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For instance, how many US dollars or Pounds Sterling would one Galleon be worth?

Considering they are actual gold they should be fairly expensive, but is there some standardized exchange rate?

Russhiro
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  • Is there any practical way they could actually be less than the value of the gold as bullion? So doesn't this just boil down to "What was the 199x price of gold in USD?" – DavidW Oct 22 '19 at 17:16
  • That's the point; we can't know for certain, because very little is shown in how the muggle and magic worlds interact... but there logically has to be some cross over, and for that to happen, money transactions are needed. I find it hard to believe that an average employed wizard would be paid in galleons, thus making him multiple times wealthier than an average muggle, but then having issues blending into muggle society because there's simply no exchange rate. Even just for the Magic-Muggle governments to work together, a rate would have to be agreed upon, or one would go bankrupt – Russhiro Oct 22 '19 at 17:22
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    Have you read HPMOR? The protagonist (alt-Harry) arbitrages the differing silver-gold conversion rates between the wizarding world and the real world. My take on it is essentially that economics isn't something that JKR was terribly familiar with. – DavidW Oct 22 '19 at 17:25
  • @DavidW I suppose that makes sense. For all the details Rowling uses everywhere else in her story, though, one would think she'd give some details to how the financial system works for the currency she created. By that same token, are we to assume then that the entire Wizarding world works on the Galleon-standard? wouldn't other countries have their own wizarding currency? – Russhiro Oct 22 '19 at 17:36
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    For the last question see https://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/33813/are-the-wizard-coins-in-the-harry-potter-books-international/33833#33833 – DavidW Oct 22 '19 at 17:40
  • You might also check out https://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/123546/what-are-the-costs-of-books-and-materials-in-harry-potter – DavidW Oct 22 '19 at 17:41

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We know that there is an exchange rate; at the start of Chamber of Secrets, Hermione's parents are exchanging muggle money for wizarding money at Gringotts in Diagon Alley.

'But you’re Muggles!' said Mr. Weasley delightedly. 'We must have a drink! What’s that you’ve got there? Oh, you’re changing Muggle money. Molly, look!' He pointed excitedly at the ten-pound notes in Mr. Granger’s hand.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

JK Rowling has said that the exchange rate at the time was around £5 to the Galleon.

Rebecca Boswell - What is the approximate value of a galleon?
JK Rowling - About five pounds, though the exchange rate varies!

Comic Relief live chat transcript, March 2001. (http://www.accio-quote.org/articles/2001/0301-comicrelief-staff.htm)

Now, gold bullion prices in March 2001 were around £5.84 to the gram (https://www.bullionbypost.co.uk/gold-price/30-year-gold-price-history-pound-gram) - that means if a Galleon is solid gold, it should weigh less than a gram and be less than a twentieth of a cubic centimetre in size to remain consistent. Presumably they are instead some kind of gold coloured alloy, or Mr and Mrs Granger could easily become the richest dentists in Britain!

Showsni
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  • that was part of my point for asking this question! It seems odd that "only certain parents and muggles" would know about the magical world, and yet still be completely unaffected by it. That's pushing suspension of disbelief a little too far. – Russhiro Oct 23 '19 at 23:19