Prop Money for Film & TV: How Much You Need and Which Type to Buy

Cash scenes are some of the most common prop requests on Australian film and TV sets — a briefcase handover, a robbery, a payday, a bribe across a table. Here is how to work out what to buy and how to shoot it.

Full-print or filler prop money?

Full-print stacks have every note printed. Use them for anything an actor handles: counting, fanning, flicking through a stack or throwing notes on a table.

Filler stacks have printed notes on the top and bottom and blank paper in the middle. They cost a fraction of full-print and look identical from a normal shooting distance, so they are the standard choice for filling bags, cases, safes and tables.

The usual approach is to fill the container with filler stacks and put one or two full-print stacks on top for the reveal.

How much prop money do you need?

• Wallet or till scene: 1–2 full-print stacks in mixed denominations.
• Briefcase: about 20 filler stacks plus 2 full-print stacks — or our ready-made briefcase kit.
• Duffel bag: 40–60 filler stacks, depending on how full it needs to look.
• Table covered in cash: 30–50 filler stacks laid flat, with full-print stacks at the front of frame.
• Vault or evidence room: shrink-wrapped bricks of 10 filler stacks, stacked.

Always order spares. Stacks get dropped, creased and split during takes, and reshoots need matching props.

Shooting tips

• Mid and wide shots read as cash without any help.
• For close-ups of hands counting, use a full-print stack and frame on the edges of the notes.
• Keep the PROP bank strap facing away from camera if the band is in shot, or re-band with plain straps that stay off-camera.
• Warm light flatters gold and orange notes; cool light suits blue and green.
• For period pieces, use aged or sepia notes — crisp new notes look wrong in a 1970s scene.

After the shoot

Count prop money back in at wrap and store it with the rest of your prop inventory. It is a prop, not currency — never leave loose notes in a public location.