Sea of ThievesHow to Get the Most Free Ancient Coins in Sea of Thieves
Sea of Thieves has two economies that often get confused: gold, which is earned by sailing, and Ancient Coins, which are bought. Only a few routes hand out coins for free.
What is the fastest and most efficient way to get Ancient Coins in Sea of Thieves?
Gold is the game's currency proper: you get it by handing loot in to the trading companies and it pays for ships, faction cosmetics and reputation. Ancient Coins are something else: they are sold for real money and are only spent in the Pirate Emporium, the shop for pets, emotes and outfits. Rare does hand out free Ancient Coins, but in measured amounts and through specific routes. It is worth knowing all of them, because one season used well covers a good chunk of an Emporium cosmetic.
Every day
- Between one hundred and several hundred coins, but very sporadic
Hunt Ancient Skeletons when they appear
Ancient Skeletons are rare, random spawns, recognisable by the sack of coins they carry on their back. When they spot you they try to escape by burrowing into the ground, so you have to take them down fast before they vanish. On death they drop Ancient Coins straight into your account. They appear in both the Open Seas and Safer Seas, which lets you hunt them without the risk of other players. It is not a method you can plan around: their spawn rate is far too low to farm, but you should never let one get away.
- A multiplier of up to 2.5x on the value of the loot you hand in
Sail as a grade five emissary
This does not give Ancient Coins, but it is the key to gold. Raising a company's emissary flag and climbing grades during the session multiplies the value of everything you hand in afterwards, up to 2.5 times once you reach grade five. The efficient approach is to complete that same company's voyages before selling anything: you build grade and then cash in all the loot at once. The risk is that the flag marks you out to other ships, and sinking before you sell loses the lot.
Every week
- Accelerated Renown that brings the coin milestones forward
Clear the seasonal weekly challenges
On top of the Renown that comes from playing, each season adds batches of challenges that refresh and grant Renown in chunks: sinking skeleton ships, handing in a certain type of loot, visiting outposts or completing a company's voyages. They are goals that overlap with what you already do while sailing, so checking them before you set out steers the session without forcing you into anything odd. Chaining them is the difference between finishing the season halfway and comfortably reaching the milestones where the coins are.
- A small coin bundle every few weeks
Redeem Microsoft Rewards points
Microsoft Rewards lets you build up points with searches and daily tasks across the Microsoft ecosystem, and its catalogue includes Ancient Coin redemptions for Sea of Thieves. The pace is slow: it takes quite a few days of tasks to gather the points for a modest bundle, but it is passive accumulation that does not require playing. Because it is an outside programme, availability and the cost in points change over time, so it is worth checking the catalogue before you count on it. It is a supplement, not a main source.
- High-value loot per long session
Tall Tales and Athena's voyages
Tall Tales are guided campaigns with a fixed reward and good reputation, and they work well for anyone who plays in long stretches. Once you reach Pirate Legend status, Athena's Fortune voyages open up, with far more valuable loot per piece. Combined with the matching emissary flag they produce the most profitable hand-ins in the game. They take more time and coordination than a normal trading voyage, so they fit better into planned sessions than into odd moments during the week.
Events only
- A couple of hundred Ancient Coins per season
Level up your season Renown
Every season has a hundred-level reward track that advances by earning Renown, and the free portion includes Ancient Coins spread across specific milestones. Renown comes in almost on its own: handing in loot, completing voyages, joining world events and clearing the season's weekly challenges. You do not have to reach level one hundred to touch the first coin payouts, but you do have to play with some regularity across the three months it runs. It is the most reliable and predictable free source in the game.
- Extra coins, but only by paying for the season
The Plunder Pass and its limits
The Plunder Pass is the season's premium route: it is bought with Ancient Coins and adds a reward track parallel to the free one, with exclusive cosmetics and a considerably larger amount of coins than the free track hands out. How useful it is depends on playing enough to complete the track, because buying it and not reaching the high levels means not making the investment back. If you are short on time, the free track covers the essentials at no cost at all.
What does not work
No generator can add Ancient Coins to your Sea of Thieves account: the balance is handled on the game’s servers and there is no way to touch it from outside. If you arrived looking for one, we explain in detail how they work on the inside and why they always end the same way.
See why Ancient Coins generators are a scam →Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between gold and Ancient Coins?
Gold is earned by playing and cannot be bought: you hand loot in to the trading companies and it pays for ships, reputation and faction cosmetics. Ancient Coins are the store currency, sold for real money and only spent in the Pirate Emporium, home to pets, emotes and exclusive outfits. No pile of gold turns into Ancient Coins, which is why the free methods for getting them are so limited and worth using all of.
How many Ancient Coins can you get for free in one season?
The free Renown track hands out coins across several milestones and usually adds up to a couple of hundred over a full season, although the figure varies from one to the next. To that you can add occasional Ancient Skeleton spawns and Microsoft Rewards redemptions. Together it is enough for modest Emporium items, not for the full sets, which are clearly designed for people who buy coins or the pass.
How do you climb emissary grades without losing the loot?
Raise the flag of the company whose voyages you are going to run and complete those voyages without selling anything along the way: every pending hand-in and every objective cleared adds emissary value. Once you reach grade five, sell everything you have built up in one go to make the most of the multiplier. The risk is that the flag shows up on everyone else's map: stow the loot below deck and sell before the session drags on.
Why is it not worth hunting Ancient Skeletons systematically?
Because their spawns are random and very infrequent: there is no island or event that summons them, they simply turn up while you sail or explore. Devoting a session to looking for them usually pays less than running normal voyages, and they escape by burrowing if you are slow to take them down. The sensible approach is to keep them in mind as a lucky extra during the session rather than the point of the outing.
