Coinage
A standard [d20] coin weighs about a third of an ounce, so fifty coins weigh a pound.
| Coin | cp | sp | ep | gp | pp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Copper (cp) | 1 | 1⁄10 | 1⁄50 | 1⁄100 | 1⁄1000 |
| Silver (sp) | 10 | 1 | 1⁄5 | 1⁄10 | 1⁄100 |
| Electrum (ep) | 50 | 5 | 1 | 1⁄2 | 1⁄20 |
| Gold (gp) | 100 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 1⁄10 |
| Platinum (pp) | 1000 | 100 | 20 | 10 | 1 |
Background
Original D&D—“Basic” through Rules Cyclopedia—coins have an encumbrance of ∼ 1⁄10 pound each.
More specifically, encumbrance (enc.) is a combination of the weight and clumsiness of gear measured in coin-weight equivalents (cn), where 1 𝖼𝗇 equals approximately 1⁄10 of a pound in weight and awkwardness. For example, a 1⁄2 lb wineskin filled with a quart of water/wine (∼2 lb), would weigh ∼25 𝖼𝗇, but has an enc. of 30 𝖼𝗇.