i did a search and nothing came up but if there is something please stop this a send me to the right place.
ok here is something i have always wondered, ok in SS/PS Hagrid says
to harry in gringotts
"seventeen silver Sickles to a Galleon and twenty nine knuts to a sickle"
harrys wand cost 7 galleons and the way a galleon is portrayed in the books is good bit of money, for just one.
So what i want to know is how much do you think it is converted into our money(u.s. Dollars, Euros, etc...)
Full Version: Wizard Money
I always wondered about that, for the longest time, but then I came across this site which, with a combination of the folks at CNN and at Money magazine, converts HP money to American muggle and vise versa. :]
So Harry's wand would cost $33.75
So Harry's wand would cost $33.75
thanks thats quite a cool calculator, i kinda wonder how they figured out the conversions though?
I'm guessing they guessed the conversion amount. 
Unless of course JK gave the site with that nifty converter some outlines (which I'm assuming she didn't), otherwise it doesn't tell us anywhere in the books what a pound is to a galleon...ect. I think it's assumed, as the books are read, that the golden galleon holds more weight than either the US dollar or the pound. Just an opinion though. 
Unless of course JK gave the site with that nifty converter some outlines (which I'm assuming she didn't), otherwise it doesn't tell us anywhere in the books what a pound is to a galleon...ect. I think it's assumed, as the books are read, that the golden galleon holds more weight than either the US dollar or the pound. Just an opinion though.
| QUOTE (Peyton @ Mar 23 2006, 03:02 PM) |
| So Harry's wand would cost $33.75 |
I don't know why, but I always expected a wand to go for a heck of a lot more than that. I don't know how much exactly- I'll say over a hunderd though.
I guess I saw the wands as being worth more than spell books and text books over here go for anything between $30 and $200.
I probably would have thought that a knut probably wouldn't be worth more than 20-30c, so a sickle would then be about $8.70 which would then make a galleon almost $150.... which times by seven is waaaaay more than I thought a wand would be.....
I guess considering though that a wand is like the MAJOR tool of all wizards, you'd expect them to be long lasting, pretty decent quality and in general an expensive wizarding item... so maybe I should be working backwards instead.
I agree with Pixymajik. In CoS when Ron breaks his wand it is portrayed at a really big deal. Yes, I know the Weasleys are poor, but poor as they are, I can't see them freaking out about $33 (not sure how many pounds that is).
well i remeber in one of the books they go to gringotts and harry sees that they only had one galleon in their vault, also too in the books i dont think you can quite go off of the weaslys for how much something is becuase i think ultimatly money is a huge deal for them. Maybe wizard economics are not like ours were [you] know 5 bucks is like nothing were 1 galleon to them is quite an effort.
oh as for the calculator i found a link underneath it, it says they worked the calculator from the little thin books that scholastic sells i guess there like little extra things that go along with the books or something, they said that in the price thing it says like 3.99 then how many sickles and knuts that is so they then transferred that over and made the caluculator.
Edited for minor netspeak- you really should know by now
oh as for the calculator i found a link underneath it, it says they worked the calculator from the little thin books that scholastic sells i guess there like little extra things that go along with the books or something, they said that in the price thing it says like 3.99 then how many sickles and knuts that is so they then transferred that over and made the caluculator.
Edited for minor netspeak- you really should know by now
| QUOTE (cesador @ Mar 25 2006, 05:57 PM) |
| well i remeber in one of the books they go to gringotts and harry sees that they only had one galleon in their vault, also too in the books i dontthink you can quite go off of the weaslys for how much something is becuase i think ultimatly money is a huge deal for them. |
I understand what you are saying about the differences in economy (1 galleon might be a huge amount), however that would mean that any interactions with the Muggle world could cause loads of problems.
Think for example in a couple of directions- Firstly, all Muggle borns who for round figures earn $100 a day would have roughly 21Galleons. Or three wands. Or 21 times the amount that the Weasley had in their vault. So Hermione and all of the other Muggle borns are pretty much set in the wizarding world in terms of cash.
Secondly, if a person- Mundungas for example- could get their hands on that Muggle $100, can you imagine just what they could rip off in the wizarding world
I'd be interested in knowing more about that price that you said- I wonder if JKR actually worked it out or if somone just decided to slap it on there and think that it was a good amount without actually thinking it out.
I guess what I'm thinking is that if the Weasley only have a Galleon in their bank account to buy books and equipment for the 5 children that were going to school, I'm thinking-even second books- that's got to be worth a bit of money.
Haha, 
it never occured to me that it was not true conversions. But yeah, here, what they say they used is a on one of the books that scholastic publishes as a "the textbooks used by Harry Potter and his friends at Hogwarts." (Fantasic Beasts and Where to Find Them and Quidditch Through the Ages, I'm guessing) and the back of the book said $3.99 and along side it was written "(14 sickles, 3 knuts)" I'm not sure though.
it never occured to me that it was not true conversions. But yeah, here, what they say they used is a on one of the books that scholastic publishes as a "the textbooks used by Harry Potter and his friends at Hogwarts." (Fantasic Beasts and Where to Find Them and Quidditch Through the Ages, I'm guessing) and the back of the book said $3.99 and along side it was written "(14 sickles, 3 knuts)" I'm not sure though.
J.K Rowling said in an interview with comic relief about how much they are worth:
1 Galleon is worth about £5.12, or US$9.06
1 Sickle is worth slightly more than 30 pence (30.103...)
1 Knut is worth slightly more than 1 penny (1.038...)
wizarding world currency converter
1 Galleon is worth about £5.12, or US$9.06
1 Sickle is worth slightly more than 30 pence (30.103...)
1 Knut is worth slightly more than 1 penny (1.038...)
wizarding world currency converter
in half blood prince it said harry's potions text book was for 9 galleons, that means $43! thats quite expensive
Ive always guessed that compared to world currency, the wizarding "dollar" is alot less because I'm sure money would be a problem for some muggle born wizards and they always seem to be well off.
That CNN thing is accurate. I own Magical Beasts and it does say 14 sickles 2 knuts. Thats the same conversion I got.
The Daily Prophet must have a boatload of suscribers because they only charge 1 knut for the morning edition. But they also have an evening edition and they most likely use magic to print so they only pay reporters/editors etc. The lexicon says it costs more but I remember reading a passage wear it says that Hermione slipped a bronze knut into the birds carrying purse.
Also, if we presume that CNN is right, the cursed necklace is 7232.27 US dollars. The triwizard winnings were 4821.52. Fred and Georges total savings = 182.68
One thing that really mystifies me is that the Weasleys could afford all those apparation courses. Each one costs 12 galleons which is equal to around $58 dollars.
The Lexicon is in British funds and I don't know if its totally acurate so I converted the Galleon/Sickle price on CNN. Theres more if you want to do them yuorself.
We also get to see how much money Harry actually has when he just buys three omniculars which total around 166 dollars for all three.
That CNN thing is accurate. I own Magical Beasts and it does say 14 sickles 2 knuts. Thats the same conversion I got.
The Daily Prophet must have a boatload of suscribers because they only charge 1 knut for the morning edition. But they also have an evening edition and they most likely use magic to print so they only pay reporters/editors etc. The lexicon says it costs more but I remember reading a passage wear it says that Hermione slipped a bronze knut into the birds carrying purse.
Also, if we presume that CNN is right, the cursed necklace is 7232.27 US dollars. The triwizard winnings were 4821.52. Fred and Georges total savings = 182.68
One thing that really mystifies me is that the Weasleys could afford all those apparation courses. Each one costs 12 galleons which is equal to around $58 dollars.
The Lexicon is in British funds and I don't know if its totally acurate so I converted the Galleon/Sickle price on CNN. Theres more if you want to do them yuorself.
We also get to see how much money Harry actually has when he just buys three omniculars which total around 166 dollars for all three.
| QUOTE (rockerniks @ Mar 26 2006, 08:55 AM) |
| in half blood prince it said harry's potions text book was for 9 galleons, that means $43! thats quite expensive |
Not really- I think that would work out to be about $100 where I am which is pretty normal for a decent sized textbook- both high school and Uni. My old Chemistry book was a little over $80 AUS.
I have always thought wands were a thing that you would keep until you're dead, but I never knew something that you would keep all your life would cost a mere 33 dollars! I have always imagined wands to be about 500 dollars. (all this money is in US currency!!) Hmmmmm... I guess I'll check out the CNN website.
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