Currency

Currency is any item accumulated and used to make purchases. Money is the definitive example of currency.

Lore
Gold sovereigns were a type of currency in the kingdom of Stormwind.


 * Money: gold piece,  silver piece, and  copper piece.

In World of Warcraft
In WoW, there are various types of currency; money, of course, but also honor system currencies and faction currencies.

Currency tab
These can be represented by an inventory item that must be carried, but money has long been tracked as a numeric value only, not represented in inventory, and as of Patch 3.0.2, many currencies are now tracked in the Currency tab of the character window and have no inventory item. (When the patch was applied, these inventory items were converted and were removed from inventories.) (References to a Token tab of the character window appear to refer to a beta implementation.)

These virtual items with no inventory representation show up as icons in the currency page and on price lists for items they can purchase.

Main bag currency display
Traditionally, and by default, the amount of money a character has is displayed in the margin below the main bag in the main bag window when the main bag is opened. This is convenient for purchases, since the main bag will open automatically when a vendor is accessed. With Patch 3.0.2, this line can be set on the Currency tab to display a different currency other than money by selecting tracking for that currency on the Currency tab, however addons for bags may stop additional tracked currencies from showing up. Tracking can also be set back to track money.

Money
All money is stored on the server as a 32 bit integer amount of copper. The WoW client UI calculates the amount of gold, silver, and copper for presentation to the player.

Money conversion:

Money can be transferred or given away. Since non-item currencies do not have a binding property, technically none of them are bound, but the game provides no mechanism for transferring non-item currencies other than money. Several interfaces facilitate the transfer of money among characters, including a section of the trade window, a section of the mail interface, the C.O.D. section of the mail interface, and various parts of the auction interface.

Non-item currencies, including money, cannot be destroyed, they can only be accumulated and spent, or transferred (money only) as related above.

Points as currencies
As of patch 4.0.1, most items once used as currency was converted to an updated point system. The original honor points and arena points were also removed.


 * PvP points
 * Honor Points
 * Conquest Points

Between Patch 3.0.2 and patch 4.0.1, these points were tracked on the Currency tab of the character window. Prior to 3.0.2 these points were tracked on the PvP tab of the character window.
 * Honor Points (sometimes shown as )
 * Conquest Points

Items tracked as currencies
These items disappear immediately after they are obtained and are instead tracked in the Currency tab of the character window.
 * Epicurean's Award
 * Dalaran Jewelcrafter's Token
 * Champion's Seal
 * Mark of the World Tree
 * Ironpaw Token
 * Lesser Charm of Good Fortune
 * Elder Charm of Good Fortune
 * Mogu Rune of Fate
 * Apexis Crystal
 * Artifact Fragment
 * Dingy Iron Coins
 * Garrison Resources
 * Oil (currency)
 * Seal of Tempered Fate
 * Seal of Inevitable Fate
 * Valor

Items No longer tracked as currencies
Most of these currencies were once tracked as currency, but have been removed in Patch 4.0.1 or later.
 * Warsong Gulch Mark of Honor No longer obtainable after 3.3.3, and removed in 4.0.1
 * Arathi Basin Mark of Honor No longer obtainable after 3.3.3, and removed in 4.0.1
 * Alterac Valley Mark of Honor No longer obtainable after 3.3.3, and removed in 4.0.1
 * Eye of the Storm Mark of Honor No longer obtainable after 3.3.3, and removed in 4.0.1
 * Strand of the Ancients Mark of Honor No longer obtainable after 3.3.3, and removed in 4.0.1
 * Isle of Conquest Mark of Honor No longer obtainable after 3.3.3, and removed in 4.0.1
 * Wintergrasp Mark of Honor Removed in 4.0.1
 * Badge of Justice Removed in 4.0.1
 * Venture Coin Removed in 4.0.1
 * Stone Keeper's Shard Removed in 4.0.1
 * Emblem of Heroism Removed in 4.0.1
 * Emblem of Valor Removed in 4.0.1
 * Emblem of Conquest Removed in 4.0.1
 * Emblem of Triumph Removed in 4.0.1
 * Emblem of Frost Removed in 4.0.1
 * Arena Points Removed in 4.0.3a
 * Chef's Award Removed in 5.0.4
 * Justice Points Removed in 6.0.2
 * Valor Points Removed in 6.0.2

Items used as currencies
These items are represented in the character's inventory by an item. Most, but not all, are also Bind on Pickup.
 * Mark of Honor Hold
 * Mark of Thrallmar
 * Glowcap
 * Spirit Shard
 * Arcane Rune
 * Holy Dust
 * Halaa Battle Token
 * Halaa Research Token
 * Sunmote
 * Winterfin Clam

Armor tokens

 * Main article: Armor token

A sub-set of the above, these are items in inventory that can be exchanged for particular pieces of armor. Unlike some other varieties of "currency items", these are invariably Bind on Pickup. They are typically obtained as raid rewards. Most represent particular items (IE chest, feet, helm, etc), and most are keyed to 3-4 particular classes. See Armor token for more information.

Ambiguities
There is a gray area of whether some items are currency or quest items. The discussion page Template talk:Cost has various comments about this, and incidentally has a comprehensive list of the current consensus on Wowpedia of which are currency.

Prior to Patch 3.0.2 there were only three items (five if you count gold and silver, vice copper alone) given non-inventory status. After the patch, anything listed on the Currency tab is officially currency.

To distinguish, a quest item is turned in for other items using a quest mechanic. There is usually only one place to turn in the quest items to exchange them for other items. There is often a limited selection of items available in exchange. Currency is used at a vendor that does not incorporate a quest mechanic. There is usually more than one vendor who will accept a form of currency. The selection available for purchase is broader.

Player perception is an important part of this. Items that are conceptually currency tend to be treated as currency, items that are not conceptually currency tend to be treated as quest items.