Coin

"From here, it's clear how important every Coin truly is."

- Penguru

Coins (sometimes known as Gold Coins or Yellow Coins, and also called Mushroom Coins in the Beanbean Kingdom and Koopabits in the Nintendo Comics System stories) are the main currency of the Mushroom Kingdom. They first appeared in Mario Bros., where they moved along the floor and were worth one hundred points if Mario or Luigi caught them. They later appeared in Super Mario Bros., where they were demoted to ten points per coin. If Mario jumped up and hit a ? Block, sometimes Coins would pop out. When one hundred Coins were collected, the player was rewarded with an extra life. The count of coins would then return to zero, enabling the player to earn 100 coins again.

Mario Bros.
Coins first appeared in Mario Bros., where they were a rare item. If obtained, they give Mario or Luigi 100 points. They moved along the floor and can be an issue to catch if the player also regards the enemies that can distract Mario and Luigi.

Super Mario Bros.
In Super Mario Bros., coins were the most common items found in this game. They can be found in every level, spawning from blocks, floating in the air, or as a result from defeating enemies from a fireball. Coins were worth 10 points to collect them and collecting 100 coins will reset the coin amount and give Mario an extra life.

Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels
Coins can also be commonly found in Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels. They serve the exact same function and appearance as Super Mario Bros., which they will grant Mario a life by collecting 100 of them.

Super Mario Bros. 2
In Super Mario Bros. 2, Coins could only be retrieved by using a Magic Potion to create a door near unpicked Vegetables. When this door appeared, the Mario, Luigi, Toadstool, or Toad could use it to travel to Subspace and pick the aforementioned Vegetables, which would in actuality be extra point-rewarding Coins.

Super Mario Advance introduced a new type of giant, red coin called the Ace Coins. Regular coins could also be found, although they were harder to find (and, as was in the original Super Mario Bros. 2, could only be found in Subspace).

Super Mario Bros. 3
Coins reappear as, once again, common items to be obtained in Super Mario Bros. 3. They still grant Mario a life when all of them are collected and will still be found in blocks, enemies, and floating in the air.

Super Mario World
Coins acted in nearly the same manner as in the previous games. However, the Coins will slide on the ground if Mario defeats enemies with a fireball. They will still grant Mario a life if 100 are collected.

In most levels, Dragon Coins will appear. Dragon Coins are coins with an oval shape, with a profile of Yoshi in it. If Mario collects all 5 of them in a level, he will get a life and it will act towards completion if Mario collects them all. If Mario collects all Dragon Coins in every level there are Dragon Coins, there will be a scene and after that, the Dragon Coins will be replaced by Peach Coins, which serves the exact same function.

Super Mario 64
Coins are common once again in Super Mario 64. Unlike its preceding games, Coins can be found by simply defeating enemies. Collecting 100 Coins in a level will earn Mario a star. Coins will also heal Mario. If Mario happens to collect 50 Coins in a level and complete it, he will gain an extra life. This holds true for every multiple of 50. Red Coins reappear and are worth two regular Coins.

Blue Coins debuted in this game. They are found usually by ground-pounding on Blue Coin switches or defeating certain enemies such as Boo or Mr. I. Blue Coins are worth five regular Coins when collected.

In Super Mario 64 DS, all Coins returned. The only difference is that some extra levels require the player to collect Red Coins as well to make Stars appear.

Both versions of the game track the highest number of Coins collected in a course on the Score screen.

Super Mario Sunshine
Coins also serve the same function in Super Mario Sunshine, even retaining their healing properties. They still grant Mario a life for every 50 collected. Blue Coins also return and are able to be traded in in Delfino Plaza for Shine Sprites, 10 coins per Shine. Also, just as in Super Mario 64, the top Coin score for each course is tracked.

New Super Mario Bros.
In New Super Mario Bros. coins are found by defeating enemies or finding them floating in the sky, just like Super Mario Bros. Star Coins are also found in this game. 3 Star Coins are found in every level, and it can be hard to obtain these Coins. They can be spent on unlocking bonus areas on the map, and they can also be spent on unlocking backgrounds for the bottom screen. If the player collects all Star Coins and unlocks everything, the file will receive 3 stars, indicating 100% completion. Red Coin Rings are also present in this game. If the player touches the Red Coin Ring, 8 Red Coins will appear. If the player collects all 8 Red Coins, he/she will receive a power-up, which will depend on the player's current condition.

Super Mario Galaxy
Coins are much rarer in this game than the other preceding 3D games; Star Bits probably replaced coins as being a common item that grants Mario a life for every 100 collected. However, Coins still do appear and unlike Star Bits, they can heal Mario when collected. Mario can acquire these Coins by shooting a yellow spot on the ground or stomping on an enemy instead of spinning it. Collecting 50 of these Coins will earn Mario a life. Unlike Star Bits losing in a level will cause the player to lose the coins he collected from the mission.

? Coins are also found in this game. They are bigger and cause miscellaneous effects, such as music notes appearing to collect or producing a trail of Star Bits.

Purple Coins are also introduced in this game. In some of the missions in the game, Mario or Luigi needs to collect 100 Purple Coins in order to obtain a Power Star. They are scattered all over the galaxy and sometimes have a time limit to collect them all.

As in previous 3D Mario titles, the top Coin scores in each course are tracked on the Score screen, but also the top Coin scores for each individual Power Star are tracked on the star select screen for each course.

Super Mario Galaxy 2
Coins return yet again in this sequel to the highly popular "Super Mario Galaxy". They are a lot more common, and the player can usually find many of them in secret areas. They heal the player by one unit of health. If the player collects 100 coins, they will gain an extra life.

Unlike the first Galaxy and other 3D Mario games, top Coin scores are no longer tracked, replaced by a counter of the fastest time to each star. However, the Coins collected in a stage are added to a pool of Coins that can eventually be used to buy spins of five Chance Cubes.

They also refill Mario's air supply slightly while underwater, as well as give Bee Mario more flight time.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii
In New Super Mario Bros. Wii Coins, Red Coins, Dash Coins, Blue Coins and Star Coins return. All serve the same function (the Blue Coins replace the Silver Coins), including the Red Coin Ring reappearing. Star Coins are used for a different purpose, however. Collecting all Star Coins in each world will give the player access to the levels in World 9, Star World. Collecting all Star Coins in this game will earn the player a star in the save file.

Super Mario Land
Coins in Super Mario Land again had the same function as they did in previous games. They were commonly found in ? Blocks and were also mostly found in secret stashes or bunches.

Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins
Coins had a very important role in Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins. Six Golden Coins were actually the key to Mario's Castle, and Wario had scattered these Coins across Mario Land. Each Golden Coin was guarded by a different creature; Ricky, Radonkel, Sabasa, Tatanga, the Three Little Pigheads, and an Octopus were all guardians of the Coins. Regular Coins could also be used to buy extra lives and power-ups through a gambling minigame whose stats could be changed depending on how many Coins were spent.

Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
Coins were common throughout each level in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island. They acted in the same manner as the previous games, but this game introduces Red Coins. Red Coins are disguised as regular coins in each level and the player collects all red coins, the player will make the game closer to 100% completion.

Yoshi's Island DS
The functions of the coins in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island and Yoshi's Island DS are relatively the same. New coins are introduced which are bigger and portray the baby character's head on them. Collecting them will make the player earn a reward.

Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3
Coins also appeared in Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3, with a similar function as the Mario games. They can be gotten by finding them in air or in water, by destroying blocks, or defeating enemies with a body slam. They come in two varieties, the 1-Gold Coin and the 10-Gold Coin, which are worth 1 or 10 coins, respectively. 10-Gold Coins can be used after getting at least 10 coins and pressing Up+B. They can be used to activate checkpoints, defeat enemies, or open doors. They can also be found when Pouncer stomps on an enemy, when Pikkarikun zaps an enemy, when enemies are thrown at Chicken Ducks, when Bē is defeated, or when crabs (in course 6) are defeated.

Coins can be used to play mini-games after each level. In one mini-game, there are two buckets; one contains a 10-ton weight, which halves all the coins just collected in the level; the other contains a money bag, which doubles it. Wario must guess which bucket has the money bag; he can try this three times. In another mini-game, Wario can spend coins to try to gain heart points or lives by throwing bombs at enemies.

Coins also affect the game's ending.

Wario Land II
In Wario Land II, there are small coins which are worth 1 coin, and large Wario coins which are worth 10. Like before, coins can be gotten in mid-air/water, by defeating enemies with any attack, or by destroying blocks. Rarely, when defeating enemies, a silver coin worth 100 coins will appear; when this happens, a distinct sound effect will be heard. Also, when throwing one enemy at another (which means two enemies will be defeated simultaneously), even 2 silver coins can appear at once.

Unlike in Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3, coins can be lost whenever Wario gets hit by an enemy.

In this game, coins are used to play a mini-game, which upon winning, will earn Wario a treasure. In this mini-game, there is a picture of an enemy that appears, and there are 8 tiles below, each with different enemies, that appear for a short time. 50, 100, or 200 coins can be spent; the more coins spent, the longer the tiles will appear, thus making it easier to get the treasure.

Wario Land 3
In Wario Land 3, there are regular gold coins worth 1 coin, and gray, red, green, and blue coins, all worth 10. Coins can only be found in blocks this time; defeating enemies no longer yields coins. However, there are also 8 Musical Coins in each level, which are also worth 10. Musical Coins can also unlock a golf course; however, all 8 coins must be collected in a level in one sitting, and this must be done in every level.

Unlike in Wario Land 2, getting hit by enemies doesn't take away any coins.

The regular coins are used to play a golf-mini game, which appears in some levels in order to get some treasures.

Wario Land 4
In Wario Land 4, coins come in a variety of colors this time, all having different values. Like in the first two Wario Land games, defeating enemies once again can earn Wario coins, however, getting hit by an enemy takes away coins again (in addition to losing health). In addition to enemies, coins can still be found by destroying blocks, and there are crystals and diamonds in midair which are worth money too. If 10,000 points worth of coins are collected in every level, a special Karaoke mode in the sound room is unlocked.

Coins are used to play mini-games, which in turn can be used to get frog coins. These frog coins can be used to buy items to harm bosses, which can make boss fights easier but are not required to complete the game.

Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga
Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga introduces regular coins and Beanbean Coins. Prince Peasley made a bet of 99,999,999,999,999 Mushroom Kingdom Coins with Mario and Luigi, about who should find the pieces of the Beanstar first. Mario and Luigi win, and Prince Peasley rewards them with the promised coins. However, since they were Mushroom Kingdom Coins, the exchange rate translated into only 99 Beanbean coins.

Mario & Luigi: Partners In Time
Mario & Luigi: Partners In Time also returns regular coins. Most of these coins can be obtained through blocks or by defeating enemies. In some places, there are larger yellow coins and blue coins that can only be obtained by spinning Baby Mario and Baby Luigi through the air and into the tornado, making them soar farther and descending to collect the coins. Like Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, coins are also used for currency in this game. 10 Gold Coins, 20 Blue Coins and 100 Gold Coins also appear, and they are worth ten, twenty and one hundred coins each, respectively.

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story
Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story also had a similar way of collecting coins very much like the previous games. Most coins are found in blocks and by defeating enemies. Coins are needed to buy more accessories and items to help the player out.

Super Smash Bros. series
Coins, called Smash Coins also appeared in Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. Brawl Coin battle matches. In these matches, coins can be earned when a player hits another. The player may lose coins if he/she was sent flying off-screen and the coins lost can be received by the opposing players or collect back. If he/she was turned into a star, the coins will be lost in the background.

Coins are also needed to operate the lottery machine in Super Smash Bros. Melee and the Coin Launcher in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. These coins are used to get trophies and stickers.

Mario Kart series
In Super Mario Kart, Coins were found at each course. Collecting them would make karts faster. When jostling another driver or getting hit by an item such as a Red or Green Shell, the player would lose Coins. Jostling a driver without having any Coins would result in sliding. There was even an item providing the player with two extra Coins. Mario Kart Super Circuit had the same functions as Super Mario Kart, but without the extra-coin item. There is an option in this game to remove the coins, but it is only applicable to Quick Run mode.

Mario Party series
Coins were needed to win the game in the Mario Party series. Without coins, the player cannot purchase stars, the main item in order to win, or items that can help the player. Coins can be acquired by landing on a Blue Space, certain Happening Spaces, and Donkey Kong Spaces. Also, 10 coins are acquired every time a player wins a minigame. Coin minigames exist, which can make the player receive a certain number of coins depending on the coins found in this game.

Mario Baseball series
In both Mario Superstar Baseball and Mario Super Sluggers, coins played a role in both of the challenge modes and both of the Toy Fields. Coins are needed in both games to buy items to either unlock events or help the player when he/she is playing with someone else. In Toy Field, coins are needed to win the game, and coins could be obtained by hitting an RBI or the Hit spaces in the field. Though similar, both Toy Fields have different ways of getting coins, such as shooting an item at an opposing player in Mario Super Sluggers or get a right item in a slot in Mario Superstar Baseball.

Paper Mario series
In the Paper Mario series, Coins are fairly common. Coins will appear whenever an enemy is defeated. However, when Mario runs away from a battle, he will lose coins. However, not only do Coins come from usual ? Blocks, but they come from trees and bushes Mario could find in various places. To get a single coin from a tree, Mario has to use his Hammer to make the tree shake so that the single coin would fall down. To find the single coin in a bush, Mario simply tried to search a bush when he went near one.

Super Paper Mario
Super Paper Mario explains that Coins came from the Sammer Guy warrior Footsteps of Coins, who is the one who purposely drops coins around the universe but this explanation is merely part of Footsteps of Coin's opening speech, so its accuracy can be considered poor. In Super Paper Mario, each enemy releases coins when defeated. The stronger the enemy, the more coins are released. Instead of Mario having to pick up coins, they hit the ground and are instantly collected. The coins serve as currency to buy items (or, after the end of the game, the rare Pixl Tiptron). A total of 999 coins can be held by Mario in this game, any more will disappear. In this game, coins can also be gained using the Happy Flower to produce coins, or selling items for coins. Some items also increase the number of coins gained after defeating an enemy.

Mario is Missing!
In Mario is Missing!, Luigi had to return coins to the Trevi Fountain in Rome which were stolen by Koopa Troopas. Legend says that whoever throws coins into the fountain will return to Rome one day. When Luigi returned the coins, he was rewarded $1500.

Luigi's Mansion
Coins were the most common treasure in Luigi's Mansion. They were worth 5000 G, and could be found all over the mansion. Whenever Luigi took damage, he would lose a few Coins, which would disappear if they were not reclaimed quickly enough.

The rare Red Diamond is worth the same as a gold coin.

Mario Hoops 3 on 3
Coins can be obtained by dribbling the ball on the ? Blocks on the ground in Mario Hoops 3 on 3. The more coins the player obtains, the more points the player can earn if he/she makes a basket. Coins can also be obtained by rubbing the stylus before slam dunking, but it is risky and the player is vulnerable when he/she does that.

Mario Sports Mix
Coins will also be used in the upcoming title, Mario Sports Mix. Their uses vary between sports, but so far, they're used for scoring in Basketball, and one is used as a Hockey puck in Hockey.

Yellow Coins


Yellow Coins are the main types of coins found in the Mario series. They are found everywhere ranging from floating in the air, from acquiring through blocks, to defeating enemies. They are worth 1 coin point and 10 points if the player collects them in platforming games. Collecting either 50 or 100 in certain games will make the player earn a single life.

Red Coins


Red Coins are uncommon, but not rare in the Mario series. They first appeared as coins disguised as yellow coins in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, but later on, they are found in certain parts of a level or scattered throughout the level. They are worth more than Yellow Coins, as each Red Coin is worth two Yellow Coins.

Blue Coins


Blue Coins are either part of completion of a game or another way of getting more coins. Blue Coins are found in hidden parts in Super Mario Sunshine, and are required in order to complete the game 100%. In Super Mario 64, they are found by defeating certain enemies or ground-pounding a blue coin switch. They are worth 5 coin points each.

Purple Coins


Purple coins are only found in Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2 when a Purple Comet is orbiting a galaxy. Purple coins can appear throughout a level, or they can appear in a certain spot. If the player can collect 100 Purple Coins, sometimes within a certain amount of time, he/she will receive a Star.

The Purple Coins' functions are to only achieve a Star and are devoid of many Coin powers, such as gaining health and regaining breath while underwater.

In Super Mario Galaxy 2, these coins have the same function as they did in Super Mario Galaxy, but the Purple Coin missions have been introduced earlier in the game. There is no Purple Comet this time, but the Purple Coin mission is still triggered by a Prankster Comet.

Dragon Coins


Found only in Super Mario World and remakes, these will grant Mario a life when all 5 collected in each level. Some levels have less Dragon Coins than other levels, but there are always at least 5 Dragon Coins. They are bigger than regular coins, and they have a portrait of Yoshi on them.

Trivia

 * In Super Mario Land 2: Six Golden Coins, a glitch existed that could turn Mario into a variety of sprites; these sprites included all frames of a Coin's animation, effectively allowing the player to control a Coin.
 * A Sammer Guy named Footsteps of Coins claims that it is he who hides the coins around in each game.
 * In Luigi's Mansion, the crown of King Boo was equal in value to one Gold Coin (5000 G).
 * In Mario Bros. and Super Mario Bros. 3, the actual symbol representing Coins is identical to that of the American dollar ($).