Counting Coins and Bills
Money is a medium of exchange that functions as the principal measure of wealth, the means by which prices and values are expressed, and the unit of account for all economic transactions. It circulates anonymously from person to person and country to country, facilitating trade, and it is the principal means by which people acquire wealth.
A coin is a piece of metal or, rarely, some other material certified by a mark or marks upon it as being of a specific intrinsic value and issued by an authority to serve as legal tender. Most coins presently are made of a base metal, and their value is established by law, not by the free market; they are fiat currency.
Coins may have a plain or patterned surface, and they often have an exergue (the space beneath the main design) that contains the date, mint mark, privy mark or some other decorative or informative feature. Most coins are round, but some have other shapes such as polygons or wavy edges (e.g., the Australian 50-cent coin). The size of a coin varies according to its denomination; for example, a one-dollar bill has twelve flat sides, while a two-dollar bill has twenty. Some coins are bimetallic, with different metals combining to make up the coin’s total weight; the most common are euro coins in Europe and Mexican peso coins.
The use of coins as money began in ancient times. It was convenient to carry around large amounts of coins, and this led to the development of banking and trade. In the Middle Ages, coins were still widely used throughout Europe; however, colonial acquisition of new lands brought new sources of precious metals that enabled Europeans to move away from metallic coinage.
It is possible to substitute paper for coins, and this form of currency eventually replaced them worldwide in the 19th century. The use of paper is very efficient and provides greater security than carrying around large quantities of coins; it also allows the government to profit by inflating the quantity of money printed.
Counting money using bills is similar to counting money using coins; the main difference is that you must work with dollars only, rather than cents. It is important to learn the counting techniques for each type of currency, as well as understanding the value of each dollar. To begin, it is best to start with the largest denominations first, then progress to the smaller values. For example, if you have three quarters, two nickels, and five pennies, count the quarters first then add the values together. Once you have mastered these skills, you can try counting larger amounts, such as a $20 bill or a $5 bill with various denominations of coins. You can also practice grouping, which is a method where you organize like values into groups, such as adding up six quarters and ten dimes to get the value of a $1 bill. If you find this is difficult, you can always ask a parent or tutor to help.