How this calculator works
The wizarding world uses three coins with fixed, non-decimal ratios: 29 Knuts make a Sickle and 17 Sickles make a Galleon, so one Galleon is 493 Knuts. The calculator converts everything to Knuts, the smallest unit, adds the amounts, and then divides back up into as many Galleons as fit, as many Sickles as fit into the remainder, and the Knuts left over. This is the fewest coins that represent the same value. It does not convert to any real currency, because the books give no fixed exchange rate.
Formula
Total Knuts = Galleons x 493 + Sickles x 29 + Knuts. Galleons = floor(total / 493). Sickles = floor((total mod 493) / 29). Knuts = total mod 29.
Worked example
Two Galleons, three Sickles and five Knuts is 2 x 493 + 3 x 29 + 5 = 986 + 87 + 5 = 1,078 Knuts. Dividing back, that is two Galleons, three Sickles and five Knuts, so the entry was already in its fewest coins. Six hundred Knuts, by contrast, is one Galleon, three Sickles and twenty Knuts.
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Frequently asked questions
Why are there 29 Knuts in a Sickle?
The ratios come from the books, which give 17 Sickles to a Galleon and 29 Knuts to a Sickle. They are deliberately awkward, much like pre-decimal British money, and the characters comment on how annoying the system is.
Can I convert Galleons to dollars or pounds?
There is no official rate. J. K. Rowling once suggested a Galleon was about five pounds, but that figure is approximate and does not come from the books. The calculator only converts between wizarding coins, which is the part with exact rules.
What happens if I enter a decimal?
Coins are whole objects, so the calculator rejects fractions and negative numbers. Convert any fractional value to the smallest coin first, or enter the whole number of coins you actually have.
Which coin should I use for small amounts?
Knuts are the smallest unit, so any amount can be expressed in Knuts. When paying, using the normalized breakdown spends the fewest coins, but shopkeepers in the books often deal in Sickles and Galleons for ordinary purchases.