The official store listing explains the main economy but does not publish complete drop rates, site-by-site profit tables, or a definitive farming route. Exact reward amounts and some mechanics below therefore rely on clearly identified community references or practical recommendations rather than a
Fast answer
The answer before the background
To make money efficiently, excavate whenever stamina and attempts allow, finish fossil sets, place completed fossils in exhibition stands, and collect visitor payments regularly. Upgrade the visitor system and excavation capacity before buying luxury improvements. Use coins for normal museum, stamina, and tool upgrades. Treat gems as a reserve for new excavation tools, gem-only upgrades, or emergency spending rather than converting them into routine coin costs. For a repeatable session, collect the coin bag, tap animal visitors, spin the available roulette, excavate the most productive currently unlocked site, and return to the museum to collect income and place new displays.
Verified basics
How the economy works
The game has two important currencies: coins and gems. Coins are the ordinary spending currency for excavations, museum development, and many tool upgrades. Gems function as a premium or fallback currency and are also used for purchases that cannot be paid with coins, including some tool unlocks and upgrades.
The official store description confirms the central economy: excavate fossils, display them in the museum, attract visitors, and use the money they spend to fund further excavations, exhibition stands, and upgrades. This makes completed displays more valuable than repeatedly digging without improving the museum.
Materials are mainly the fossils and fossil parts you uncover. They are not a conventional crafting resource. Their value comes from completing collections, placing the result in an exhibition stand, increasing visitor satisfaction, and opening further progression.
- Coins: routine progression and most ordinary upgrades.
- Gems: scarce currency for premium or gem-only spending.
- Fossils and parts: progression materials that become income when completed and displayed.
- Stamina, attempts, and excavation capacity: practical limits on how quickly you can convert time into resources.
| Resource | Best repeatable sources | Recommended use |
|---|---|---|
| Coins | Museum visitors, coin bags, excavation rewards, completed displays, selling fossils, roulette | Excavations, stands, visitor upgrades, and normal tool upgrades |
| Gems | Excavation finds, milestones, animal visitors, roulette, and purchases | New tools, gem-only upgrades, or carefully chosen emergency spending |
| Fossils | Dig sites and excavation rewards | Complete sets, display them, or sell surplus when appropriate |
| Materials | Rock and fossil parts found while digging | Use to complete exhibits and unlock stronger income loops |
The official listing does not provide a complete economy spreadsheet. Community references report several coin and gem sources, but reward rates can vary by save, update, or platform.
Best repeatable loop
A practical farming route
Start each session by collecting any stored museum income. The community wiki reports a coin-bag collection feature that becomes available after time away, while the official description confirms that visitors pay to see displayed fossils. In practice, checking the museum before every expedition prevents stored income from sitting unused.
Next, clear the low-effort repeatable rewards: tap visiting dogs or cats when they appear, collect visible coin drops, and use the item roulette when it is available and its reward is worth the required advertisement. These actions cost little or no regular currency, so they are efficient additions to every play session.
Spend your excavation attempts on a site that advances an unfinished fossil set or offers useful repeatable parts. A nearly completed fossil is usually a better target than a random dig because finishing it can immediately create another display and improve the museum’s earning potential. The best site changes as new floors, tools, and fossil groups unlock; there is no verified universal best gold farm.
After digging, assemble and display complete fossils before spending the remaining coins. Then collect the next visitor payout and reinvest in the bottleneck that limits you most: visitor attraction, excavation count, stamina, or the tool level needed to break harder rocks.
- Collect museum income before leaving the building.
- Tap animal visitors and claim visible drops.
- Use roulette when available, but do not buy spins with scarce currency unless the game explicitly offers good value.
- Prioritize unfinished fossils that are close to completion.
- Return to the museum after each excavation cycle to place displays and collect payments.
| Stage | Priority | Why it works |
|---|---|---|
| Early game | Complete cheap fossil sets and improve visitor income | Fast displays create a stable coin base |
| Middle game | Increase excavation capacity and upgrade the main tool | More attempts and stronger digging reduce the cost of each fossil |
| Later game | Finish high-value collections and unlock additional floors | Higher progression limits allow larger income storage and stronger upgrades |
Do not sell a fossil part merely because the immediate payout looks attractive. Keep anything needed to complete an unfinished display, and sell only genuine surplus after checking the collection or storage screen.
Currency spending
How to use coins and gems without slowing progress
Coins should normally be spent as soon as they improve the loop that generates more coins. Visitor upgrades are especially valuable because they strengthen the museum’s recurring income rather than helping only one excavation. Excavation capacity and stamina upgrades are also strong choices when you frequently run out of attempts before finishing a fossil.
Tool upgrades are worthwhile when a stronger tool lets you reach fossil pieces that were previously blocked. Avoid upgrading blindly, however. If the next tool level does not open a new rock type or shorten a common excavation, saving for visitor or excavation improvements may produce faster returns.
Gems should be treated as strategic currency. The community wiki lists gems as a way to pay for some excavations or upgrades when coins are short, but that convenience can consume the resource needed for tool unlocks. A sound default is to spend coins whenever the same purchase accepts both currencies and reserve gems for gem-only options.
The game also uses the terms gold, money, and sometimes diamonds or crystals in player discussions. For this guide, those informal terms refer to the game’s ordinary coin currency or its gem currency unless the current interface uses a different label. The official store listing and available references do not establish a separate third standard currency.
- Spend coins on upgrades that increase future income or excavation output.
- Save gems for new tools and purchases that cannot be paid with coins.
- Do not use gems merely to skip a short coin shortage.
- Check whether an upgrade affects visitors, attempts, stamina, or tool power before buying it.
- Keep a reserve for the next floor, tool, or progression gate.
| Situation | Preferred payment | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Routine museum or tool upgrade | Coins | They are renewable through normal play |
| Gem-only tool unlock | Gems | There is no ordinary coin substitute |
| Temporary coin shortage | Wait and farm coins | Preserves gems for permanent progression |
| A fossil needed to finish a display | Coins first; gems only if necessary | The completed display can improve future income |
Exact costs and level caps can change. Check the live upgrade screen in your save before following any community cost table.
Materials and progression
How to turn excavations into long-term income
The most important material loop is completion: dig fossil parts, assemble the fossil, place it in an appropriate stand, attract visitors, and use their payments to fund the next expedition. This loop is more reliable than treating excavation rewards alone as the main source of money.
Museum level, visitor development, character or excavation capacity, and tool strength all reinforce one another. If you can afford only one upgrade, choose the one that removes your current limit. A player who still has unused attempts should improve digging power or stamina; a player who finishes fossils but earns too little should improve visitor-related progression.
The official listing also notes that the museum can be expanded and that different fossils may require different exhibition stands. Keep enough coins for stands and floor progression instead of putting every coin into a single tool level.
For efficient farming, alternate between a completion route and a cash route. The completion route targets a nearly finished fossil. The cash route revisits a comfortable site when you need quick excavation rewards or practice. This prevents your economy from stalling while you wait for a specific rare part.
- Use excavation attempts to finish collections whenever possible.
- Build or unlock stands before accumulating fossils that cannot be displayed.
- Choose upgrades according to your current bottleneck, not a fixed universal order.
- Maintain one easy site for low-cost repeat runs when you need coins quickly.
- Recheck the museum report and collection screens for milestone rewards.
The completion-and-display loop is directly supported by the official store description. The exact order of upgrades is a recommendation based on how the loop compounds, not an official developer-prescribed route.
FAQ
Common questions
How do I get coins quickly?
Collect stored museum income, tap animal visitors, claim visible drops, use available roulette rewards, then excavate and complete fossil sets. Displaying completed fossils is the most important long-term improvement because visitors pay to see them.
How do I get gems or diamonds?
Available references report gems from excavations, milestone rewards, animal visitors, and roulette, with store purchases also possible. “Diamonds” is commonly used by players as another name for this premium currency, but check the label in your version.
What is the best gold farm?
There is no verified single best site for every stage. The most dependable route is the currently unlocked site that either completes a fossil quickly or gives strong rewards for the attempts and tool power you have available.
Should I spend gems to buy coins?
Usually no. Use coins for purchases that accept coins, and preserve gems for new tools or gem-only upgrades. Convert gems only when the purchase directly removes a progression block and waiting for coins would waste substantial play time.
Are crystals a separate currency?
No separate crystal currency is confirmed by the official listing or the main references reviewed for this guide. Players may use “crystals” informally for gems, so follow the exact icon and label shown in your current interface.
Sources
What we checked
Official listings establish current availability and product facts. Community pages are used for mechanics and build history, then labeled separately.
- OfficialOfficial App Store listing and version history
- CommunityCommunity reference: Coin
- CommunityCommunity reference: Gem
- CommunityCommunity reference: Tools