Guide:Making money

See also: Coins

Sand and Clay
Sand and Clay are common resources that can be converted into Coins very easily. Sand can be turned into Bottles and Clay into Clay Pots.

Pots sell for 20 copper; however it takes 6 clay block to make one pot. As of version 1.04, bottles sell for only 4 copper a piece and require 1 sand block per bottle. Though they take more processing, sand is overall worth more.

Wood
Wood has no value on its own, but it can easily be converted into items which sell for Coins.

Torches sell for 10 Copper a piece, and are created in stacks of 3 from one wood and one Gel. This makes them highly lucrative to sell off, although limited by the amount of Gel you find. Gel is also useful in other recipes; see "Torches or Potions?" below.

Tables sell for 60 copper for 8 wood, resulting in 7.5 copper for each piece of wood; Chairs have an identical ratio. These have the highest copper/wood ratio of all-wood items.

Doors sell for 40 Copper a piece and require 6 wood, resulting in a slightly lower 6.7 copper/wood ratio. Signs and Wood Platforms are worthless, and wooden tools are worth almost nothing.

Wooden Arrows sell for only 2 copper a piece, and are created in stacks of 3, for a 6-to-1 sell ratio, while Flaming Arrows cost more to make than you get back.

Silk and Cobwebs
Silk sells for 2 silver each and takes 10 Cobwebs to make, resulting in a value of 20 copper per Cobweb.

Mushrooms and Potions
Farming mushrooms is a great way to make money, although they require some investment to set up. Ordinary Mushrooms sell for 5 copper each, and Glowing Mushrooms sell for 10 copper each.

Note: Batches of Lesser Healing Potions cost 15 coins worth of raw materials and produce 2 potions, each of which sells for 40 copper. Healing Potions sell for 2 silver and cost 40 coins of raw materials. However, while Gel is only worth 1 copper when it is sold, it can be turned into 3 torches worth 10 copper each. See "Torches or Potions?" for an analysis on which is more valuable.

Batches of Lesser Mana Potions cost 105 copper to make and produce two potions that sell for 2 silver (200 copper) a piece, a good investment if you are willing to give up ammo for your Star Cannon. However, Mana Potions require two Lesser Mana Potions and a glowing mushroom, yet also sell for 200 copper a piece, meaning it actually loses you money to convert them! Restoration Potions, however, sell for 8 silver a piece, making the overall conversion (2 silver + 4.1 silver vs 8 silver) a net gain.

See Guide:Gardening for more info on growing mushrooms.

Torches or Potions?
Gel is used in both torches and potions, both of which are highly lucrative items. However, it generally takes longer to harvest than wood and glass. What should it be used for?

Let's say we have 2 Wood, 2 Gel, 1 Mushroom, 2 Bottles, and 1 Glowing Mushroom. With these materials, you can make 6 Torches and sell the Mushrooms and Bottles, or you can make 1 Healing Potion and half a Chair.

6 Torches, 2 Mushrooms, and 2 Bottles are together worth 98 copper when sold. 1 Healing Potion is worth 200 copper, and a Chair is worth 30, half of which is 15. So together they are worth 215 copper, a huge advantage over making torches.

As of 1.04, if you haven't found Glowing Mushrooms yet, the scenario is the same: you can choose between 6 Torches with the excess Mushroom/Bottles and 2 Healing Potions with half a Chair. The former sells for 73 copper; the latter for 95: a significant but not overwhelming advantage.

However, there is another way of seeing it, if we do not include the unused items in our total prices. Instead, consider the price based on resource rarity and best money output to gel ratio. Making torches, nets 10 copper a torch, and thus, 30 copper per gel. Wood is generally an easy resource to gather and replenish: an automatic tree farm is an equitable, low-effort venture. Potions sell for 2 silver each (1 silver per gel), but it requires many more resources. One potion requires 2 sand, 2 gel, 1 mushroom, and a glowing mushroom. Sand is an unrenewable resource, and gathering sand can leave your world looking scarred. In addition, regular mushrooms are not easily farmed, requiring large gardens and a significant amount of time. Glowing mushrooms are much easier to farm, but still require time. All in all, the time cost of such a venture is much greater than making torches, but, the gel payoff is more than triple.

A large scale potions-producing operation, including mushroom farms, has a greater payoff overall. However, this takes much more time and effort than a torch-making industry, resulting in torches being the better use of gel for a quick payoff.

Ores
As you grow in level and item tier, you will find yourself swimming in excess metal ores. If you are fairly certain you do not need them, it is a good idea to sell them so they don't clog up your chests.

Somewhat paradoxically, raw ores tend to sell for more than bars, and bars sell more than finished goods, including all non-torch Light Sources which are worthless. An exception is Meteorite, which sells for more in bar form than ore.

Gold and Silver are worth more in ore form, while Copper, Iron and Demonite yield the same ratio whether bars or ore.

Bricks are always worthless.

Obsidian
Obsidian is not worth anything, but Obsidian Skulls are worth 54 silver. However, they require 20 obsidian to make. You may want to look into making an obsidian generator if using this method of money making.

Accessories
Once you have higher-tier armor, and explored your world's dungeon, create a new world, wait until the night, defeat Skeletron and then explore the dungeon and take any items you find. After looting some chests you can sell most of the accessories and weapons for silver and gold.