also: ばらせん
Refers to loose coins or small change, often in contrast to bills or larger denominations.
財布の中はバラ銭ばかりだ。
My wallet is full of nothing but small change.
I counted out the coins and paid.
Standard spelling; バラ is often written in katakana for this word.
Hiragana variant of the same word.
Ateji spelling using 散 for ばら; rarely used.
Compound of バラ (loose, scattered) and 銭 (coin, money). The exact origin of バラ is uncertain, but it is used in many words meaning 'loose' or 'bulk'.