What's the value of the John Wick gold coins?

As seen in both the first John Wick movie and the subsequent sequel, it seems these gold coins are used as some sort of currency for the underworld of hitmen and other nefarious figures.

That said, it's not made clear what the value of the coins are, or what services can exactly be bought with said coins. From what we've seen, the currency has been used quite a bit:

John's used it to pay off the bodybagging crew after the home invasion
He's used it to procure information on some other people
He's used it to gain access to hitman-tailored shops
Cassian's used it to buy drinks for him and John
John's used it in order to get in contact with the Bowery King

And many more scenarios, but is that really all the currency is used for? Could the currency be used outside of that underworld? And besides all that, the actual value of it seems quite odd. Cassian spends 1 gold coin paying for his and John's drink in Chapter 2, but it seems that the same amount can be used to gain access to specific hitman services, but it costs a whole lot more just to get a cleanup crew to dispose of the bodies.

If anything, is there a set value of what the currency can be used for? Can it be used for anything, or are there some restrictions on how it can be used.

john-wick john-wick-chapter-2

Best Answer

You are overthinking this.

The director explains...

Our whole reason for the coin, for instance, comes from the cold war. Spies back in the day used gold coins. You could melt it, it was non-identifying, and everyone in the world accepts gold. We thought, ‘what’s an international currency? Gold coins? Done.’ Then we thought 'let’s put a special stamp on them.' Then you have the gold coin as part membership card and payment.

^Source

..and

Look at Clint Eastwood in The Good, The Bad And The Ugly—there is so much back-story unsaid there. We’re big fans of leaving it to your imagination. We just give you some gold coins, and then it's, “Where do the gold coins come from?” We’ll get to that. Have your imagination do some work there.

^Source

Once could argue that the value is "one coin = one service" perhaps.

You have one body to dispose of? One coin...two bodies, two coins.

Need a gun, one coin. Kill someone, one coin.

A stay at the Continental, one coin but there is no equivalency implied between any of these transactions.

Could the currency be used outside of that realm?

The realm is the entire John Wick universe and it's not the one we're living, any more than the MCU is. It's entirely separate from our universe.

Are there commonalities? Sure but we don't live in the Wick universe so the same economics don't apply.

Commenter Erik makes an excellent point..

Also worth mentioning that when the contract is set on Wick's life, it's in dollars, suggesting that the coins aren't the only currency used by the underworld. If you don't get paid in gold coin for hits, then their value matters a lot less. As the quote at the top says; they are "part membership card, part currency".

It seems that the "Gold Coin" economy is distinct and separate from the real economy...but since in the "Gold" economy one could potentially get anything for a coin...its value cannot be estimated..or underestimated either.