Currency

For how to make money, see Money making guide.

For the value of the items, see item value.

Currency in Thedas is based on gold, silver, and bronze coins. While terms vary from country to country, the ratio equivalent of said coins are the same throughout. One gold coin is worth one hundred silver and ten thousand copper.

Bits and silvers, with their lower worth, are the more frequently used coins, whereas the highly valuable sovereigns are rarer.

Coin is used in most human and dwarven societies. Cultures that have little value for coins, such as the Dalish, commonly exchange goods instead.

Background

The standard currency was developed by the Dwarven Merchants' Guild, making the dwarves the first race to create the coinage. Particularly expensive transactions may be completed in "bars" (solid bricks) and "strands" (stacked groups), but those are the province of merchant guilds and governments, and thus rarely seen in regular commerce.

The following information is only mentioned in Dragon Age Tabletop. Certain portions of this media may no longer reflect currently established lore.

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It is said that the currency was standardized when dwarven merchants used their influence and refused to accept any other currency that did not meet their specifications; this forced most nations to quickly convert.

List of Coins

Andris coin

Sovereigns/Silvers/Bits

The gold/silver/bronze coins of Ferelden, respectively.

Royals/Crowns/Pennies

The gold/silver/bronze coins of Orlais, respectively.

King's Gulder

The gold coins of Nevarra.

Caprice coin

Double Griffon

The gold coins of the Anderfels.

Andris

The currency of Antiva. The coins feature images of famous guild leaders as opposed to rulers. An amount of five thousand andris has come to be known as "one bastard," which is occasionally used as veiled insult in negotiations. One andris is equivalent to one royal.

Andraste's Tear

Created as an experiment to see if a nonmetallic coin would catch on for collectors' purposes, Andraste's Tear was made of glass, influenced by the makers of Serault Glassworks. One coin is worth five royals.

Tesserae coin

Caprice

Caprice coins are adorned with family heraldry or designs based on a singular event. Used as part of grand parties in Orlais, the coins are intended to be disposable and have a "small" weight in gold. Orlesian nobility exchange the coins as a reward for dashing remarks and grace.

Imperial Tesserae

In the Tevinter Imperium, tesserae coins are used to allow entry to certain events. Collectors favour those created for combat. The more intimate the event, such as a private minstrel performance, the higher the value. After the event has passed however, they mean little more than a souvenir.

Symbols

• Copper piece
• Silver piece
• Gold piece

• Bronze pieces
• Silver pieces
• Gold pieces

Notes

• "The Traveller's Bend" was a practice used on what would become the Imperial Highway. As a means of thwarting bandits, gold coins would be beaten into a curved shape to fit under the tongue or upon the palate. It was not unknown for someone to choke on their own cache. The trend died out when it was linked to the illness known as "miser's madness," caused by hiding lesser Hunter Fell currency struck from lead.

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This section contains spoilers for:
Dragon Age: Origins.

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Zevran claims he'd charge five thousand andris for killing Alistair. This is of course, poking at the fact that he's Maric's bastard son.