys handle the one on the right!"🔊
okay thanks i only did this for weight value
Hi Im the nimble king
Hi there, I just did something similar for coins (I can share later if you're interested)
How did you get the diameter/weights of your gems?
I wasn't sure I completely agreed with your gemstone sizes, I so I did wrote my own version, this is the result...
I listen to various D&D podcasts, and the one thing that has always bugged me is a character's ability to reach into their pockets and pay for an item that costs thousands of gold pieces. This got me thinking, even if someone paid for high end items in Platinum, that would still be many lbs worth of coins. So I wondered what other precious metals coins might be minted from in D&D.
The Player's Handbook states that 50 coins weigh 1lb making 1 coin approximately 1/3oz. To be exact, one coin weighs 0.32oz.
I found a webpage detailing the values per pound (lb) of each metal in D&D. While I already knew the 4 basic coin metals, I was interested to learn that Mithral was worth 5X more than Platinum, and Adamanatine was worth 10X more than Platinum. These two metals would make great high value coins, with the Mithral coin probably less common in circulation (similar to the Electrum coin). The addition of Adamanatine would automatically bring a 5,000GP item (100lb of coins) or 500PP (10lb of coins) item down to just 50AP (1lb of coins). I also noted that certain territories minted special coins that were really only usable within their borders (looking at you Waterdeep) for simplicity I have omitted these coins.
Then I got to thinking about currency in general and what the actual size of a coin might be. Thanks to the webpages I found, I not only had the values of the metals, but also their density in lbs/ft3.
Now while I do find pounds, ounces, feet, and inches easier to visualise. I feel they become unwieldy for smaller measurements. After some research I found that ounces can be split down further into drams and grains, but this is not easy to calculate on a machine programmed to work in base 10.
Similarly fractions of an inch are just as awkward when you get down to 47/64ths etc. For this reason I decided to convert my results to the metric system.
I found a calculator online that allowed me to take the density for these metals and solve the volume of a given mass. From there I was able to reverse calculate the volume of each coin. The coins depicted in the Player’s Handbook are, I believe, specific to Waterdeep. Again, understanding that different territories will use different shapes for coins, I cannot possibly account for every coin shape a player may encounter. For this reason, and the sake of simplicity, I am assuming all coins are round and roughly 1.5-3mm thick.
Having figured out coinage, I remembered that Gems are also used as a form of currency. While there are defined values for Gems in the books, there is no mention of weight. Some research turned up some interesting results from earlier editions but it still didn't satisfy my curiosity.
So I researched the density (or specific gravity) of the various Gems. The results were given in g/cm3.
Then I had to decide what shape each gem would be. For simplicity (and with the exception of pearls which are spheroid) I categorized gems into 2 shapes, Cabochon (opaque stones) and Round Cut (transparent stones), and then determined size in mm based on the carat weights of each stone. I found a very handy gem weight calculator online that did all of the hard math for me 😊.
For visualisation purposes, Cabochons are generally pebble shaped, flat on the base with a domed surface, I have generalised thicknesses for each size category and assumed that stones are circular, or very close to circular.
Round cut stones are synonymous with diamonds, and gems in general (usually used to portray gems in cartoons etc) which is why I picked this particular cut. I have tried to keep the measurements as symmetrical as possible.
For all three types (cabochon, round cut, and spheroid) measurements are written as Length X Width X Depth of the stone in mm.
Now, back to D&D. In 5e, gemstones are listed with values, but no information as to size. Browsing the Internet, I discovered that the most comprehensive information regarding gemstones in D&D was published in the AD&D 1e DMG, with further refinements published in Dragon Magazine issue 8.
The tables published were still not exactly easy to read as they listed type or size against the same value of gem with a footnote stating that larger low value gems wold be worth the same as smaller high value gems.
There were originally 6 tiers of stone value...
10gp Ornamental / Very Small
50gp Semi-Precious / Small
100gp Fancy / Average
500gp Fancy (Precious) / Large
1,000gp Gem / Very Large
5,000gp Gem (Jewel) / Huge
For my tables, I removed the size from the value table as it makes things confusing. Instead the values listed in the table will represent an average sized stone of each tier. With a sliding Value-per-Carat scale based on stone actual size.
Additionally I have pegged the weight of an "average" sized stone as 1 carat, and adapted the size values round that which allowed me to add one more size category (gigantic)...
So we will have a table of stone size/type with cost per carat listed in the grid denoting rarity.
Finally I have included a spell components table to visualise those also – note that where a stone is required to be in powdered form, or multiple stones are required to meet the designated value, I have used the lowest cost per carat as no-one in their right mind would grind up a more expensive (larger) stone unless absolutely necessary.
Holy crap, I don't even play Fifth Edition and this is fantastic. I'm gonna put this in Silver standard and use it in my games. Thanks a lot!
Excellent work! Really detailed and extremely useful for stuff like bags of holding, carrying capacity, and exploration.
Sidenote, I've heard some people under the impression that coins in d&d represent the actual value of the metal used in the coin (eg, you melt the coins into ingots and the ingots are worth the total of the coins), which is untrue. If that were the case 100 Copper (or 1 gold) would buy you a tablespoon of flour. They're currency, and similar to how pennies cost 2 cents to make in the US and a hundred dollar bill is a sheet of paper, they have value based on agreed worth not utility.
So, your prices for precious metals (dusts, rods, adamantium pieces) are off. they'd cost much less. if you base it off of the value of copper in pre-industrial societies, reasonably a copper piece will buy you about half a pound of regular copper.