Gold
| Gold | |
|---|---|
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| Type | Collection |
Gold is the money of Stardew Valley, and almost every decision on the farm eventually runs through it. A new farmer arrives with a small float of it, and the running total sits in the top right of the screen just under the clock. Shipping produce is the main way it comes in, with shop counters, quest boards and the occasional friendly letter filling the gaps. Most of the valley takes gold happily, but a handful of traders refuse it outright and want geodes, Calico Eggs, star tokens or Qi Gems instead, which is why a rich farmer can still stand empty handed in front of a stall. Total earnings are tracked separately from current funds, and that lifetime figure is what the money milestones and their hats are measured against.
Overview
The shipping bin is the workhorse. Anything dropped in it is sold overnight, and the summary screen before bed lists each item and what it fetched. Nothing has to be carried into town, which makes the bin the obvious home for bulk crops, artisan goods and the day's fish.
Selling across a counter pays at once instead, which matters when something is needed the same day. Each shop only buys its own line of goods: Pierre's General Store takes things that can be eaten or planted, Willy's Fish Shop takes the catch, and Clint buys ore, bars and gems. A seed or a tool bought minutes after a sale is often worth the walk.
Quests are the other steady earner. The Help Wanted board outside Pierre's General Store posts small daily jobs, the Special Orders board beside the Mayor's Manor posts week-long ones, and some requests arrive straight through the letterbox. Rewards are not handed over automatically: the journal has to be opened and the reward icon clicked once the job is done.
Money also turns up unasked. The farmer's parents post a gift after certain earnings have been passed, Pierre sends the odd rebate from his cash-back scheme, and Mayor Lewis occasionally posts a cheque from the valley's agricultural fund for being a good neighbour. Letters cost nothing to read, so the mailbox is worth checking every morning.
Two smaller sources are easy to miss. Upgrading the trash can at the blacksmith turns discarded items into a partial refund instead of nothing, which quietly recovers gold from every bit of junk thrown away afterwards. A Parrot Egg trinket, worn in the trinket slot, sends a bird along on mine runs that picks coins off the monsters as they fall, and the bird's own ceiling is set by lifetime earnings, so a wealthy farm ends up with a better companion than a poor one.
Several sellers take other currencies, which is worth knowing before a trip. The Desert Trader bargains in items rather than coins, the Island Trader wants island goods, the Raccoon's wife trades for her own list, the Desert Festival booths run on Calico Eggs, the Stardew Valley Fair on star tokens, the Casino on its own coins and Mr Qi's shop on Qi Gems. Carrying the right currency is as much a part of planning a festival as choosing what to wear.
Notes
A small quality of life touch helps with sorting loot: when an item worth more than five hundred gold goes into the bag, the popup in the corner of the screen is tinted purple, so a valuable find announces itself without any need to check the price.
Early on, passing a modest earnings mark brings a letter from the Stardew Valley Tribune saying the farm will appear in its up and coming column, which is the game's way of noticing a good first season.
The display itself has a limit. Beyond eight digits the figure on screen rolls over and starts again from a smaller number, which looks alarming but costs nothing; the full amount is still there to spend.
All Collections
Every entry in this group, with its key details.
