The Value of Smaug's Hobbit Treasure

It's only natural that when you are reading a book and come to a scene with a dragon's treasure that you ask yourself, out of mere curiosity, how much the treasure could really be worth. Michael Noer of Forbes Magazine has actually done the math. Check out his article where he breaks down the components of Smaug's treasure and then what each component is worth. We know that Smaug sleeps on top of the treasure pile so Noer first figures out how big Smaug's relative size is and then begins to calculate the volume of the treasure pile. He ends up with the an equation to figure out the volume of the silver/gold pile that looks like this:

"V= 1/3 π r² h = 1/3 * π * 9.6² * 7 = 675.6 cubic feet

But, obviously, the mound isn’t solid gold and silver.  We know it has a “great two-handled cups” in it – one of which Bilbo steals – and probably human remains, not to mention the air space between the coins.  Let’s assume that the mound is 30% air and bones.  That makes the volume of the hoard that is pure gold and silver coins 472.9 cubic feet."

This short glimpse should show you the depth that Noer goes into to achieve the final total. After he has calculated the silver/gold, all the gemstones, and the Arkenstone of Thrain, Noer comes to the conclusion that "the whole treasure must be worth approximately $8.6 billion". Read his whole article to look deeper into the math that went into finding out the total.

According to Noer this places Smaug in 7th place in the Forbes Fictional 15; a list of the top 15 richest fictional characters.

Anyone else feel like a little quest into the Lonely Mountain?