There is no trick to it: you earn coins by doing things other people want done, and by selling what you gather and make. The shops buy at a small share of what they sell for, so the money is in your own work, never in buying and selling back.
Where to sell
The General Store pays full value and buys almost anything. The Fishing Store pays full value too, but only for what it sells itself: nets, rods, feathers, yabbies and bait. Everywhere else pays less.
| Shop | Pays you | Charges you | Buys anything | Restocks every |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fishing Store | 100% of value | x12 value | Only what it stocks | 5s |
| General Store | 100% of value | x15 value | Yes | 30s |
| Peddler's Shop | 60% of value | x8 value | Yes | 1m 15s |
| Legs Shop | 55% of value | x10 value | Yes | 1m |
| Bread Shoppe | 45% of value | x8 value | Yes | 45s |
| Weird Shop | 30% of value | x8 value | Yes | 50s |
Nobody charges tax. A shop that sells something you need for less is worth knowing, though. The Peddler puts it plainly: "I hope you're here to offload some of my wares for me, they're at a better price than the general store!"
Full rules and rounding are on shops and prices.
What is worth selling
Raw materials are worth more the higher the level they need, and the steps are steep: gold ore sells for more than twenty times as much as copper ore.
| Resource | Gathered at | General Store pays |
|---|---|---|
 Copper Ore | Mining 1 | 3 coins |
 Iron Ore | Mining 10 | 13 coins |
 Silver Ore | Mining 15 | 40 coins |
 Coal | Mining 25 | 38 coins |
 Gold Ore | Mining 30 | 80 coins |
 Morion Ore | Mining 35 | 83 coins |
 Poplar Logs | Woodcutting 1 | 3 coins |
 Willow Logs | Woodcutting 10 | 12 coins |
 Spruce Logs | Woodcutting 20 | 27 coins |
 Maple Logs | Woodcutting 30 | 54 coins |
 Ash Logs (Red) | Woodcutting 40 | 108 coins |
 Hickory Logs | Woodcutting 50 | 200 coins |
Gathering also trains the skill and fills your curse meter a little every time, so keep some ichor for the trip home.
Quality sells
Gear with a quality sells for more: 1.5 times the value for Uncommon, 2.2 for Rare, 3.5 for Epic and 6 for Legendary. Crafting by hand at a good grade makes better quality far more likely than crafting on automatic (see crafting grades), and every Rare sword you do not need is 2.2 swords' worth of coin.
Task boards
Task boards pay coins for every item or kill they ask for, on top of experience and Warden Badges. Some examples:
| Task | List | How many | Coins | Experience for each one | Also pays |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gather Copper Ore | Kal Crossing | 15-40 | 30-80 (2 each) | 4 Mining and 6 Warden | 1 Warden Badge |
| Gather Poplar Logs | Kal Crossing | 15-40 | 30-80 (2 each) | 3 Woodcutting and 4 Warden | 1 Warden Badge |
| Craft Copper Bar | Kal Crossing | 15-40 | 75-200 (5 each) | 5 Warden and 3 Forging | 1 Warden Badge |
| Slay Chickens | Kal Crossing | 15-40 | 15-40 (1 each) | 1 Dexterity and 2 Warden | 1 Warden Badge |
| Craft Poplar Staves | Kal Crossing | 15-40 | 1,170-3,120 (78 each) | 13 Arcana, 3 Survival and 19 Warden | 2 Warden Badges |
| Gather Iron Ore | Badongerst | 15-40 | 120-320 (8 each) | 6 Mining and 9 Warden | 2 Warden Badges and 10 Badongerst Merits |
| Slay Weak Zombies | Badongerst | 15-40 | 120-320 (8 each) | 16 Strength and 24 Warden | 2 Warden Badges and 10 Badongerst Merits |
| Gather Maple Logs | Loima Shores | 15-40 | 540-1,440 (36 each) | 12 Woodcutting and 18 Warden | 4 Warden Badges and 10 Loima Shores Merits |
You can hold three tasks at once. See the path of the Warden.
Quests that pay
A few quests hand over coins as a reward: The Mystery Of The Meat pays 2,000 and asks for 
Cooking 27. A Business Adventure and Deep Trouble pay 500 each.
Keeping it
Coins are not carried as an item, so dying never costs you any. Your pack is another matter: sell or bank what you have gathered before you go looking for trouble. See death and recovery.