New Dollar Coin Out Thursday

[Brian Sheridan]

I know no one in the general public will use these but will anyone of us use them so we can feel like Johnny Dollar?


No plan to replace bill with dollar coin

By WILL LESTER, Associated Press Writer
Sun Feb 11, 5:02 PM ET

WASHINGTON - Maybe Susan B. Anthony and Sacagawea should not take public rejection personally. It's not easy overcoming people's indifference to dollar coins, even those honoring such historic figures.

An AP-Ipsos poll found that three-fourths of people surveyed oppose replacing the dollar bill, featuring George Washington, with a dollar coin. People are split evenly on the idea of having both a dollar bill and a dollar coin.

A new version of the coin, paying tribute to American presidents, goes into general circulation Thursday. Even though doing away with the bill could save hundreds of millions of dollars each year in printing costs, there is no plan to scrap the bill in favor of the more durable coin.

"I really don't see any use for it," Larry Ashbaugh, a retiree from Bristolville, Ohio, said of the dollar coin. "We tried it before. It didn't fly."

Two recent efforts to promote wide usage of a dollar coin proved unsuccessful. A quarter-century ago, it showed feminist Susan B. Anthony on the front; then one in 2000 featuring Sacagawea, the Shoshone Indian who helped guide the Lewis and Clark expedition.

The latest dollar coin will bear Washington's image, followed later this year by those of John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. A different president will appear on the golden dollar coins every three months.

The series of coins will depict four different presidents per year, in the order they served.

 

[Sunny]

I think they'd have a lot more luck getting them into circulation if they'd stop doing this "special series" "limited edition" junk. That just caters to a population that's way too quick to horde anything that may become collectible in the distant future.

The big problem with the Susan B's was that they're the same size as quarters. Same for the Sacagaweas, although at least they were a different color. What was wrong with the Eisenhowers? Nice and big, they even felt like they were worth more. I like handling Eisenhowers, but the Susan B's and Sacagaweas don't feel like anything special.

But in a thousand years, even they may be worth something!

 

[Miss Neecerie]

Well the real problem with getting folks to use them..is that seemingly the treasury has never consulted with a country that has gotten rid of a paper money for a coin....and thus is 'doing it all wrong'

Firstly, you cannot make the dollar coin the same basic size as the quarter. People won't use it due to the constant need to look closely to make sure one isnt accidently spending a dollar and not 25 cents. Putting a silly rim that pretends to be octagonal but isnt really discernable by touch is not an aid.

an example of this done right is the UK pound coin...its double the thickness then any other coin and -not- the same size. So you can immediately tell its not a different coin in your pocket. But this would require reworking vending machines etc....and I understand the lobby for that....discourages it...so we end up with quarter sized dollars every darn time.

Secondly...whats this with surveys etc....and all this choice....the treasury needs to decide it wants to save that money...and just replace the dollar bill. period. if its really a cost savings, then they are looking out for our best interests in that lower taxes and less deficit is a good thing.

People would -make do- and -get used to it- if they were required to. Instead we get a wishy washy no plan plan...


Denise...for whom this is a giant pet peeve...

 

[Feraud]

I will collect 'em because they will feature the presidents and thus be an interesting piece.
As for replacing the dollar I do not see that happening for the reasons listed above.
My pet peeve is how horrible the Sacagawea coin looks after handling it for any period of time. Bleh.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Canada's another example of a country that's done it right -- their dollar coin, the Loonie, is nothing like a quarter in size, color, or shape, and when it was introduced the paper dollar was discontinued and withdrawn from circulation. End of problem.

The Canadian two-dollar coin, the Toonie, is even better -- a large nickel-plated piece with a small brass slug in the center. You can't mistake it for anything else, even when feeling around in your bag in the dark.

 

[Elaina]

I get dollar goins and save them. Every 2 weeks, I go to the post office, plunk in a $20 bill, buy one stamp...and put $19 coins into my giant oversized martini glass.

Do I spend them? Only when I have to. It's lile $2 bills. Without these, I wouldn't have a "savings account". When I do spend them, it doesn't bother ME (the cashiers...maybe.)

But I also worked as a waitress and once spent 700 in dollar bills at an upscale department store. A few coins certainly doesn't bug me at all.

 

[moustache]

All that needs to be done has been mentioned.Discontinue the paper,make the coins larger and thats it.Let the public know that paper $1's will be worthless in two years.
The euro was successful this way.Why do Americans find this a difficult concept??Let's spend millions to print more paper bills and whine about money spent on other less needy projects.

Priorities!!!

JD

 

[Vladimir Berkov]

The thing I don't understand is why even though they know that there is resistance to dollar coins, they want to make the coins PC feminist political statements. The Sacagawea coin was a terrible idea, and ugly to boot. Are they really surprised that it failed?

The dollar is the basic conceptual unit of our monetary system, any dollar bill or coin idea has to reflect that. Rather than being a political statement or collector's item.

 

[J. M. Stovall]

The reason they will not make the dollar coin bigger than the quarter is that every vending machine in the us would have to be changed to accept it. And the vending machine companies will have none of that. As long as it fits in the same slot they have ways of discerning it from the other coins.

 

[Miss Neecerie]

The reason they will not make the dollar coin bigger than the quarter is that every vending machine in the us would have to be changed to accept it. And the vending machine companies will have none of that. As long as it fits in the same slot they have ways of discerning it from the other coins.

exactly...political lobbying at its best....like I said in my post.

of course they dont account for the jobs that would be created and or maintained by having to reeingineer those systems...and make new slots.....much like they did when the price of most things became higher and they needed to add a paper money reader to vending machines...

 

[scotrace]

I also wondered why they were asking the public what to do and screwing it up anyway. Government!

Just make the switch already!

 

[Baron Kurtz]

They need a new 50 cent coin. Those are great, and so massive that they're unmistakeable. And useless (no vending machine will accept 'em and stores think they're funny-money.

bk

 

[moustache]

The reason they will not make the dollar coin bigger than the quarter is that every vending machine in the us would have to be changed to accept it. And the vending machine companies will have none of that. As long as it fits in the same slot they have ways of discerning it from the other coins.

I rarely have cash given to me anymore here at the store.It's all credit cards or debit cards.Haven't seen a check in ages.I see most vending machines take dollars and coins.So make the slot bigger,make the dollar larger,and be done with it.We try to save money by not modifying machines yet spend 20 million each year to produce new money.Hmmm.
Now thats clear thinking. And i wouldn't blame the government as they are us!!

JD

 

[Weston]

Being in Japan for only TWO WEEKS and I immediately saw the superiority of their system. $1 and $5 coins in your pocket. Wonderful! Only larger than 10's in your wallet. Worked wonderfully.

 

[K.D. Lightner]

I was so excited when they first made the Sacagawea coin, I thought, oh boy, a woman on a coin and a Native American to boot. Of course, they blew it, making it the size of a quarter and a weird shape.

Then, they tried another woman, and blew that one, too. Too small a coin.

Now, we get to have more president coins. Oh, whipee!

Couldn't they have done it right with Sacagawea?

karol

 

[Phil]

To me, this is just going to be another collectible. I doubt that changing out a bill for a coin is going to work very well. Should it work, there will be a lot of time needed. Also, machines will need to be changed and retro fitted with proper money taking devices to accept the new currency. Either way, something will be a collectible soon, either the coin dollars or the paper dollars.

 

[K.D. Lightner]

If they go through every president (don't they have to be dead? Or is that just for stamps), they certainly will be collectibles.

Where else will you get coins or bills with such unforgetables as Millard Fillmore, Zachary Taylor, Chester A. Arthur, Benjamin Harrison, and Rutherford B. Hayes?

Oops, I just Googled and found they have all appeared on sugar packets.

I guess there are people who collect sugar packets.

karol

 

[Phil]

There is an argument that it contributes towards inflation - I mean you'll spend a coin quicker than you'll spend a bill.

I always liked when in the States having a billfold with bills, rather than a pocketful of coins.

This is true. I know if you gave me $5 in quarters nad put me infront of an arcade, those quarters will be gone. However, slap a $5 bill in my hand and I'll rethink the arcade and either save it for later or spend it on something more...useful, I guess is the word.
The difference in carrying the currency is also another good point. Forgive me immature humor, but how will strippers collect their money if we change singles from bills to coins?

 

[Orgetorix]

Forgive me immature humor, but how will strippers collect their money if we change singles from bills to coins?

I don't think you really want to ask that question.

 

[Miss Neecerie]

aha....the real truth comes out!

Its not the vending machine Lobbyists.....its the stripper lobby!



:eusa_clap