Riddles About Money With Answers
Updated · Best Riddles With Answers editorial team
Quick answer: This page offers 42 riddles about money with answers, covering coins, notes, banks, savings, prices and some tricky sums. They suit kids learning about coins as well as adults who like a logic puzzle. Work through the easy set first, then try the trickier and hard riddles, where the arithmetic is worked out in each answer.
Riddles About Money: Easy Money Riddles
I am round and shiny. Flip me in the air to decide who goes first. What am I?
A coin.
I am made of paper, but you spend me instead of reading me. What am I?
A banknote (bill).
I am shaped like a pig and I have a slot in my back. Coins go in, and you must break me or open me to get them out. What am I?
A piggy bank.
Your savings sleep safely inside me, and I may pay you a little extra for letting me keep them. What am I?
A bank.
I am a small plastic rectangle. You tap me to pay, yet I carry no coins. What am I?
A bank card.
I stand in a wall on the street. Put in a card and I hand out cash. What am I?
A cash machine (ATM).
I live in your back pocket and carry your notes, cards and receipts. What am I?
A wallet.
I am worth one hundredth of a dollar. What am I?
A cent (a penny).
I am small, I zip shut, and I jingle with coins. What am I?
A purse.
You hand over a big note for a small price, and I am what comes back to you. What am I?
Change.
I hang from every item in the shop and tell you how much it will cost. What am I?
A price tag.
Children get me every week to spend or to save, and sometimes I am earned by doing chores. What am I?
Pocket money (allowance).
Trickier Money Riddles
Two coins add up to 30 cents, and one of them is not a nickel. What are they?
A quarter and a nickel. Only one of them has to be not a nickel: 25 + 5 = 30.
A shirt and a tie cost 11 dollars together. The shirt costs 10 dollars more than the tie. How much is the tie?
50 cents, because the shirt is 10.50 and 10.50 + 0.50 = 11.00.
I spent half my money on a book, then half of what was left on lunch, and I have 5 dollars left. How much did I start with?
20 dollars. Working back: 5 x 2 = 10, then 10 x 2 = 20.
Every year I rise, and every year your coins buy a little less. What am I?
Inflation.
Money does not grow on trees, but I make it grow in a bank without any water. What am I?
Interest.
You get me when you borrow, and I do not go away until you pay me back. What am I?
A loan.
I take a slice of every pay cheque and every shop receipt, and nobody ever thanks me. What am I?
Tax.
Three friends share a 60 dollar bill equally and add a 6 dollar tip, also split equally. How much does each pay?
22 dollars, because 60 + 6 = 66 and 66 / 3 = 22.
A purse holds 4 five-dollar notes and 3 ten-dollar notes. How much money is in it?
50 dollars, because 4 x 5 = 20, 3 x 10 = 30 and 20 + 30 = 50.
I am yellow, heavy and bought by the bar. Kings stored me in vaults. What am I?
Gold.
Three apples cost 2.40 dollars altogether. How much is one apple?
80 cents, because 2.40 / 3 = 0.80.
You put away 1 cent on day one and double the amount each day. How much do you put away on day five?
16 cents. The days go 1, 2, 4, 8, 16.
Hard Money Riddles
A man buys a horse for 60 dollars, sells it for 70, buys it back for 80 and sells it for 90. How much did he make?
20 dollars. First trade: 70 - 60 = 10. Second trade: 90 - 80 = 10. Total 20.
A man finds an old coin stamped 44 BC. Why must it be a fake?
Nobody living then could know the years would later be counted backwards. The BC system came long afterwards.
Make exactly one dollar using exactly six US coins. Which coins?
One half dollar, one quarter, one dime and three nickels: 50 + 25 + 10 + 15 = 100.
Eight gold coins look identical but one is lighter. What is the fewest weighings on a balance scale that always finds it?
Two. Weigh 3 against 3: if level, weigh 1 v 1 of the last two; if not, weigh 1 v 1 of the lighter three.
Three guests pay 10 dollars each for a room, 30 in all. The room is really 25, so a bellboy takes back 5, keeps 2 and gives each guest 1. Now each paid 9, which is 27, plus the 2 he kept is 29. Where is the missing dollar?
There is none. The guests paid 27, which is 25 for the room plus the 2 kept. Adding the 2 to 27 is the mistake.
A man leaves 17 camels. His eldest child gets a half, the next a third and the youngest a ninth. Without cutting any camel, how are they shared?
Borrow one camel to make 18: 9, 6 and 2 camels (total 17). Then return the borrowed camel.
You put 100 dollars in a bank paying 10 percent a year, and each year's interest is added to the balance. How much do you have after two years?
121 dollars. Year one: 100 + 10 = 110. Year two: 110 + 11 = 121.
Sam has twice as many coins as Tom. If Sam gives Tom 6 coins, they have the same number. How many did Sam start with?
24. Tom had 12; after the gift both have 18, because 24 - 6 = 18 and 12 + 6 = 18.
Which is heavier, a kilogram of coins or a kilogram of banknotes?
Neither. Both weigh one kilogram.
What is the fewest coins you can use to make 38 cents with pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters?
Five coins: a quarter, a dime and three pennies, because 25 + 10 + 3 = 38.
Quick-Fire Money Riddles
Paid to you every month for your job.
Salary.
Money you keep for tomorrow.
Savings.
The shop machine that rings when you pay.
Cash register.
A strong room where gold is locked away.
Vault.
A lower price than usual.
Discount.
Paper that proves you paid.
Receipt.
Extra money you leave for a waiter.
Tip.
A pirate's chest full of gold and jewels.
Treasure.
How to Use These Riddles
Money riddles are a friendly way to practise everyday maths. Read the question aloud, give people a minute with pen and paper, and then compare answers. The working shown in each answer lets you see where a wrong guess went off track.
For children, stick to the easy section and use real coins as props. For adults and older students, the hard section has classic puzzles such as the missing dollar and the camel inheritance, which are good for discussion.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the answer to the missing dollar riddle?
There is no missing dollar. The guests paid 27 in total, and that 27 already includes the 2 the bellboy kept, with 25 going to the room. Adding the 2 on top of 27 is the trick.
What is a simple riddle about money?
Try this one: I am round and shiny, and you flip me in the air to decide who goes first. The answer is a coin. It is a good starter riddle for young children.
Why do money riddles show their working?
Because many money riddles are small maths problems. Showing the sums lets you check the answer yourself and learn the method, rather than just trusting the number at the end.
Are these money riddles good for teaching children?
Yes. The easy riddles use coins, wallets and prices, and the trickier ones practise adding, dividing and doubling. A parent or teacher can pick the level that matches the child.
