The Harry Potter Compendium
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Galleon or Gold-Galleon (ʛ)[1] is the most valued coin of the wizarding currency. One Galleon is equal to 17 Sickles or 493 Knuts. Galleons are made of gold. They are roughly the size of hubcaps[2]

In the late 20th century, the Galleon was also equivalent to £4.97 GBP, or $10.17 USD.

History[]

Early history[]

By the mid-thirteenth century, Galleons were already in circulation in wizarding Britain.[3]

File:GalleonSymbol.gif

The Galleon symbol.

In the 1260s, the Galleon had much more value than today: one Galleon at the time was equivalent to more than six-thousand six-hundred seventy-seven Galleons today.[3]

Recent history[]

By the 20th century, the Galleon valued much less than it did in the thirteenth century.[3] In 2001, one Galleon was equivalent to five Muggle pounds ($7.34[4]).[5]

Fake Galleons[]

Galleons made of Leprechaun gold were common at Quidditch games where Leprechauns are the mascots for the Irish team. These Galleons are occasionally in temporary circulation (they vanish a few hours after appearing), but goblin experts at Gringotts can differentiate them from real ones.

Rubeus Hagrid used Leprechaun gold fake Galleons at a 1995 Care of Magical Creatures class, while teaching students about Nifflers' ability to hunt for shiny objects like coins.

Hermione Granger fabricated fake Galleons for members of Dumbledore's Army as a means of conveying clandestine communication about the time of future meetings.

Ludo Bagman used Leprechaun gold to pay Fred and George Weasley after their bet resulting in them blackmailing Ludo with no luck.

Ronald Weasley paid Harry Potter back for a pair of omnioculars with Leprechaun gold, without realising that it wasn't real.

Appearances[]

See also[]

Notes and references[]

  1. Pottermore
  2. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 "According to Madam Rabnott, Bragge brought a caged Snidget to the match and told the assembled players that he would award one hundred and fifty Galleons (equivalent to over a million Galleons today) to the player who caught it during the course of the game. –Quidditch Through the Ages, Chapter 4 (The Arrival of the Golden Snitch)
  4. http://www.xe.com/currencytables/?from=GBP&date=2001-03-12
  5. "About five pounds, though the exchange rate varies!" –J. K. Rowling on the value of a Galleon WEB LINK Comic Relief Live Chat, March 12, 2001
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