Tech

Someone tried to guess how much each magical item in 'Harry Potter' is actually worth

Madison Malone Kircher

2016-02-03T16:55:51Z

harry potter gringotts money — So many galleons. Warner Bros.

Money in the magical world of "Harry Potter" is broken down into gold galleons, silver sickles, and bronze knuts.

J.K. Rowling explained how each of those coins relates to one another in the books (and just how many of them Harry inherited), and even said back in 2001 at a Comic Relief event that she estimates that a galleon equals 5 British pounds "though the exchange rate varies."

But some people wanted to do their own exchange rate comparison. One such person was a Redditor with the username aubieismyhomie, who broke out every reference to money in the magical series to approximate how all those galleons and knuts translate to American dollars and cents. Here's how the numbers shake out, at least according to one very well-researched Reddit post (though of course, read through the comments for some of the magical money debate).

One gold galleon = $25

One silver sicklet = $1.50

One bronze knut = $.05

And if those exchange rates are correct, here's how much money Harry and his friends would have spent on wands, broomsticks, and earwax-flavored jelly beans over the years.

Harry's holly and phoenix core wand could have cost $175 at Ollivander's wand shop in Diagon Alley. The wizard price was 7 galleons.

Turns out, being a Hogwarts student is pretty pricey. At 9 galleons, a copy of an "Advanced Potion Making" textbook could run as much as $225.

Harry Potter Hermione potions class — Hermione chatting it up with Professor Horace Slughorn in potions class. Warner Bros.

Though you could always just snag a free, used copy the way Harry does. Though be wary of any margin notes.

Hermione and her friends would have spent about $3 a Butterbeer at the Hog's Head pub in Hogsmeade, if these exchange rates were true.

Harry's Triwizard Tournament prize winnings of 1,000 gold galleons would total $25,000.

Of course, Harry graciously gives that money to Fred and George Weasley, who use the cash to open their joke shop, Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes.

And as Fred and George remind Ron, at Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, there are no discounts for family. The pair refuse to budge on a 10-galleon price tag (which could have been $250) for their brother in this scene from "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince."

Harry's ride with Ernie Prang and Stan Shunpike on the Knight Bus cost 11 sickles, or $16.50, according to the Redditor's thread.

Harry and Ron's spin in the Weasleys' flying car cost a little bit more. Their joyride landed the Weasleys with a $1,250 fine, according to the Redditor's exchange rates. No wonder Molly Weasley sent her son a howler!

Snape's copy of the wizarding newspaper The Daily Prophet probably only cost him a few cents. A copy is worth 5 bronze knuts, which would be a quarter.

Severus Snap Daily Prophet Harry Potter.JPG

After being freed from the Malfoy family, Dobby the house elf earned 1 galleon, or $25 according to the exchange estimate, a week working at Hogwarts. Dumbledore offered him 10 galleons a week, or $250, but Dobby declined.

Long before Harry and Dumbledore set out to find and destroy this Horcrux, Merope Gaunt sold Salazar Slytherin's necklace for 10 galleons, or as much as $250.

In "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," the 10,000-galleon reward offered to anyone who caught Azkaban escapee Sirius Black would be worth $250,000 in Muggle money, according to the Reddit thread.

But that's nothing compared with the bounty placed on Harry's head in the final book. Voldemort was offering 200,000 galleons for the capture of Harry and his wand. In muggle terms, according to the Redditor's estimate? $5 million.

Harry Potter Deathly Hallows snatchers scene

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