Currency When bartering for goods and services no longer meets the needs of commerce , the sentient beings of the Realms turn to using items with a more universal value , namely precious metals , gem s , and some minerals . Metals are rarely found in their pure form in nature and require significant energy and effort to refine and purify them . In general , the rarity and the amount of effort it takes to produce a given metal determines its worth . Sometimes this formula is modified by a particular property of the metal , or by a widespread use ( and therefore greater demand ) . The penalty for counterfeiting is death in most places because cities , kingdoms , and nations rely on the acceptance and trust of their currency . Gem s are even rarer than metals and require great skill in mining , cutting , and polishing . Gems have great value because people desire them for their beauty and often wear them in jewelry . The arcane Arts also require certain gems as spell components which increases their rarity even more as they are consumed in the casting of powerful spells . 1st Edition Currency . In the 1st Edition Forgotten Realms Campaign Set , the kingdom of Cormyr is used as a representative example of a location with a standard system of currency . The names and values of the various coins are : This valuation system is prevalent but not ubiquitous throughout the Realms . Cormyr . The royal coinage of Cormyr is stamped with a dragon on the obverse and a treasury date mark on the reverse . There is no paper currency other than I . O . U . s which are known as " blood - notes " because they must be signed in blood by all parties involved and taken to the local Lord for the affixing of the royal seal . 2nd Edition Currency . The 2nd Edition Forgotten Realms Adventures source book states that the FR uses the standard rates of exchange between coins as noted in the Player ' s Handbook 2nd edition : Platinum coins were called tricrowns , plats , or pearls ( in particular the Southern versions , which were officially named roldons ) . Calimshan . Calimshan made silver decarches , espedrilles , and the ochre - tinted red worm of Memnon . Red worms were cast from silver and then coated with a dye . Old coins with the dye worn off were called " skinned worms " . Calimshan also produced copper unarches , radas , niftens , and spanners . Cormyr . Although gold coins , the most common coin used by adventurers , were often called golden lions throughout the Realms , only the Cormyan coins were actually stamped with the figure of a lion . Sembia . Sembian silver hawks were triangular in shape . Cormyrian falcons and Sembian hawks were used interchangeably . Sembian gold coin designs varied from year to year but were always a distinguishing five - sided shape . Sembia also released a square iron coin called the steelpence which was similar in value to the copper . The Sembian steelpence was introduced by the Sembian government to replace the silver piece , but it was overproduced and its value had since dropped to 1cp . Sembia produced no platinum coins but readily accepted those of other nations . Trade bar s from Sembia were ingot - shaped silver bars dotted with copper and the Sembian symbol . They were considered " face value " and typically came in 5 , 10 , 25 , and 50gp denominations . Shaar . Shaar Rings were made of sliced and bored ivory and hung on long strings by the plainsmen of Shaar . Rings were found in bundles , and each ring was worth 3gp each . Shou Lung . Shou Lung copper was any copper coin which was not immediately recognizable , and therefore declared to come from the mystical East and given a value of 1cp . Only a small number of these coins actually came from Shou Lung , or any of the Kara - Tur nations , but the name stuck . Shou Lung silver was similar : any unknown or badly worn silver coin given a value of 1sp . Trade bar s from Shou Lung were slender bars of silver , definitely oriental in origin , that had made their way to the West . Shou Lung trade bars were worth about 40gp each . Silverymoon . The electrum moon of Silverymoon was worth 1ep throughout the Realms but double that in the Silver Marches . Tethyr . Due to upheaval in Tethyr during the Interregnum period , Tethyan gulders , moelans , myrats , and zonths were only worth 60 – 90 % of their usual value . Tethyr made use of two - gold - piece coins called " brakar " . They also produced trade rings in 20 - , 50 - , and 100 - gold - piece weights . Tharsult . Tharsult Statues were small art objects used in trade . They were made of ivory , jade , or serpentine and were used as coinage in that region . Most of these that reached the North were treated as curios and were worth around 15gp . In their native land they were worth about 5gp each . Other Currency . Gond bell s were introduced by the Lantanese and used in regions of the North , in particular in trade between worshipers of Gond . The small brass bells enclosed a loose ornamental stone which caused it to clatter . Each was worth 10gp on the open market or 20gp if traded to a church of Gond . Paper currency . Mercenary Cards were small cards of parchment about the size of a Talis card , marked on one side with the symbol of a particular mercenary company . The reverse was usually a handwritten scrawl from the troop ' s paymaster authorizing payment . These became currency by being found in loot caches , won in card games , or stolen from the unwary . Blood notes were scrolls , letters , or other carvings representing I . O . U . s and promissory notes from the listed person ( s ) to the holder of the note . Blood notes could be offered by individuals , adventuring companies , or countries and cities to cover debts . In common usage the debtor was legally obligated to pay when the note was presented . Blood notes from deceased individuals were not binding . Bela was paper money used by barbarian tribes to the east in Kara - Tur . In western Realms it was worthless and occasionally offered as an insult . A Letter of Trade was similar to a Blood Note and called for a delivery of a particular item or items to the bearer . Trade bars . Trade bar s from merchants were thin silver bars marked at one end with the value , typically 10 , 20 , or 50gp , and the other end had the symbol of the trading institution or coster which created it . An increasing number of these bars bore the mint mark of Baldur ' s Gate . Trade bars of the Iron Throne trading group were not honored by other trading organizations because this group was considered disreputable . Broken trade bars had no value but most merchants would continue to honor the trade bars of defunct institutions . Trade bars from Lantan were flat envelope - shaped bars of worked steel marked with the great wheel of Gond . They were worth 20gp each and used primarily along the Sword Coast . Trade bars from ( Mirabar ) were made of black iron and shaped like rectangular spindels " ( sic ) " . They were worth 10gp in Mirabar and 5gp in the rest of the Realms . 3rd Edition Currency . In 3rd and 3 . 5 editions of D & D , the currency system is in decimal form with each coin worth ten coins of the next highest value denomination : Sembia . The triangular silver coin of Sembia is called a raven . The five - sided gold coin is called a noble . Iron steelpence are used instead of copper pieces . Silver Marches ( Luruar ) . Silverymoon mints its own coin , the moon . It is valued at 2gp and is accepted throughout the Silver Marches . Waterdeep . In Waterdeep a toal is a coin that is worth 2gp in the city but practically worthless outside the city . The toal is a square brass coin with a hole in the center to allow it to be strung on a string . A shard is the Waterdhavian term for a silver piece . Copper pieces are called nib s , gold pieces are called dragons and platinum pieces are called suns . 5th Edition Currency . In 5th edition D & D the currency system follows the proportions of 3rd and 4th editions , with the exception of the electrum piece , which is again worth 5 silver pieces as in 2nd edition : A gold bar weighing 1 lb was worth 50 gp . Instead of referring to the coins by their material , most people would call them by their original government - issued name , except for the ones minted at Zhentil Keep . The following sections specify the names and exchange rates of the most widely used and accepted currencies across Faerûn as of the late 1480s DR and early 1490s DR . Sembia . In Sembia , the steelpence was made of iron , but had the same value as the copper piece equivalents of other locations . Silverymoon . In addition to these coins , Silverymoon also minted the crescent - shaped electrum " moon " , valued at 2 unicorns ( or 1 unicorn outside of Silverymoon ) ; and the round " eclipsed moon " , rated at 5 unicorns in Silverymoon and 2 unicorns elsewhere . Waterdeep . Like Silverymoon , Waterdeep also minted special coins : the square brass " taol " was worth 2 dragons , but had no value elsewhere , so they were usually exchanged when one left the city ; and the palm - sized crescent - shaped platinum " harbor moon " , inset with electrum , was rated 50 dragons in the city , or 30 dragons everywhere else . Both coins had holes to allow them to be stacked in strings .