My first week in Australia is all about adjusting. The 14 hour time difference is a big part of that – but, I’m also meeting new people, being exposed to a new sign language, and enjoying the differences in every-day things that I’ve come to overlook at home. When I first exchanged US dollars for Aussy dollars, my eyes nearly fell out of my head.

Size Matters

Australia dollar bills have a number of unique features. I’m no expert, so this video includes just my observations. For a more detailed discussion, see this website.

… But Not With Coins

Coins are a bit different. One and two-dollar coins are in regular circulation. I’ve been carrying around a pocket of change, thinking they were quarters, dimes, and nickels – only to find out that many of them were dollars. The one dollar coin is larger than the two dollar coin, and the ten cent coin is larger than the two dollar coin.

Aussy-Coins-Big

One helpful feature is that coins that are worth one or two dollars are thicker than coins of denominations less than a dollar.

So, when it comes to coins in Australia, it seems that size does not matter – but girth does.

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