Money
Appearance: Knuts - small and bronze; Sickles
– silver; Galleons – gold and unusually large.
Function: Magical currency.
How to Use: Wizard money, in the shape of the
three types of coin, is used for all purchases of goods in the wizarding world.
There is no mention anywhere of the notion of credit or alternative payment
methods.
Notes: There are 17 Sickles to a Galleon, and
29 Knuts to a Sickle. This makes a Galleon worth 493 Knuts.
The exchange rate between Galleons and British Pounds (and US
Dollars) can be inferred from information given in Professor Dumbledore’s
foreword to “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them”. Here, £174m
is equated to 34,000,872 Galleons, 14 Sickles and 7 Knuts. This means the
exact exchange rate is as follows (information on the exchange rate between
British Pounds and US Dollars is correct at time of writing):
1 Galleon = £5.12 = $9.30 (approx)
1 Sickle = £0.30 = $0.57 (approx)
1 Knut = £0.01 = $0.02 (approx)
This ties in with information given by JK in an interview where
she said that a Galleon was worth approximately £5.
Gringott’s is the wizarding bank, and its main UK branch
is located in Diagon Alley. Gringott’s differs from other banks in that
instead of investing the money deposited by its customers, it simply places
it in locked vaults located in a series of catacombs below the building. Therefore
when you return to collect your cash, you get exactly the same coins back
that you left there. And you don’t get any interest. On the plus side,
Gringotts is deemed impossible to steal from. Muggle visitors to Diagon Alley
can also exchange Muggle money for Galleons at Gringott’s, as the Grangers
did when they visited in 1992.
Harry has a large amount of money in stored in his vault, which
he inherited from his parents. He also won 1000 Galleons in the Triwizard
Tournament in 1995, which he gave to Fred and George Weasley.
Leprechauns have a habit of throwing gold coins to onlookers,
but don’t be fooled: Leprechaun gold looks identical to ordinary magical
money, but disappears within a few hours.
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