Recognising and Counting Money

What you will learn

• Name the coins and notes in pounds and pence, and say what each is worth.
• Count a handful of money by starting with the biggest.
• Move between pounds and pence.

Before you start: you should be able to add within $20$ and count in $5$s and $10$s. See Adding Within 20 and Skip Counting in 2s, 5s and 10s.

This lesson uses pounds and pence. Other countries use different money, but the ideas of counting up are the same.

The idea

Money is something we use to buy things. Each coin and note has a value, which says how much it is worth. A bigger coin is not always worth more: a $5$p coin is smaller than a $2$p coin, but it is worth more. Look at the number on it, not the size.

Coins

The coins, from the smallest value to the biggest, are $1$p, $2$p, $5$p, $10$p, $20$p, $50$p, $\pounds 1$ and $\pounds 2$. The letter p stands for pence. One pound is $100$ pence.

Notes

Notes are worth more than coins. Common ones are $\pounds 5$, $\pounds 10$ and $\pounds 20$.

Counting money

To count a handful of coins, put them in order with the biggest first. Start with the biggest and add the rest one by one, saying the total as you go.

When you have lots of the same coin, count in steps. Three $20$p coins is $20, 40, 60$.

Pounds and pence together

An amount like $\pounds 1.20$ means $1$ pound and $20$ pence. The point separates pounds from pence. It is the same as $120$ pence. Always write two places after the point for pence in pounds: $\pounds 1.20$, not $\pounds 1.2$.

Different coins can make the same amount. $\pounds 1$ is $100$p, and so is two $50$p coins, or five $20$p coins, or ten $10$p coins.

Worked examples

Example 1: Counting coins

Count a $50$p, a $20$p, a $10$p and a $5$p coin.

1. Start with the biggest: $50$.
2. Add the $20$p: $70$.
3. Add the $10$p: $80$.
4. Add the $5$p: $85$.

Answer: $85$p.

Example 2: Making an amount

Show $70$p using exactly three coins.

1. Start with a big coin: $50$p, leaving $20$p to make.
2. Split $20$p into two coins: $10$p and $10$p.
3. Check: $50 + 10 + 10 = 70$, and that is three coins.

Answer: $50$p, $10$p and $10$p.

Example 3: Pence and pounds

Write $345$p in pounds.

1. $300$p is $\pounds 3$.
2. $45$p is left.
3. Write them together: $\pounds 3.45$.

Answer: $\pounds 3.45$.

A bigger coin is not always worth more. A $2$p coin looks bigger than a $5$p coin, and a $50$p coin looks bigger than a $\pounds 1$ coin. Read the number.

Why it matters

Counting money is one of the first uses of numbers in daily life. You need it to buy things, check your change and save up. You will practise adding prices and finding change in later lessons, and you will see pounds and pence again when you learn about decimals.