How coins work

1. These are the four coins. They are drawn the size they really are. Look at them for a moment. Do not read the values yet. The sizes are about to surprise you.
2. A penny is 1 cent. It is the brown one. Every other coin is counted in pennies. So this is the one to start from.
3. A nickel is 5 cents. Five pennies are worth the same as one nickel. Count them: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.
4. A dime is 10 cents. Ten pennies are worth the same as one dime.
5. Your turn. Make 10 cents. Tap coins to take them. You can do it with one dime. Or two nickels. Or ten pennies. They are all 10 cents, and that is the point.
6. Here is the surprising bit. The dime is SMALLER than the nickel. But it is worth twice as much. Coins are not worth what their size looks like. You have to know them.
7. A quarter is 25 cents. It is the biggest of the four. It is also worth the most. This one does match its size.
8. Your turn. Make 25 cents. Tap coins until the total says 25 cents. One quarter does it in one go. Two dimes and a nickel is 25 cents too. Watch the total as you tap.
9. To count a handful, start with the biggest value. Put them in order first. Then count on: 25, then 35, then 40, then 41. Forty-one cents. Starting from the biggest keeps the counting easy.
10. Quick check. Both coins are here. One of them is worth more than the other. Which is worth more, the nickel or the dime? The dime · The nickel, it is bigger. Yes. The dime is smaller and worth twice as much.

Penny 1, nickel 5, dime 10, quarter 25. The dime is small and still beats the nickel. And a handful is easiest counted biggest first.