Children love real money. Coins are shiny, they have animals on them, and they buy things. That makes Australian money one of the best ways to practise counting at home. Here is a coin-by-coin guide to Australian coins for kids, the answer to the question every child asks (why is the $2 coin smaller than the $1?), who is on each note, and a ten-minute pretend shop to play together.
Australian coins for kids: a coin-by-coin guide
Australia uses six coins: 5c, 10c, 20c, 50c, $1 and $2. Here’s what is on the back of each one, and how big it is, from the Royal Australian Mint.
| Coin | On the back | Size across | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5c | An echidna | 19.41 mm | 2.83 g |
| 10c | A lyrebird | 23.60 mm | 5.65 g |
| 20c | A platypus | 28.65 mm | 11.3 g |
| 50c | The Australian Coat of Arms, on a 12-sided coin | 31.65 mm across the flats | 15.55 g |
| $1 | Five kangaroos (coins dated 2026 have six) | 25.00 mm | 9.00 g |
| $2 | An Aboriginal elder, with the Southern Cross and Australian plants | 20.50 mm | 6.60 g |
The 5c, 10c, 20c and 50c coins are silver-coloured, and the $1 and $2 are gold-coloured. A few things children usually find surprising:
- The 50c is the biggest and heaviest coin, and the only one with straight edges.
- The $2 is smaller than the $1, and only a little bigger than the 5c.
- 2026 $1 coins have six kangaroos. The Mint calls it the “Mob of Six Roos”, one roo for each decade of decimal money. The usual five kangaroos come back from 2027, so check your change.
The other side of every coin shows the King or the late Queen. King Charles III first appeared on Australian coins in November 2023, and coins with Queen Elizabeth II are still in use alongside his.
Why is the $2 coin smaller than the $1 coin?
This is the question kids ask most. The $1 coin came first, in 1984, and the $2 coin followed on 20 June 1988. Each one replaced a paper note: the $1 note, then the $2 note.
The Royal Australian Mint says the size of the $2 coin was chosen after thinking about the needs of people with low vision, security, a wish to avoid odd-shaped coins, practical limits on how big and thick a coin can be, and leaving room for new coins in the future. It also had to fit in with the seven coins Australia had at the time. So the small $2 isn’t a mistake; it was planned.
It’s also a brilliant maths lesson: size doesn’t tell you value. A big 50c is worth less than a small $2. Ask your child to put the coins in order by size, then by value, and talk about what changed.
Where did the 1c and 2c coins go?
Australia used to have 1c and 2c coins too. They were taken out of circulation in February 1992. Because the smallest coin is now 5c, cash prices are rounded to the nearest 5 cents at the checkout. WA Consumer Protection explains it this way: “11 or 12 cents is rounded down to 10 cents; 13 or 14 cents is rounded up to 15 cents.” Rounding only applies to cash. Card payments are charged to the exact cent.
Australian notes: who is on each one?
Australia has five notes, each a different colour and size. Each note has people on it, from the Reserve Bank of Australia:
- $5: Queen Elizabeth II, with Parliament House on the other side.
- $10: Banjo Paterson and Dame Mary Gilmore, both writers.
- $20: Mary Reibey and Reverend John Flynn.
- $50: David Unaipon and Edith Cowan.
- $100: Sir John Monash and Dame Nellie Melba.
A new $5 note is being designed with the theme “Connection to Country”, with artwork by a First Nations artist. The Reserve Bank hasn’t said when it will come out, and today’s $5 note can still be used after it does.
When do kids learn about money at school?
In Victoria, money comes into maths from the very first year. The Victorian Curriculum 2.0 builds it up like this:
| Year | What children learn |
|---|---|
| Prep | Simple financial situations involving adding, taking away and counting (VC2MFN05). An example is playing shops with $1 coins and prices in whole dollars. |
| Year 1 | Practical problems “including simple money transactions” (VC2M1N05), and skip counting by twos, fives and tens, including with Australian coins (VC2M1A01). |
| Year 2 | Practical problems “including money transactions”, with adding and multiplying (VC2M2N06). The examples still use whole dollars. |
| Year 3 | “recognise the relationships between dollars and cents and represent money values in different ways” (VC2M3N07) |
| Year 4 | Purchases and working out change “to the nearest 5 cents” (VC2M4N08) |
So in Prep (Foundation) to Year 2, money problems use whole dollars, cents arrive properly in Year 3, and giving change is a Year 4 skill. If you live in another state, the steps are similar, but check with your child’s school.
How to teach your child to count money
Counting coins is harder than counting objects, because each coin is worth a different amount. Take it in steps:
- Name and sort. Tip out a purse and sort the coins into piles. Name each coin and its animal: “This is the platypus. It’s worth 20 cents.”
- One kind at a time. Count a pile of 10c coins in tens: 10, 20, 30. Then 5c coins in fives. This is the skip counting children learn in Year 1 (Grade 1).
- Dollars before cents. Start with $1 and $2 coins and prices in whole dollars, as Prep and Year 1 classes do.
- Biggest first. With mixed coins, start with the coin worth the most and count on: $2, then $1, so $3.
- Make $1. How many ways can you make a dollar? Two 50c coins, five 20c coins, ten 10c coins. It’s great practice for number bonds and times tables too.
A ten-minute pretend shop
- Set up. Put a few toys or pantry items on a table and write price tags. For Prep and Year 1, use whole dollars: $1, $2, $3.
- Shop. Your child is the customer and pays with real or play coins. Ask “Which coins could you use?”
- Swap. Now your child runs the shop and checks you’ve paid the right amount.
- Step up. For Year 2, add notes and two-item shopping: “A $2 apple and a $5 book. How much altogether?”
- A step ahead. In Year 3 and up, try prices in dollars and cents, and paying with a $5 note: “How much change?” Change is officially a Year 4 skill, so keep it playful.
For more ways to bring maths into everyday life, see our post on everyday maths talk, which has a money section for the shops.
Questions parents ask
What coins and notes does Australia use?
Six coins: 5c, 10c, 20c, 50c, $1 and $2. And five notes: $5, $10, $20, $50 and $100. The 1c and 2c coins were taken out of circulation in 1992.
Why is the $2 coin smaller than the $1 coin?
The Royal Australian Mint says the $2 size was chosen with the needs of people with low vision, security, avoiding odd-shaped coins, practical size limits and room for future coins in mind. It replaced the $2 note in 1988.
What animals are on Australian coins?
An echidna on the 5c, a lyrebird on the 10c, a platypus on the 20c and kangaroos on the $1. The 50c shows the Coat of Arms, which has a kangaroo and an emu, and the $2 shows an Aboriginal elder.
When do kids learn about money at school in Victoria?
From Prep. Prep to Year 2 use simple money problems in whole dollars, Year 3 covers dollars and cents, and Year 4 covers working out change to the nearest 5 cents.
How do I teach my child to count money?
Start by naming and sorting coins, then count one kind at a time by skip counting, like 10c coins in tens. Use whole dollars first, and play a pretend shop with price tags.
Why are cash prices rounded to 5 cents?
Because Australia no longer has 1c or 2c coins. Cash totals are rounded to the nearest 5 cents: 11 or 12 cents rounds down to 10, and 13 or 14 cents rounds up to 15. Card payments are exact.
Sources
- Investigating Australian Coins, Royal Australian Mint
- Check Your Change: Mob of Six Roos, Royal Australian Mint
- Heads or Tails, Royal Australian Mint
- Two cents, Royal Australian Mint
- Banknotes in circulation, Reserve Bank of Australia
- Theme for the new $5 banknote, Reserve Bank of Australia, March 2025
- Rounding, WA Consumer Protection
- Victorian Curriculum F–10 Version 2.0: Mathematics, VCAA
