The new $1 coin.....
Feb. 15th, 2007 08:55 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
poltr1Today the US Mint rolled out the first in a series of Presidential commemorative one-dollar coins.
I really hope the coin catches on this time. It hasn't in the past. The Eisenhower dollar coin was too big, and the Susan B. Anthony dollar coin looked and felt too much like a quarter. The Sacajawea dollar coin had a smooth edge and a gold tint to it, which made it look and feel different from a quarter. But they never caught on with the American public.
While they may be more expensive to produce than dollar bills, the coin has a longer usable life. Unfortunately, Americans are used to their dollar bills and are reluctant to switch or give them up. I'm afraid that's what it's going to take for Americans to start using the dollar coin.
When the Canadian "loonie" $1 coin was rolled out, the government of Canada stopped printing their $1 bills, thus forcing them to use the coin. And it is a nice coin. It has beveled edges on it so that I can reach in my pocket and know it's a loonie. They've since done the same with the "toonie" $2 coin.
I really hope the coin catches on this time. It hasn't in the past. The Eisenhower dollar coin was too big, and the Susan B. Anthony dollar coin looked and felt too much like a quarter. The Sacajawea dollar coin had a smooth edge and a gold tint to it, which made it look and feel different from a quarter. But they never caught on with the American public.
While they may be more expensive to produce than dollar bills, the coin has a longer usable life. Unfortunately, Americans are used to their dollar bills and are reluctant to switch or give them up. I'm afraid that's what it's going to take for Americans to start using the dollar coin.
When the Canadian "loonie" $1 coin was rolled out, the government of Canada stopped printing their $1 bills, thus forcing them to use the coin. And it is a nice coin. It has beveled edges on it so that I can reach in my pocket and know it's a loonie. They've since done the same with the "toonie" $2 coin.
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Date: 2007-02-16 04:22 pm (UTC)There's already a space in most cash registers for dollar coins -- it's the slot that used to hold half-dollars, but they're even less likely to show up than a dollar coin. However, the stores have gotten used to storing rolled coin in that slot.
The Mint makes money off of every dollar coin that they make, especially if they end up in a sock drawer, so they'd be happy to make enough to meet the demand, however many designs they use. This isn't the case with the penny or -- as I recall -- the nickel.
We can stop printing dollar bills if we also flood the system with $2 bills. Right now, the largest number of quarter-sized coins that I can get back in a transaction is three, which is reasonable. Without a circulating $1 or $2 bill, that count goes up to seven which -- in my opinion -- is too much change. And, of course, if you withdraw the $1 bill, you've got room in the registers for the $2 bill.