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do you feel we can ever really use a dollar coin?

Does the U.S really need a dollar coin? I mean what good is one?

Comments

  • mgoodm3mgoodm3 Posts: 17,497 ✭✭✭
    Only if they get rid of the dollar bill. They are much cheaper to produce than bills in the long run.
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  • BarryBarry Posts: 10,100 ✭✭✭


    << <i>Only if they get rid of the dollar bill. They are much cheaper to produce than bills in the long run. >>


    Agree. They are apparently pretty popular in Colombia, where they use our money.
  • flaminioflaminio Posts: 5,664 ✭✭✭


    << <i>Does the U.S really need a dollar coin? I mean what good is one? >>



    In the long run, they're cheaper than dollar bills. Anything that causes our government to spend less money is a good thing, in my opinion.
  • cladkingcladking Posts: 28,630 ✭✭✭✭✭
    The banks apparently will refuse to issue dollar coins until they are forced by some means to do so.
    Tempus fugit.
  • CoinHuskerCoinHusker Posts: 5,033 ✭✭✭
    The savings would be phenomenal. Something like $500 million per year IF the $1 bill is removed from circulation. And that's just the savings to the Fed. different industries and public services would also save lots of money by the switch over. There's a site called the coin coalition that goes into a lot of details. Check it out.
    Collecting coins, medals and currency featuring "The Sower"
  • XpipedreamRXpipedreamR Posts: 8,059 ✭✭
    I don't want to live to see a world without a George Washington $1 bill.


    image
  • merz2merz2 Posts: 2,474
    shanks
    The $ coin will last a whole lot longer than the paper version.Thus it will be cheaper in the long run.This has been discussed here many times in the past.Until the Government stops making the paper $,it will never take hold.
    Don
    Registry 1909-1958 Proof Lincolns
  • nwcsnwcs Posts: 13,386 ✭✭✭
    Yes, I think it would be a good thing if they got rid of the bill and made people use the coin. And produce a $2 or $5 coin, too. I say this as someone who does appreciate currency.
  • DeepCoinDeepCoin Posts: 2,781 ✭✭✭
    It is a well know fact that coins last 30 years and paper dollars last 18 months. Canada has sucessfully moved to a 1 and 2 dollar coin.

    However, this being about politics the dollar bill will not go away until Teddy Kennedy is out of the senate. Why you ask? The only place that makes paper for us currency is in his district, i.e. Massachusetts. The paper $1 is about 60% of the bills made (thus the huge potential savings).

    The company in his district would lose a lot of jobs and he will block any serious effort to get rid of the $1 bill. To quote the late Tip O'Neill, all politics are local.

    Let me say I am on the record for getting rid of the one dollar bill.
    Retired United States Mint guy, now working on an Everyman Type Set.
  • MJPHELANMJPHELAN Posts: 780 ✭✭✭
    The Tooth Fairy leaves them when my kids lose their teeth!
    Mark


  • << <i>The company in his district would lose a lot of jobs and he will block any serious effort to get rid of the $1 bill. >>


    Of course this actually isn't true because the BEP would wind up greatly increasing the production of $2 notes and the paper production level would not actually change that much. Down 10% maybe. But the workers don't realize this because they are not used to thinking about the $2 bill because they never see them. But stop producing ones and the banks will start ordering twos rather than stick their customers with a bunch of dollar coins. That is another mistake a lot of people make. They think you would have to replace the entire production of dollar bills with dollar coins. Actually 80 to 90% of the dollar bill production would be absorbed in $2 bill production and 10% would go to coins. And you wouldn't have the pockets full of dollar coins either because any time your change back was over two dollars, you'd get a two dollar bill instead of two coins.
  • ahah Posts: 161 ✭✭✭
    I find young people have problems with change. Paper is on the out. peroid.

    wolf
  • BaleyBaley Posts: 22,660 ✭✭✭✭✭
    For a dollar coin to be successful, it needs to be SMALLER! a one euro coin is the size of a nickel.

    Liberty: Parent of Science & Industry

  • Size is the problem we encountered with the SBA though
  • XpipedreamRXpipedreamR Posts: 8,059 ✭✭


    << <i>Size is the problem we encountered with the SBA though >>





    It's not the size, it's what you do with it.
  • LincolnCentManLincolnCentMan Posts: 5,347 ✭✭✭✭
    As long as the dollar bill is around, I dont see a dollar coin being used widely.

    David
  • its just amazing to me how this country doesnt keep up on current affairs, i mean a coin that has been out for 4 years and most people dont know about it.
  • Yes, we need to be using dollar coins. We in this country effectively use only quarters and less -- or roughly 1/10 the amount that Europe uses with the euro (they have 1 and 2 euro coins -- 1 euro is worth about US$1.25). I have been preaching this for years. IMO, our coinage is really stupid and needs to be totally reworked so that the larger the coin, the larger the denomination. That's part of the problem. The Sac's size was determined by the fact that the U.S. Mint wanted it to be compatible with the SBA. I think our coinage should mimic the sizes of the euro coins, for even greater compatibility in vending machines, etc.
    Author of MrKelso's official cheat thread words of wisdom on 5/30/04. image
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  • CladiatorCladiator Posts: 18,038 ✭✭✭✭✭
    All I know is I LOVE 1$ coins!!!!!!!!!!!! They are the only US Coins I collect and I'm all about makin more of 'em image
  • I agree with Cladiator. I enjoy collecting U.S. dollar coins. I push them every chance I get. That is how I came up with my "dollardude" handle. image
    Author of MrKelso's official cheat thread words of wisdom on 5/30/04. image
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    Check out a Vanguard Roth IRA.
  • SDSportsFanSDSportsFan Posts: 5,134 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I totally agree with Cladiator; beside the fact that it would save the government tons of money! I can't think of any reason not to do it

    The only problem with it is that it makes so much sense to do it, that the government will probably never do it!

    Steve
  • Yes, so you can get rid of $1 notes. I find that of all the banknotes I've handled, US $1 tend to be the most worn out and soiled. I don't think I'll see the $1 note pulled from circulation anytime soon, though.
  • LucyBopLucyBop Posts: 14,001 ✭✭✭
    More dollar coins for me!
    imageBe Bop A Lula!!
    "Senorita HepKitty"
    "I want a real cool Kitty from Hepcat City, to stay in step with me" - Bill Carter
  • PutTogetherPutTogether Posts: 2,141 ✭✭✭
    I think the one dollar coin would be all the more effective if we introduced a Five dollar coin as well.
  • LucyBopLucyBop Posts: 14,001 ✭✭✭
    I like buying stamps at the PO machine so I can get SBA's or SACs so I can spend them....

    I like these coins and I love doing my part to circulate them....
    imageBe Bop A Lula!!
    "Senorita HepKitty"
    "I want a real cool Kitty from Hepcat City, to stay in step with me" - Bill Carter
  • I know this sounds stupid, but an argument against $ coins I've heard before is this (and it's not MY idea):

    There is no space in a change drawer at a store for $ coins, just like there was no place or room for the $2 bill when they tried that again.
  • islemanguislemangu Posts: 1,378 ✭✭✭
    never been to EU but the Japanese heavily use the 100 and 500 yen coins. I agree with the previous poster that a $5 coin needs to come out to supplement the $1's use.image
    YCCTidewater.com
  • Yes, the Japanese rely HEAVILY on coin. No smaller bills these days than the 1000 yen. Like Islemangu said, they use 100 and 500 yen coins, but they also have 1 yen, 5 yen, 10 yen and 50 yen coins. 6 yen coins versus our penny, nickle dime and quarters.

    I am personally used to having a wide variety of coin available and not using much paper money unless we're going out doin some serious shopping.
  • haletjhaletj Posts: 2,192
    If the $1 and $2 coin have worked in Canada, then the US will eventually follow suit and get rid of $1 bills and make the coins work. Afterall Canada had its coins featuring each province, which worked well, and then the US copied their idea with the state quarters. It seems the US likes to copy the good ideas of Canada.


  • << <i>There is no space in a change drawer at a store for $ coins, just like there was no place or room for the $2 bill when they tried that again. >>


    Well there is some truth to this, Cash registers used to have six slots in them and today many just have four. Only businesses that handle a lot of cash tend to still have the six slot registers like grocery stores. This illustrates how Canadian are smarter than we are. They use the same equipment we do and they ARE able to find room in theirs for both one and two dollar coins.
  • flaminioflaminio Posts: 5,664 ✭✭✭


    << <i>There is no space in a change drawer at a store for $ coins, just like there was no place or room for the $2 bill when they tried that again. >>



    If you eliminate both the rag-buck and the cent, you get a four slot change drawer that looks like this:

    Coins: 5c, 10c, 25c, $1
    Bills: $2, $5, $10, $20
  • A dollar coin would work if:
    1. they get rid of paper dollars
    and
    2. Don't make them a statement for political correctness.

    Put Liberty back on the dollar coin...
  • PutTogetherPutTogether Posts: 2,141 ✭✭✭
    you cant get rid of the cent. that wont happen for a long long long long time.
  • flaminioflaminio Posts: 5,664 ✭✭✭


    << <i>you cant get rid of the cent. that wont happen for a long long long long time. >>



    Why not? Other countries have done so, with great success. Even the US has experience in eliminating its smallest denomination coin, back in 1857. Didn't kill us then. Why not eliminate the zinc lint that has become the cent? Do it in 2009 -- have some big 100th/200th anniversary celebration, and then cease.
  • barberloverbarberlover Posts: 2,228 ✭✭
    I was sick most of the week [still am] with one of those nasty mid winter colds that wont let go.

    In Minneapolis this week we've had are biggest 3 day snow fall this winter so with that and the cold I jumped at the chance when someone from the neighborhood wanted to shovel out the front and back and driveway for 12 bucks, trouble was other then scattred change lying around the house all I had was two one dollar bills so my wife and I scrounged around the house looking for change and I ended up paying the guy with 2 dollars in loose change of nickles, dimes & quarters, 2 - 1 dollar bills but the other 8 dollars were 4 Ikes, 2 gold dollars and 2 s.b.a's. When I handed the guy this strange looking assortment of coins he had 2 comments, the first was asking me if he could use the s.b.a's on the local bus and I said it was legal but I wouldn't advise it because if the driver flushes those s.b.a's without looking closely at them he'll think they are quarters. And then he asked me if the Ikes were canadian money [and people wonder why Ikes never circulated image].

    Les
    The President claims he didn't lie about taxes for those earning less then $250,000 a year with public mandated health insurance yet his own justice department has said they will use the right of the government to tax when the states appeals go to court.
  • keetskeets Posts: 25,351 ✭✭✭✭✭
    one thing our Uncle can never be accused of is doing the thing that is sensible. in this case, that would be to stop issueing paper currency below $10 and start using coinage foir that purpose. the public, though, has never been behind a dollar coin, not even in the fantasy days of that Queen of bullion coins, the Morgan Dollar. despite what many want to believe, the overwhelming majority never circulated and spent their lives nicely tucked away in bank bags, just like the SBA, Sac and present day half-dollar.

    if our Uncle would pretend to be fiscally responsible for a short period and to lead instead of pander to special interest's, we'd be using $1 and $5 coins, or perhaps another of a different denomination. the public might not like it, but tough. it makes sense.

    al h.image
  • flaminioflaminio Posts: 5,664 ✭✭✭


    << <i>if our Uncle would pretend to be fiscally responsible for a short period and to lead instead of pander to special interest's, we'd be using $1 and $5 coins, or perhaps another of a different denomination. the public might not like it, but tough. it makes sense. >>



    The public would whine for about three months, and then get on with it. Never underestimate the American short attention span. You wouldn't want to do it in an election year, but any other would be inconsequential for our elected officials.
  • islemanguislemangu Posts: 1,378 ✭✭✭
    << you cant get rid of the cent. that wont happen for a long long long long time. >>



    Yeah the cent is useless and bothersome now..the nickel could carry the load with everything's price rounded to the closest multiple. Then Lincoln could go on the new $5 coin fitting with the bill. image
    YCCTidewater.com


  • << <i>You wouldn't want to do it in an election year, but any other would be inconsequential for our elected officials. >>


    Problem is it is ALWAYS an election year! Congressmen get re-elected every two years as do 1/3 of the Senators (Senate term of office is six years and elections are staggered so 1/3 are up every two years.) So they are always either getting ready to run or actually running and they don't want anything controverial in either case.



    << <i>If you eliminate both the rag-buck and the cent, you get a four slot change drawer that looks like this:

    Coins: 5c, 10c, 25c, $1
    Bills: $2, $5, $10, $20 >>


    Looks like Flamingo is smart enough to be a Canadian. One thing though, Canadian still have cents but they dont have $2 bills so they put a divider in the first bill slot and have

    Coins: 1c, 5c, 10c, 25c
    Bills: loonies & Twonies, $5, $10, $20

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