LeetCode 322: Coin Change — Step-by-Step Visual Trace

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Learn to solve the LeetCode 322 Coin Change problem using dynamic programming with a step-by-step visual trace

intermediate Published 9 Apr 2026

Action Steps

Read the problem statement and understand the requirements
Initialize a DP array to store the minimum number of coins needed for each amount
Fill the DP array using a bottom-up approach with dynamic programming
Use the DP array to find the minimum number of coins needed for the target amount
Handle edge cases where it's impossible to make up the target amount

Who Needs to Know This

Software engineers and developers can benefit from this lesson to improve their problem-solving skills and learn dynamic programming techniques

Key Insight

💡 Dynamic programming can be used to solve the Coin Change problem by building a DP array to store the minimum number of coins needed for each amount

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Title: LeetCode 322: Coin Change — Step-by-Step Visual Trace

URL Source: https://dev.to/tracelit/leetcode-322-coin-change-step-by-step-visual-trace-2bn1

Published Time: 2026-04-09T07:02:49Z

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Posted on Apr 9 • Originally published at [tracelit.dev](https://tracelit.dev/blog/coin-change-visualization/)

# LeetCode 322: Coin Change — Step-by-Step Visual Trace

[#leetcode](https://dev.to/t/leetcode)[#algorithms](https://dev.to/t/algorithms)[#python](https://dev.to/t/python)[#dynamicprogramming](https://dev.to/t/dynamicprogramming)

**Medium** — Dynamic Programming | Array | Greedy

## [](https://dev.to/tracelit/leetcode-322-coin-change-step-by-step-visual-trace-2bn1#the-problem) The Problem

Given an array of coin denominations and a target amount, find the minimum number of coins needed to make up that amount, or return -1 if it's impossible.

## [](https://dev.to/tracelit/leetcode-322-coin-change-step-by-step-visual-trace-2bn1#approach) Approach

Uses dynamic programming with a bottom-up approach. We build a DP array where dp[i] represents the mini

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LeetCode 322: Coin Change — Step-by-Step Visual Trace

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