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Palworld runs on three separate currencies, and the one that actually slows you down late-game is Ancient Technology Points, not Gold or Dog Coins. Gold Coins handle everyday shopping and base upkeep, Dog Coins unlock a small pool of rare cosmetics and stat items from one specific merchant, and Ancient Technology Points gate the recipes you cannot get any other way. This guide breaks down where each one comes from, what it’s actually for, and which one you should be hoarding instead of spending on the first shiny thing you see.
TL;DR
- Gold Coins are common and easy to mass-produce late-game — spend them freely.
- Dog Coins only work at the Medal Merchant and can’t be sold back or crafted — spend them when the merchant has good stock, don’t hoard past a few thousand.
- Ancient Technology Points come from one-time boss kills only and can’t be farmed on a loop — this is the real bottleneck, so save them for the recipes you actually need.
- Ancient Civilization Parts (a separate material, not the points themselves) are also required to craft most Ancient recipes.
- Mixing these up is the most common new-player mistake: burning early Dog Coins on cosmetics while ignoring boss fights that gate real progression.
Where to Get Each Currency in Palworld
Gold is the path of least resistance. Gold Coins can be obtained by selling Items and Pals to these merchants, by killing human mobs, or found in Treasure Chests, or produced at a Ranch by Mau, Mau Cryst, or Vixy. Dog Coins work completely differently — you won’t find them at a shop. They are obtained by defeating or capturing wild Mimogs, salvaging from Junkyards, or by looting Elemental Treasure Chests. If you’re grinding this currency specifically, it’s worth reading a dedicated Dog Coins farming guide that maps out the best Mimog spots and merchant locations, since these Pals disguise themselves as chests and run the moment you engage them. Ancient Technology Points sit in a category of their own: to get Ancient Technology Points in Palworld, you need to defeat new world bosses and dungeon bosses for the first time. With each new boss you defeat you will get one Ancient Technology Point. Syndicate Tower bosses pay out more per fight, which matters once you understand how limited this currency really is.
Step-by-Step: Building a Balanced Currency Loop
Follow this sequence to get it done fast.
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1
Set up a passive gold income first
assign a gold-digging Pal like Mau or Mau Cryst to a Ranch so Gold Coins trickle in while you play other systems.
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2
Sell surplus loot and duplicate Pals
merchants pay out Gold Coins for items and spare Pals, which is still the fastest early boost before your base economy is running.
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3
Hunt Mimogs whenever you spot one
trap them with quick walls before they flee, since this is the most reliable single source of Dog Coins.
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4
Check ruined churches for the Medal Merchant
he has no fixed spawn point, so rotate through known church locations until you find him with stock worth buying.
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5
Prioritize boss fights you haven't done yet
every first-time world boss or Syndicate Tower kill hands you Ancient Technology Points that cannot be earned any other way.
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6
Bank Ancient Technology Points for specific recipes
check the Technology Tree before spending so you're not stuck one point short of the structure or gear you actually want.
Best Palworld Currency Farming Methods
| Method | Speed | Effort | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ranch gold-digging Pals | Slow, passive | Low (set and forget) | Steady early-to-mid Gold income |
| Gold Coin Press / Assembly Line | Fast, automated | Medium (needs ore supply) | Late-game Gold at scale |
| Selling loot to merchants | Fast burst | Low | Early Gold before base is built |
| Mimog hunting | Slow, RNG-based | Medium (they flee constantly) | Dog Coin income |
| Syndicate Tower / world bosses | One-time per boss | High (combat-heavy) | Ancient Technology Points |
Palworld Currency Rewards and What You Unlock
Gold Coins: everyday spending and base upkeep
Gold Coins are used for purchasing items or Pals from merchants, resetting a Pal’s enhancements at a Statue of Power, and applying Implants to Pals at a Pal Surgery Table. Late-game, a properly built base can also feed a base-raid negotiator system, where the new base-raid negotiator lets you spend gold to cancel an incoming raid, giving your gold pile an actual sink once merchants stop feeling exciting.
Dog Coins: cosmetics and stat items you can’t buy with Gold
The Medal Merchant deals exclusively in this currency and nothing else. You cannot sell anything to the Medal Merchants, so spend your coins wisely. Stock typically runs toward Pal hats, accessory boxes, elixirs and stat fruits — reporting on his inventory has listed items like an Awakening-tier fruit alongside cheaper stat fruits and elixirs, though exact prices can shift between patches so treat any specific figure as a rough guide rather than a locked-in number.
Ancient Technology Points: recipes you literally cannot get elsewhere
Ancient Technology Points are a resource you’ll run into after setting your sights on your first boss. They’re used to unlock special Ancient recipes, that are essential if you want to survive in certain biomes and increase your Base level. Crucially, most of those recipes also demand a separate material: many of these recipes will require the vital Ancient Civilisation Parts. Points unlock the blueprint, parts let you actually craft it — miss either one and progression stalls.
Common Misconceptions About Palworld Currencies
Myth: Dog Coins work like a second Gold currency
They don’t stack the same way. Dog Coin cannot be purchased from any merchants. Dog Coin cannot be crafted. No recipes use Dog Coin as an ingredient to craft it. There’s exactly one way in (farming Mimogs, junkyards, chests) and exactly one place to spend it. Treating it like flexible Gold is how players end up sitting on thousands with nothing to buy, because stat-boosting systems like IV condensing and soul enhancement don’t touch this currency at all.
Myth: You can grind Ancient Technology Points like any other resource
This is the mistake that actually costs people hours. Defeating the same boss again will not reward any more points, just regular loot. There’s no repeatable farm — every point is tied to a specific, one-time kill, which is exactly why it becomes the bottleneck stat late in a playthrough.
Myth: More Gold automatically means faster overall progress
Gold buys convenience, not access. A maxed-out Ranch or Gold Coin Press setup makes you rich, but it does nothing for the Ancient recipes gated behind boss kills, and it has zero interaction with a Pal’s Trust stat and how it affects performance. Gold solves shopping problems, not progression walls.
Our Take: Which Currency Should You Actually Save?
Our Take
Spend Gold freely, spend Dog Coins when the merchant has something good, and hoard Ancient Technology Points like they’re finite — because they are.
Gold stops being a real constraint the moment you unlock ranch production or the coin press, so sitting on a huge stockpile just means you’re under-spending on spheres, implants, and enhancement resets you could be using right now. Dog Coins deserve a bit more patience only because the Medal Merchant’s stock isn’t guaranteed to be sitting there when you arrive, but there’s no reason to stockpile past what covers a couple of good buys.
Ancient Technology Points are the one that actually punishes bad decisions. Every point comes from a boss fight you can only get credit for once, and the recipes behind them cover base-level upgrades and gear you genuinely need in tougher biomes. Spending points on the first novelty unlock you see, before checking what’s coming later in the tech tree, is the version of this mistake that costs real hours rather than a rerun of a Mimog hunt. If you’re deciding what to farm next, base setup matters here too — a base staffed with the right work-suitability Pals for handiwork and kindling gets you back into boss-hunting gear faster than one running on defaults.