Forget about inflation or purchasing power or how much US currency you could exchange for it.

Don't quote some depressing 0.72 decimal point number at us. 

We're talking about the tangible value of the Aussie dollar. 

In a time of increasing intangibility – tap and go, Apple Pay and all that other stuff that means we never actually physically handle our money – what does it buy? What is it worth? They are fighting an uphill battle, but the folks at the Royal Australian Mint are hoping to develop a new generation of coin collectors and teach them the value of a dollar.  

The way they're doing it? A Willy Wonka-style national treasure hunt.

Yep, check your wallets, The mint has released three million specially-marked $1 coins into circulation and people are being urged to double check their change.

The coins are marked with the letters A, U or S, are date stamped 2019 and have the number 35 to mark the 35th anniversary of the $1 coin (which is on May 14, 2019).People who collect one of each coin can enter the competition for the chance to be one of eight to win a trip to Canberra with a stay at the Jamala Wildlife Lodge.

The eight winners – picked from each state and territory – will also get the opportunity to mint their own one-kilogram pure silver coin and receive a VIP tour of the mint.

Royal Australian Mint chief executive Ross MacDiarmid said the golden ticket-style competition was launched to encourage children to collect coins.

"Australia’s Dollar Discovery is a nationwide treasure hunt that we hope encourages Australians of all ages and from every state and territory to check their change for these special coins,” Mr MacDiarmid said.

As well as the eight two-night stays in Canberra, 250 people will win $150 Royal Australian Mint vouchers, and 5000 will win an Aussie Dollar Discovery piggy bank.

To win, you must register online and then collect all three of the specially marked $1 coins. The competition closes on April 8, and the winners will be drawn on May 14, 2019.

WE think it was sage quotesmith Matthew McConaughey who once said: "Man who invented the hamburger was smart; man who invented the cheeseburger was a genius."

Yep, and it's in that spirit of finding something good and adding something to it to make it perfect, that we are pleased to pass on that three Hunter burgers are finalists in the Australian Hotels Association's NSW best burger award.

We love burgers and we firmly believe that every meal can be improved by adding bread or a burger bun. Spaghetti? Put it on some bread, little cheese, toast it up and you've got a gourmet sandwich. Quiche? Mash that stuff up, squirt on some sauce and fold a piece of white bread over that thing. Tacos? Bread. 

So yeah, we eat a lot of burgers and we're surprisingly a bit of a snob about it. But we're ashamed to say we haven't tried any of these tasty creations. They are The Buttermilk Fried Chicken Burger from The George Tavern at Green Hills, The Smoked Beef Brisket from The Lucky in Newcastle and The Odds on Favourite from Scone's Thoroughbred Hotel. 

Our burger finalists lack the pretentious ingredients of their Sydney counterparts. No truffle, smoked brie and beetroot relish, we've got fried chicken, brisket, bacon and beef! 

Let us know how they taste.