Silver standard for some U.S coinage?

cheezhed

This is just a hypothetical question for all the people more knowledgeable about this than I:

Since silver currently hovers around $10 (+ or _ $3), how would you feel about a new circulating silver $20 piece (approx size, weight, fineness of silver dollars past) and $10 piece (approx same as .50 past)?

The face value should discourage hoarding. Do you think it would be used in daily commerce?

What are your thoughts on this?

Cladiator

With the way the price of silver fluctuates so much I don't think it would work as a circulating coin.

19Lyds

Although a very good idea, from a commercial standpoint it would be as welcome as the Kennedy Half Dollar, the Eisenhower Dollar, the Morgan Dollar and the Sacajawea/SBA Small Dollars!

Baley

the publick already hoards anything different. Nice idea, but they'd never circulate.

Steve27

The mint has no incentive to do it.

PerryHall

The government wouldn't go for it. Not enough seignorage. Easier to print $10 and $20 bills and have almost full seignorage.

Pentimento

I would hoard $20 silver pieces like crazy. That would let people buy silver in preparation for any price above $2x/oz. (what would it come out to? 23/oz?) with no risk other than inflation!!

BillJones

Waste of time.

The value of our money has nothing to do with the medal or material it contains. The “commodity theory of money” was a quaint idea that has been disproven time and time again. If the value of the metal in a coin is less than its face value it get spent. If the value of the metal exceeds the face value, it gets hoarded and ultimately melted.

As the for the $20 silver coin, speculators would hoard them and few would reach general circulation. They would join the Kennedy half dollar and the Ike, Suzie and Sackie dollars in hoards and government vaults.