🔢 MathLevel 1Lesson 27
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Understanding Coins and Their Value

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).

Learning Objectives

  • 1Identify the penny, nickel, dime, and quarter by name and appearance
  • 2State the value of each coin in cents
  • 3Order penny, nickel, dime, and quarter from least to greatest value
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Mini Lesson

We use coins to pay for things. Each coin has a name and a value — the number of cents it is worth. Learning to recognize coins and know their values is the first step to using money.

The four coins

  • Penny — copper colored, worth 1¢.
  • Nickel — silver colored, larger than a dime, worth 5¢.
  • Dime — silver colored, smallest coin, worth 10¢.
  • Quarter — silver colored, largest coin, worth 25¢.

Important tip

  • A bigger coin does not always mean more money.
  • A dime is smaller than a nickel, but it is worth more (10¢ > 5¢).
  • Learn the name AND the value together: "Dime — ten cents!"

Coin value order (least to greatest)

  • Penny (1¢) → Nickel (5¢) → Dime (10¢) → Quarter (25¢)
Four coins with their names and valuesFour circles representing a penny, nickel, dime, and quarter with labels showing their cent values.The Four Coins1¢Penny1¢5¢Nickel5¢10¢Dime10¢25¢Quarter25¢Bigger coin ≠ more money!Dime is smaller than nickelbut worth more (10¢ > 5¢).
The four coins — notice the dime is the smallest circle but worth 10¢, more than the nickel at 5¢.
Coin value staircase from penny to quarterA staircase diagram showing penny at 1 cent, nickel at 5 cents, dime at 10 cents, and quarter at 25 cents ascending in value.Value StaircasePenny 1¢Nickel 5¢Dime 10¢Quarter 25¢Each step up = more cents!
The value staircase — each coin is worth more cents as you go up.
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Practice saying each coin’s name and value every day — "Quarter — 25 cents!" — until you know them all without thinking.

Vocabulary
Penny
Copper coin worth 1 cente.g. 1¢
Nickel
Silver coin worth 5 centse.g. 5¢
Dime
Smallest silver coin, worth 10 centse.g. 10¢
Quarter
Largest silver coin of these four, worth 25¢e.g. 25¢
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← Lesson 26: Making Simple GraphsLesson 28: Using Play Money →