The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is the most popular game in the Witcher franchise. Developed by CD Projekt Red, it is lauded by some as one of the best video games of all time. In the game, players act as Geralt of Rivia, a monster hunter for hire with unique fighting and magical capabilities. As with many role-playing games, a critical part of gameplay is collecting the in-game currency, crowns, in order to buy weapon upgrades and other supplies.
Crowns are typically used in the northern kingdoms of The Witcher universe, the value of one hundred coppers, or six and a half orens, or one third of a floren. Crowns in The Witcher 3 can be earned by completing quests, looting, or selling the wares of defeated foes. Players can also trade any coppers, orens, or florens for crowns at banking establishments throughout the continent.
There's a phrase associated with The Witcher franchise, popularized by the Netflix show of the same name: "toss a coin to your witcher". Knowing that the crown is the primary currency in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, it's easy to wonder just how much that coin amounts to. The in-game exchange rate of crowns to other currencies is clearly spelled out, but their conversion to a real currency requires a bit of math.
Value Of The Witcher's Crowns Explained
According to a NetCredit study by Barbara Davidson, being a witcher is not the most lucrative career choice. Davidson analyzed 12 of the most popular video game franchises and determined the real-world value of each title's currency. Her method was simple, finding an object for sale in the game, comparing its price to a real world counterpart, and converting the currency from there. For The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Davidson used a watermelon. The fruit's cost in-game was 10 crowns, and the actual cost of a watermelon was $3. Therefore, one crown is worth approximately thirty cents.
That's not a terrible rate for a coin in a fantasy world, and puts some of the items and weapons for sale in The Witcher 3 into perspective. For example, an elven crossbow is 400 crowns in-game, translating to $120, while a real crossbow costs upwards of $200. Even so, players hoping to make a fortune in the game should think twice. In Davidson's study, The Witcher came in tenth out of 12 when comparing each game's respective currency value. Next time players toss a coin to their witcher, they should keep in mind that crowns in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt aren't worth a substantial amount, so maybe they should add a tip.
