Money Money Money

Today I bought some Australian dollars for my trip.

I love the Australian notes- they're so fun and colourful, they look like Monopoly money! Plus they're also made of plastic so are waterproof in case you forget and accidentally go swimming with some in your pocket- such a sensible idea!

Here are some more fun facts about Aussie dollars:

Australia was the first country in the world to have a complete system of bank notes made from plastic. These notes provide much greater security against counterfeiting and last four times as long as conventional paper notes. The polymer notes are also cleaner than paper notes and can be recycled.
Australia’s currency comprises coins of 5, 10, 20 and 50 cent and one and two dollar denominations; and notes of 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 dollar denominations.
1 cent and 2 cent coins were removed from circulation in 1992 and prices are now rounded up the nearest 5cents. The bronze in these coins was melted down and used for the Bronze medals in the Sydney Olympic Games of 2000!
Sir Robert Menzies (the acting prime minister in 1965) wanted the new Australian currency (switching from pounds) to be called the ‘royal’. Other names proposed included "the koala", "the kanga", "the dinkum" and "the austral"- catchy!
All the Australian coins depict different native animals including kangaroos, a platypus, a lyrebird, an echidna and an emu.