Money

Money is the currency used in Guild Wars. There are two denominations of money; gold and platinum. One unit of platinum is worth 1000 units of gold.

Terminology
People refer to gold often as simply g, G, gp or GP ("GP" means "Gold Pieces") (as in 540g) or just omit it all together (e.g. WTS yellow dye for 200). Platinum is referred to as p, plat, k or K, the latter being the SI prefix kilo, meaning 1000 (e.g. WTS black dye for 8k).

The symbol for gold is, while the corresponding symbol for platinum is.

Obtaining Money
Money is often obtained by loot, which is dropped by monsters in the PvE part of the game. Also items in your inventory may be sold to other players or merchants.

To a lesser extent, money is earned by completing quests, notably in the Factions and Nightfall Campaigns, But also in some Prophecies quests in the later part of the storyline.

See earning gold or farm for further information.

Spending Money
Money can be used to buy things, either in trades with other players or from merchants/traders.

For example, you could buy:


 * Weapons
 * Armor
 * Dyes
 * Runes
 * Scrolls
 * Celestial Sigils
 * Keys
 * Crafting Materials

For a complete listing, see Category:Items.

Money can also be used to pay for services, such as running, learning skills from Skill Trainers, entry to the Realms of the Gods, (1) or access to the storage account/materials storage section to your Vault Box. (50)

To maintain the stability of the economy and minimize inflation, many gold sinks are included in the game for players that would otherwise have more than they could spend.

Finding Fair Prices
Much of the time a player will obtain an item or want a service and not know its worth. Here are a few common ways to find a fair value for an item or service:
 * Check the Merchants. If they sell or buy the item, then the fair market value will be approximately the average of what the Merchant buys and sells the item for. Many players do not feel like spending the time necessary to make or save the extra cash by trading with other players and opt for the Merchant. Note that this only applies to specific traders of items!  For instance, you can sell runes to Rune Traders or general Merchants, but Rune Traders will pay a lot more for valuable runes.
 * Say Price Check [Item Name] in a trade heavy district. (such as Lion's Arch, District 1) You might have to do it multiple times to get a fair value, but most of the time, that message will get you an honest opinion.
 * Shop Around. The more time you spend the more likely you are to find a good value. Eventually you will find that one player who just needs quick cash or absolutely must have the item you are selling now. On the other hand, keep in mind that the time spent looking around could also have been spent making money doing something else.  Whether the difference is worth it depends on each player.
 * Fan-Site Forums, such as Guild Wars Guru's Trade Forum or Guild Wars Traders. You will find some of the most accurate prices at a fan-site forum. (and some of the most sought after items and best deals) Some fan-sites even run an Auction-based service.
 * Use MarketWatch, a tool for checking current in-game prices that is available via various fansites and guild sites, e.g. MarketWatch at Guild Wars Guru.

Money Substitute
The maximum amount of money a character can carry at any time is 100, and thus it is the limit of how much can be traded in a single session. When trading among players involves a monetary amount greater than 100, high-priced stackable items are often used to make up for the amount above 100. The most popular monetary substitutes are Globs of Ectoplasm and Obsidian Shards. (Example: 100K + 22 Ectos) With the release of Guild Wars Nightfall and the high demand of Rubies and Sapphires, (mostly used for Vabbian Armor) these gems are also sometimes accepted as substitutes. Lockpicks are becoming more popular as a money substitute due to their high (and more importantly) fixed value.