To clarify, I’m not talking about money solely in form of metal coins. (As in: I then proceeded carefully to count out the entire 14 pounds 78 pence in coin – Oxford).

I’m talking about using ‘coin’ to mean money in general, a usage that Oxford does NOT define.

I was just watching Mad Max (’79). There’s a line where Max says to a shop owner:

You must have spent some coin. (at the 59:09 mark)

It’s worth mentioning that this usage of ‘coin’ is frequently encountered in period/fantasy works, most notably in Game of Thrones. But, since money was only available in metal back then, the usage is understandable.

Since Mad Max is an Autralian movie from 1979, I was curious whether this usage was prevalent in Australia, and if it still is.

While we’re at it, is ‘coin’ used this way in BrE/AmE? Was it ever?