🔢 MathGrade 2Lesson 35
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Identify Coins and Bills

Lesson preview: the Mini Lesson and Vocabulary are open to everyone. Guided practice, exercises, the parent checklist and the printable PDF worksheet come with full access (free 7-day trial or membership).

What you will learn

  • 1Identify US coins (penny, nickel, dime, quarter) by name and appearance
  • 2State the value of each coin in cents and each bill in dollars
  • 3Say which coins make the same amount (e.g., 4 quarters = $1.00, 10 dimes = $1.00)
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Mini Lesson

Money is how we pay for things. In the United States, we use coins and dollar bills (paper money). Every coin and bill has a name and a value.

The four main coins

  • Penny — worth 1 cent (1¢). Copper colored. Abraham Lincoln on the front.
  • Nickel — worth 5 cents (5¢). Silver colored, thicker than a dime. Thomas Jefferson on the front.
  • Dime — worth 10 cents (10¢). Silver colored, the smallest coin. Franklin D. Roosevelt on the front.
  • Quarter — worth 25 cents (25¢). Silver colored, the largest of the four. George Washington on the front.

Dollar bills

  • $1 bill — worth 100 cents ($1.00). George Washington on the front.
  • $5 bill — worth 500 cents ($5.00). Abraham Lincoln on the front.

Coins that make the same amount

  • 5 pennies = 1 nickel (5 × 1¢ = 5¢)
  • 2 nickels = 1 dime (2 × 5¢ = 10¢)
  • 5 nickels = 1 quarter (5 × 5¢ = 25¢)
  • 10 dimes = 1 dollar (10 × 10¢ = $1.00)
  • 4 quarters = 1 dollar (4 × 25¢ = $1.00)

Words to know

Coin

A round piece of metal money

e.g. A penny is the smallest U.S. coin in value.

Bill

A piece of paper money

e.g. A $5 bill has Abraham Lincoln on it.

Penny

A coin worth 1 cent

e.g. Five pennies make one nickel.

Nickel

A coin worth 5 cents

e.g. Two nickels make one dime.

Dime

A coin worth 10 cents

e.g. Ten dimes make one dollar.

Quarter

A coin worth 25 cents

e.g. Four quarters make one dollar.

The four US coins: penny, nickel, dime, quarterFour coins shown in a row: a copper penny worth 1 cent, a silver nickel worth 5 cents, a small silver dime worth 10 cents, and a silver quarter worth 25 cents. Each lists the president on the front. Below is a strip of coin equivalencies.US CoinsPENNYLincoln1¢copperNICKELJefferson5¢silver, thickDIMERoosevelt10¢smallestQUARTERWashington25¢silver, largeCoin Equivalencies5 pennies = 1 nickel2 nickels = 1 dime5 nickels = 1 quarter4 quarters = $1.0010 dimes = 1 dollar
The four US coins with their values and the coins that make the same amount: penny (1¢), nickel (5¢), dime (10¢), quarter (25¢).
US dollar bills: one dollar and five dollarsTwo illustrated dollar bills. The top bill is green and labeled One Dollar Bill with George Washington. The bottom bill is green and labeled Five Dollar Bill with Abraham Lincoln. Each shows its value and equivalencies.US Dollar BillsG.Washington$1ONE DOLLAR= 100¢ = 4 quarters = 10 dimes1111A.Lincoln$5FIVE DOLLARS= 500¢ = 5 one-dollar bills5555Bills are paper money. Coins are made of metal.
The $1 bill (George Washington, = 100¢) and the $5 bill (Abraham Lincoln, = 500¢).
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Say each coin's name and value together — "Quarter, twenty-five cents!" — until you know them without thinking.

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← Lesson 34: Fractions — Thirds and Equal Parts of SetsLesson 36: Add and Subtract Money →