What are Rupees?

The Zelda series tends to change from one game to the next. The gameplay mechanics might be different, the controls may be reworked, and the roles of the characters could change from princess to pirate to poltergeist. However, there is one aspect of the Zelda universe which is always the same. In every single canonical game and in most of the spin-offs, the currency is always rupees. But what are rupees exactly? And what would they be worth in the real world? Hit the jump to find out!

Before we do anything else, let’s figure out what the rupees are made of. In many of the games, the rupees shine and glitter, implying that they are hard enough to be polished into a reflective surface. They seem to be fairly translucent, especially when the graphics of the game or console allow for them to appear so. They have a vibrant color and are solid enough to infinitely maintain their initial value without wearing down. Based on their color, lustre and transparency, it is possible that the rupees could be made of glass. However, glass is too fragile to withstand the type of misuse which rupees go through. It would crack, chip, and lose its pointed tips.

Except for silver and gold rupees (which are almost definitely made of their respective metals), it is most probable that rupees are polished gemstones. This would make sense based on all the aforementioned criteria, as well as the fact that the type of gemstone used would determine the value of the rupee. This is why red rupees are more valuable than green rupees and less valuable than purple rupees. And as gems, rupees would be significantly less likely to shatter when dropped from great heights or exposed to an explosive blast.

But which gems are rupees made from? I am no jeweler, so I can’t match rupees to their respective gems based on much more than their color. All the rupees seem to be cut and polished in the same manner anyway, so that wouldn’t have an impact on the choice of the stone. Let’s start at the color which is usually of the lowest value, and work from there.

Green Rupees: Emeralds

A rather obvious match, but a good one all the same. Emeralds are an eight on Mohr’s Scale of Hardness, a scale which shows which substances are harder than others based on scratch-resistance. Emerals are also one of the rarest gems in the world. I find it to be interesting that Hyrule should have such an abundance of these gems, considering that we have so few. Emeralds often have pieces of other material trapped inside of them, which might explain their low value in Hyrule. Although they are the lowest-valued rupee in Hyrule, in our world, they would be worth quite a bit.

Blue Rupees: Sapphires

Again, it’s not surprising that blue rupees should be paired with sapphires, as these real world gems are one of the more commonly known jewels. On Mohr’s Scale, sapphires are a nine, only slightly above emeralds in scratch resistance. These stones are not nearly as rare as emeralds, but are scarce enough to be labeled as valuable. Many people admire the hue of these stones, and that also drives up their value. This may be the reason that they are worth more than emeralds in Hyrule, however slightly their prices differ. In our world, blue rupees would not be worth as much as green rupees, but they would be quite valuable anyway.

Yellow Rupees: Golden Beryl

It was rather difficult to find a gem that is similar to yellow rupees, but golden beryl is a perfect match. Beryl can come in many colors; apiece of green beryl is called emerald. Consequently, golden beryl has the same hardness as emerald, but is a bit less rare. I don’t think that yellow rupees are made of gold, simply because the rupees have a much brighter hue and are a bit more lustrous than the metal. The value of yellow rupees varies from game to game, but it is most often worth 10 green rupees or two blue rupees. The difference in the value between the games may have to do with how much demand is put on the gem at any given time, but for the most part, this high quality gem stays fixed at a medium degree of value. Golden beryl is not very widely known, causing little demand for it. Therefore, yellow rupees would probably be worth a fair bit, but they would not be nearly as valuable as green rupees or blue rupees.

Red Rupees: Rubies

Similar to beryl, corundum is a hard mineral which comes in many colours. Bits of blue corundum are called sapphires, and pieces of red corundum are called rubies. Rubies have a hardness of nine, just like sapphires, since they are made of almost exactly the same material, but these blood-red stones are much less common. Rubies seem to be somewhat scarce in Hyrule as well, since they are worth so much more than green rupees. In our world, rubies are quite expensive, since they are both rare and desired for their colour. Red rupees would probably be worth about the same amount as green rupees, but their worth might fluctuate as interest in the stones rose and fell.

Purple Rupees: Amethysts

The hue and shade of purple rupees matches almost exactly those of the amethyst. The violet coloring of amethysts makes them extremely popular among people in the real world, although this doesn’t make their price rise too much. Amethysts have a hardness of seven, which is very durable, but not quite as tough as the previous four. These gems are not as scarce as the aforementioned gems, and this, combined with their hue, makes amethyst a type of gem which is commonly bought. Purple rupees would not be extremely valuable; they would probably be worth the least of all the stones on this list so far.

Orange Rupees: Citrine

Citrine is similar to amethyst in that they are both crystallized quartz. They have the same general makeup and the same degree of hardness. Citrine is fairly rare, but is not widely known, making demand placed on this type of gem moderately low. One interesting fact about citrine is that it is supposed to have healing properties, which may or may not be appreciated in Hyrule, although this power is never hinted at in the least. In real life, orange rupees would not be worth much, but it would possibly be considered lucky to find one by chance, considering the superstition surrounding them.

Silver Rupees: Silver

Alright, so silver isn’t a gem. It is however, semi-precious and is generally respected as being elegant and beautiful. The lustre and shade of the silver rupee matches silver perfectly, and as the rupee is most definitely named after either the metal or the color of the metal, I think it is a fairly safe correlation. Silver has a mere three on the Mohr’s Scale, making it the softest rupee so far. This is most likely why all of the silver rupees in any of the games are kept in chests, and not out in the open. Out of all the rupees, silver rupees would probably be worth the least, as silver is not very rare at all.

Gold Rupee: Gold

Just like silver rupees, gold rupees are made of a metal, not a gem. Although the color of gold rupees does not match gold completely, the lustre certainly does, and it only makes sense for these rupees to be crafted from their namesake. Gold has a hardness of three, and is not nearly as rare as any gemstone. Gold rupees are only found in a few of the games, possibly because they are worth so much that the common people of Hyrule have extremely limited access to them. In the real world, gold rupees would be worth more than silver rupees, but less than the rest of the jewels.

Rupoor: Coal

While rupoors aren’t in all of the games, they are in some of them and are, I think, quite an interesting idea. Rupoors lack the shine of regular rupees, and are completely opaque. It is possible that they could be obsidian, but obsidian is quite lustrous and is of some worth. Rupoors detract from Link’s overall rupee total, so a rupoor made of obsidian wouldn’t make much sense, as it technically could be used for bartering. I think that it is more probable that the rupoors are made of coal, especially the ones from Skyward Sword. They have barely any shine, and seem to be a little powdery. Coal matches in shade, lustre, and hardness, as it is around a three or four on Mohr’s Scale. Coal also has negative connotations, such as in the myth children get coal in their stockings from Santa when they’ve been bad. Rupoors probably wouldn’t exist in the real world, but if they did, they might be used as a sign of debt. If a person owed the bank money, they would be given rupoors to remind them of how much they owed.

Finally, how do the values of in-game rupees compare to what they would be worth in real life? According to most of the games, the order of rupees from least valuable to most valuable is green, blue, yellow, red, purple, orange, silver, and finally, gold. However, the order is almost reversed in the real world. From least valuable to most valuable, the real life order is silver, gold, yellow, orange, purple, blue, red, and then green. If emeralds are so valuable in the real world, why are they worth so little in the Zelda series? First of all, the people of Hyrule obviously assign value to currency based on different criteria than that of the real world. While we might value a stone based on its color, Hylians might value a gem because of its durability. Another reason for the difference in worth is simply how rare the stones are. It doesn’t make sense for Hylian emeralds to be worth a lot because of how common they are. If you lift a rock, you’ll find a rupee. If you cut some grass, there will be a rupee there, too. Sometimes even rolling into trees produces rupees. With money literally growing on trees, it’s not surpising that rupees are valued in the order that they are.

But what do you think? Are rupees the equivalent to real world gems? Or do rupees fall into an entire class of their own? And how much would rupees be worth in real life, if they were to be used as currency? Leave a comment below and tell us what you think!