D&D coin weight and currency calculator

Fifty coins weigh a pound, whatever they are made of. That single rule is what turns a big pile of copper into a logistics problem: 10,000 cp is 100 gp of value and 200 pounds of weight, which is more than most characters can carry and worth less than a decent shortsword.

The same 100 gp in gold pieces weighs two pounds. Converting a hoard at the nearest town is not flavour — it is the difference between carrying the treasure and leaving most of it in the dungeon, and it is a good reason for a party to care about where the nearest moneychanger is.

Electrum is the awkward one. It is a real denomination in the rules and almost no table uses it, largely because it sits at half a gold piece and produces change nobody wants. The optimal-coins figure here skips it for that reason.

Carrying capacity is Strength score × 15 pounds. Past that you cannot carry the weight at all — this is the hard limit, and it applies whether or not your table uses the optional encumbrance rules.

You can push, drag or lift up to twice that, Strength × 30, but your speed drops to 5 feet while you do. That is the rule for dragging an unconscious ally or shifting a heavy door, not for travelling.

The variant encumbrance rules add two softer thresholds: past Strength × 5 you are encumbered and lose 10 feet of speed, and past Strength × 10 you are heavily encumbered, losing 20 feet and taking disadvantage on attacks, checks and saves using Strength, Dexterity or Constitution. Most tables skip these — they are optional, and they make bookkeeping the main activity.

Size changes everything proportionally: Tiny creatures halve their capacity, and each size above Medium doubles it. A Large mount carries twice what a Medium character does at the same Strength.