Loose Change

It's not the first time it has crossed my mind that familiarity with a country's coinage (or lack of it) is a dead give away about "at home" you are. As soon as you look attentively at the change in your hand/purse the person you are paying knows - this person isn't from around here.

There is a subtle difference between "the have I got enough in change" check and the "how much are all these coins worth" look. The whole of New Zealand went through it when the coins were changed. It's more than what they look like - it's the weight of them in your hand or pocket and the shape and feel.

Apart from the fact the Australian coins are heavy after several years of light coins, that the $2 is smaller than the $1, and they still have a five cent coin - I think I'll know I'm properly integrating when I can put my hand in my jeans pocket and have a good estimate of the value of what I'm going to pull out before I even see it. It's already surprisingly close.