Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter/Magic/Money
From Wikibooks, the open-content textbooks collection
| Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter - Magic | |
| Wizarding Money | |
|---|---|
| Type | Object |
| Features | Coins |
| First Appearance | Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone |
Contents |
[edit] Overview
Wizarding money comes in three denominations: bronze Knuts, silver Sickles, and golden Galleons. 29 Knuts make up one Sickle, and there are 17 Sickles in a Galleon.
[edit] Extended Description
Wizarding money comes in coins only, there are no Galleon bills; as such, wizards have money pouches that they typically hang off their belts, under their robes, rather than wallets.
[edit] Analysis
There are a number of different calculations about the value of the individual pieces of Wizard currency. The author has stated that a Galleon is worth about £3, and also that it is worth about £5, in two separate books, and again that it is worth about £5 in an interview; and internal evidence in the fourth and later books seems to match this. However, internal evidence in the first three books could suggest a value closer to £50 to £200 for the value of a Galleon.
In Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Hagrid instructs Harry to pay the owl 5 knuts for his copy of the Daily Prophet. In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Hermione pays an owl 1 Knut for the Prophet. If the price of the Prophet is in line with Muggle newspapers, that means that 1 Knut should be about US $0.20 to US$1.00 (the price of a newspaper being about US$1.00 in 1991). This makes a Sickle worth somewhere between $6.00 and $30.00, and gives a Galleon a value of between $100 (£50) and $500 (£200).
It is also mentioned, in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone that Harry paid seven Galleons for his wand; and that Ron was using his brother's old wand, with the implication that they could not afford a new one. An expenditure of £35 (at £5 to the Galleon) is relatively small, but in retrospect does serve to indicate Ron's family's grinding poverty, which we also see in later books. Some have said that it would make more sense to have a wand, which is after all usually a once-in-a-lifetime purchase, be valued at £350 to £1400, and this would make it more likely that Ron's family could ill-afford to buy a new wand for Ron, instead giving him "Charlie's old wand"; however, this is not necessary to the story, and makes the Weasleys' lack of funds all the more striking.
In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Fred and George are selling Canary Cream tricks for 7 Sickles each. Based on the above calculation, that would make the price of these $42 to $210 each. This is rather an excessive amount for a 15-second prank; if a Galleon is worth £5, though, then 7 Sickles would be about £2 ($5), a reasonable value for that joke. In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the price of a Butterbeer in the Hog's Head is given as two Sickles, which would be $12 to $60 a bottle by the pricing scheme in the first three books; at £5 to the Galleon, though, 2 Sickles would be about £0.60 ($1.20), a reasonable price.
It is possible that the author simply had not worked out the conversion from Wizarding to Muggle money until time came to write the forewords of Quidditch Through the Ages and Magical Beasts and Where to Find Them, which came out after the first three books were written. It is also possible that the author, in writing those forewords, confused the values of the Sickle and the Galleon, as the apparent value of the Sickle in the first three books does tally with the stated value of the Galleon. It's certainly true that Wizarding prices in the fourth and later books of the series match the values given in those two books and the interview, with the exception of the price for The Daily Prophet. One wonders if, having arbitrarily set the price of the Prophet as 5 Knuts in the first book, the author was at all concerned that this gave it a street value of £0.05 ($0.10). On the other hand, the use of magic will significantly distort the economy from what we Muggles expect, because chattels can be created and changed to other chattels effectively at no economic cost; so it is entirely possible that the Prophet can still turn a profit at a cost of 5 Knuts (or even 1 Knut) an issue.
[edit] Questions
- What role does money have in the books, with particular reference to the Weasleys and the Malfoys?
- Are the Weasleys happier than Harry despite having less money?
- How does Harry view the money left to him by his parents in view of the years he has spent at the Dursleys?
[edit] Greater Picture
The economics of the Harry Potter universe are simpler than the Muggle world and are also only vaguely defined. It is mostly a public sector economy with the Ministry of Magic the largest employer and supplier of services. However the taxation to finance the Ministry is never mentioned.
Currency is based on precious metal coins minted by goblins requiring no fiduciary reserve. Gringotts Bank provides only two services, the vault storage of valuables (mostly gold) and the exchange of Muggle money into wizard money. There is no interest on deposits, and no loans in the Muggle sense.
Although there is a wide variety of consumer goods available in Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade, there appear to be no factories or other large scale manufacturing capital in the Wizarding World. Products and goods are manufactured by individual artisans and small firms in a pre-industrial business model. With the use of magic the productivity of these artisans is sufficient to satisfy the demand of the Wizarding community. For example, Mr. Ollivander appears to work alone crafting fine wands. However he is able to provide wands for most of the wizards in Britain.
Transportation and communication are regulated by the Ministry and in some cases owned and operated by the Ministry (such as the Floo Network, Hogwarts Express and Knight Bus). However, most transportation and communication are accomplished by individuals without a public infrastructure. Examples include apparation, owl post and brooms.
Wealth and poverty are both plot themes in the Harry Potter universe, but how rich families (such as the Malfoys) became wealthy is not known. Most characters must work for a living (just like the Muggle world). Wages and salaries vary widely and many characters are concerned about their finances. Underpaid workers, such as Mr. Weasley, struggle to support their families. Unemployable characters (such as Lupin) live marginal existences in poverty.
Education at Hogwarts seems to be financed by the Ministry, there is no mention made of tuition costs. However students are responsible for the purchase of uniforms, books and class supplies. Poorer families (such as the Weasleys) must buy second-hand to afford the expense. There is, we are told, some form of bursary available to the very poorest to enable them to attend Hogwarts; funds were made available to Tom Riddle, for instance. This appears to be done an a very informal basis, however, like much else in the Wizarding universe.
