Australian Currency
The Australian currency is the Australian dollar.
There are 5 different colourful, plastic bank notes that feature various images of Australian history, culture or environment.
They are the 5 - purple, 10 - blue, 20 - red, 50 - yellow and 100 - green notes.
There seem to be very few $100 notes in use.
Probably because people use, increasingly, more debit or credit cards for various transactions, so a 100 note is not that useful any more.
The Australian currency was the first in the world to feature a complete series of plastic (polymer) notes. They are recyclable and much cleaner than paper money.
Australian Coin Values
The Australian coin values are 5, 10, 20, and 50 cents and 1 and 2 dollars.
You will not find any 1 or 2 cents coins. You will also see that most prices do not end in multiples of 5 cents. But when you pay cash everything is rounded to the nearest 5 cents. So you'll pay $2.45 for a 1 kilo of bananas priced at $2.47.
Most coins carry designs of native animals of Australia:
- the echidna - 5 cents,
- the lyrebird - 10 cents,
- the platypus - 20 cents.
The Australian coat of arms features on the 50 cents coin.
All the "cents" coins are made of cupro-nickel and are silvery in colour.
There are five kangaroos on the 1 $ and an Aboriginal elder on the 2 dollar coins.
The "dollar" coins are made of aluminium bronze and are gold in colour.
You may sometime hear the term "Australian gold coin". It is generally used to indicate money for small donations.
For example there are some events where the entry is free but it is nice to donate 1 or 2 dollars towards various worthy causes.
Australian Money -
What Can It Buy You?
The table below shows some examples of food items at average prices.
If you choose a basic or no frills alternative you’ll get more for the same amount. And you’ll pay more if you want to go for organic or higher quality.
| $ 5 | 2 litres of milk, or
2 loaves of sliced bread, or 1 – 2 kg of fruit or vegetables in season, or a cup of coffee and a cupcake or cookies, or 1-2 scoops of ice cream, or 1 beer at the pub |
| $ 10 | 1 kg of chicken breast fillets or red meat, or
1 kg of cedar cheese, or a bottle of wine at your local shop, or a take away meal with a can of drink at the food court |
| $ 20 | 3 good slices of fresh salmon or some nice seafood at the shops.
Order 1 main course at a restaurant. Some may even throw in a glass of wine or soft drink. |
| $ 50 | Basic groceries for up to a week.
Dinner for two at your local restaurant. Order drinks separately. |
Convert Your Currency
into Australian Currency
The XE.com Currency Converter helps you get an idea of how much money you will get for your funds in Australia.
Search for your currency, if it is not displayed in the currency box, click the link to more currencies, then insert the amount of money you want to convert into Australian currency and hit go.
Continue reading here: Famous Australians, Celebrities, Scientists, Athletes
Was this article helpful?
Readers' Questions
-
Victor6 months ago
- Reply