New $1 coins - here we go again!

[Elendil's Heir]

The U.S. Treasury is going to try again, after the Susan B. Anthony and Sacagawea flops:

http://money.cnn.com/2006/11/20/news...ex.htm?cnn=yes

The article says no inscription will appear on the obverse (face) side of the coin, but the illustration shows Washington's name and the years of his presidency. Hmmm.

I don't think dollar coins will really catch on unless the Treasury stops printing dollar bills. They don't have to "demonetarize" or withdraw them, just stop printing any more. After a few years, all the paper dollar bills will have worn out and the dollar coins will rule. The dollar coins should also be thicker than quarters, like the British five-pound coin, so that you can tell the difference in your pocket.

What say you?

[Gadarene]

They're going to be putting each successive president's face on the coins, like they did with the states on the quarters. Four a year, apparently.

Man, I can't wait to get my Chester A. Arthur dollar coin.

[Walter Windchill]

I wonder if it isn't a craven move just to make more money.

[susan]

Me for Taft!

[BobLibDem]

I think it is doomed as long as paper bills are printed. People may collect them but never spend them. Personally, I'd prefer them to be the size of the old dollar coins so that the artwork can be a bit more detailed.

[Paul in Qatar]

This country needs to reinstate the Taft. He was a man with real gravitas.

(What is that crossword puzzle word I am thinking of? The profit made from producing coins from metal? Singurage?)

[jshore]

The Susan B. Anthony dollar failed for good reason...i.e., it was too close in size and look to a quarter, which made it very easy to mistake for one. However, I think that the Sacagawea failed mainly because the mint just didn't stick with it long enough...And, in fact what that article says about it tends to support this point:

But limited Sacagawea quantities led to too many being stashed away by collectors, reducing circulation and thus familiarity, said Rod Gillis, head of education at the American Numismatic Association in Colorado Springs, Colo.

I don't understand why they just didn't continue to mint them...along with gradually reducing the number of paper $1 bills they print. It is almost as if there are some people in the treasury who have wanted the coins to fail. They certainly are quick to give up on them.

I really don't think it would be that hard to get Americans to accept a $1 coin with a little stick-to-it-tiveness. And, such a coin is very practical as it has become quite annoying the extent to which one has to stockpile so many quarters in order to do laundry or feed parking meters.

[Thudlow Boink]

Originally Posted by Elendil's Heir

I don't think dollar coins will really catch on unless the Treasury stops printing dollar bills.

Originally Posted by BobLibDem

I think it is doomed as long as paper bills are printed.

If this is really true, it would mean that Americans vastly prefer dollar bills to dollar coins. Which means that they shouldn't stop printing them, no matter how much "better for us" you think dollar coins may be.

[BobLibDem]

Originally Posted by Thudlow Boink

Which means that they shouldn't stop printing them, no matter how much "better for us" you think dollar coins may be.

I agree, but I also think it's a good thing for the government to look for ways to save money when it can. If this last try to get Americans to embrace a dollar coin fails, let's give it up.

[jshore]

Oh yeah...and another thing...If the problem with the Sacagawea was its being stashed away by collectors, then isn't this move to cycle through the Presidents exactly the wrong thing to do? I.e., it seens like a way to prevent this stashing effect from saturating very quickly!

[Paul in Qatar]

Yikes! I just went to the Mint's web site. Here.

These are some pug-ugle coins! Jeepers!

[asterion]

Originally Posted by Gadarene

They're going to be putting each successive president's face on the coins, like they did with the states on the quarters. Four a year, apparently.

Man, I can't wait to get my Chester A. Arthur dollar coin.

I can't wait to collect both Clevelands.

[Baron Greenback]

Originally Posted by Elendil's Heir

The dollar coins should also be thicker than quarters, like the British five-pound coin, so that you can tell the difference in your pocket.

There are five-pound coins, but they are commemorative issue, and not in wide circulation. Pound coins are ubiquitous, two-pound (a lovely thing - like some sort of doubloon) slightly less so.

[Lord Ashtar]

I'd like it if they got rid of paper dollars in favor of dollar coins, but for a purely selfish reason. I prefer to use a money clip that I can keep in my front pocket, and dollar coins would be easier for me to keep organized.

[Spoke]

The Sacagawea failed because:

a) Merchants don't give them out as change (making them hard to come by); and
b) vending machines don't taking them (undercutting their utility).

I don't see why it will be any different with the new coins.

[CalMeacham]

It's not that dollar coinsd are "good for us", it's that they're a lot cheaper in the long run. They last longer.

I agree that they didn't stick with the Sacajawea dollars long enough. Making them a different color was wise, since they were exactly the same size as the Susan B. Anthony dollars. The color kept them from being confused with quarters.

The new coins will be the same size, I guarantee you. A lot of machines have been fitted for that size coin, and they'll want to take advantage of that./ On top of which, bigger coins would be too large and heavy to carry conveniently -- the reason we don't have the old size silver dollars any more. Or the half dollars, for that matter.

Heck, I'd use them. I used the Sackies.

[Khadaji]

I used to use the Sacajawea dollars regularly. Last time I used one, the woman thought it was a 50 cent piece and gave me the wrong change.

I'll use these too.

[alphaboi867]

At least no living ex-President will be included. But what happens if 2017 rolls around and Bush and Clinton are still alive?

[BobLibDem]

Originally Posted by alphaboi867

At least no living ex-President will be included. But what happens if 2017 rolls around and Bush and Clinton are still alive?

Don't sell Carter and Bush I short, maybe they'll be around too.

[dropzone]

They're starting with Washington? So how the hell can I not confuse them with quarters?!?!?

[John DiFool]

Originally Posted by alphaboi867

At least no living ex-President will be included. But what happens if 2017 rolls around and Bush and Clinton are still alive?

Well, death (or lack thereof) doesn't stop the Navy from launching ships bearing the
names of living ex-Presidents, so why would it here? [And yes the ship-naming thing
bugs me-wait until Reagan is gone before naming a ship after him mmkay?]

[scr4]

Originally Posted by Thudlow Boink

If this is really true, it would mean that Americans vastly prefer dollar bills to dollar coins. Which means that they shouldn't stop printing them, no matter how much "better for us" you think dollar coins may be.

Do people really like dollar bills? I thought everyone hated having to use them on vending machines.

Even if Americans currently prefer dollar bills, what is the reason? I don't think it's an inherent generic preference for bills over coins. I think it's only because dollar coins have been hard to come by, and not widely accepted by machines and merchants. The only thing I don't like about dollar coins is that whenever I try to use them, the cashier/teller would say "um, that's not enough" and I have to point out that the coins are dollars, not quarters. And I'm afraid to use them for tips because I suspect most waiters/waitresses would think they got quarters.

[chowder]

Hey guys, you'll get used to the dollar coins in no time at all.

I seem to recall a bit of an aversion to £ coins when they were first issued over here, now nobody gives a hoot and it didn't take us long to just accept them for what they are.....a quid!

[tdn]

How do Sackies compare to Loonies, size- and weight-wise?

[John Mace]

I hate coins. Coins, to me, are something you throw into a big glass jar and then drag off the bank to get real money every few years. Besides, you can't slip a dollar coin into a stripper's thong-- which is the main use for dollar bills anyway.

[Little Nemo]

These are some pug-ugle coins! Jeepers!

Which is why the Mint should have used my suggestion and issued a series of dollar coins commemorating Playboy's Playmates of the Year.

[Marley23]

Originally Posted by spoke-

b) vending machines don't taking them (undercutting their utility).

Vending machines take the Sacys. Or at least, they do now.

Nixon commemorated on a coin? Man, I can't wait.

[JediMaster]

If they want it to be accepted, it needs to be vastly different than a quarter. Make it two colored... a gold center and silver ring or vis-versa. Lots of other countries have this.

[Voyager]

Originally Posted by Little Nemo

Which is why the Mint should have used my suggestion and issued a series of dollar coins commemorating Playboy's Playmates of the Year.

Given that we're talking the government here, the coins would probably only show their faces anyway.

[AskNott]

If you want to, you can help with the change toward coins. Every day, partially tear a dollar bill and spend it. Next time it passes through a bank, it will be returned to the mint. If the folks at the mint aren't stupid, they'll replace damaged bills with coins.

[dropzone]

Originally Posted by John Mace

Besides, you can't slip a dollar coin into a stripper's thong-- which is the main use for dollar bills anyway.

I thought female strippers come from the factory with both front and rear coin slots.

[garygnu]

Originally Posted by AskNott

...If the folks at the mint aren't stupid, they'll replace damaged bills with coins.

I think that's asking too much.

[ralph124c]

Question: why don't we follow AUSTRALIA, and use plastic bills? They last 20X as long as paper bills, and cost nothing to make. Then we don't have to carry all this heavy change around!

[Thudlow Boink]

Originally Posted by Voyager

Given that we're talking the government here, the coins would probably only show their faces anyway.

They'd show heads & tails!

[Spoke]

Originally Posted by Marley23

Vending machines take the Sacys. Or at least, they do now.

Do they? I don't think most of the public are aware of this, since for a long time vending machines haven't accepted dollar coins. So that may just be a problem of public perception.

On the other hand, you still have the problem that merchants don't give dollar coins as change. I don't see this changing. What would be the impetus, as long as dollar bills are still around?

This new coin is just another gimmick, same as the state quarters.

[Apos]

All these new coins just make life harder for vending machines. They have to be able to recognize THREE different one dollar coins now?

[mobo85]

Originally Posted by Elendil's Heir

The article says no inscription will appear on the obverse (face) side of the coin, but the illustration shows Washington's name and the years of his presidency. Hmmm.

There is a mistake there. I guess what they mean is that the front of the coin will not feature the standard inscriptions which appear on the front of coins- "Liberty," "In God We Trust," and the year. "In God We Trust" and the year appear on the edge of the coin, and the word "Liberty" is absent, as the Statue of Liberty represents the concept of liberty.

[Eonwe]

Originally Posted by Thudlow Boink

If this is really true, it would mean that Americans vastly prefer dollar bills to dollar coins. Which means that they shouldn't stop printing them, no matter how much "better for us" you think dollar coins may be.

Or it just means that we generally prefer things that we are familiar with, which is not always a good reason to make public policy.

[DSYoungEsq]

Originally Posted by spoke-

The Sacagawea failed because:

a) Merchants don't give them out as change (making them hard to come by); and
b) vending machines don't taking them (undercutting their utility).

I don't see why it will be any different with the new coins.

Most vending machines DO take them. By far the vast majority, actually.

Unless the foldable dollar bill is removed from circulation, habit will keep us using it, even if it makes much less sense. I hate having to feed bills into a machine; coins are SOOOOOO much easier.

[Khadaji]

Originally Posted by scr4

Do people really like dollar bills? I thought everyone hated having to use them on vending machines.
<SNIP>.

For that reason alone I would get rid of them. I hate fighting with vending machines to get them to take my dollar bill.

[DSYoungEsq]

The reason we go through this stupidity is that government and its related administrative beauracracy is schizophrenic (by the way, please note that the upcoming issue of Presidential Dollars was mandated by legislation passed by Congress). On the one hand, people in government try to make things better for us, and they recognize coins are much better than bills in almost every conceivable way. On the other hand, they do not dare to offend the vast majority of Americans, who like the comfort of "tried and true." So, we get dollar coins, but we don't get discontinuation of dollar bills.

Ergo, repeated failures at dealing with the situtation. Reference our somewhat quixotic attempt in the 70's to move towards the much saner metric system...

[mobo85]

Originally Posted by John DiFool

Well, death (or lack thereof) doesn't stop the Navy from launching ships bearing the
names of living ex-Presidents, so why would it here?

Federal law prohibits a living person to be depicted on a U.S. coin. If a President dies during the duration of this program, they have to be dead for at least two years before their coin comes along to be included in the proper order.

[Nanoda]

Originally Posted by Eonwe

Or it just means that we generally prefer things that we are familiar with, which is not always a good reason to make public policy.

I've noticed many people in the U.S. seem to have a problem with differently coloured denominations of paper bills, which would support that conclusion.

[mobo85]

Originally Posted by Gadarene

Man, I can't wait to get my Chester A. Arthur dollar coin.

I'm going to drop them on the floor just so I can say "Chester A. Arthur fall down."

[scr4]

Originally Posted by Apos

All these new coins just make life harder for vending machines. They have to be able to recognize THREE different one dollar coins now?

I believe the Sackies are the same size and weight as the Susan B's, so vending machines didn't need to be modified to accept them. It looks like the same is true for the new Presidential dollar coin.

[Marley23]

Originally Posted by spoke-

Do they? I don't think most of the public are aware of this, since for a long time vending machines haven't accepted dollar coins. So that may just be a problem of public perception.

They do, yes - but that may only be the case with newer vending machines. I couldn't say for sure.

On the other hand, you still have the problem that merchants don't give dollar coins as change. I don't see this changing. What would be the impetus, as long as dollar bills are still around?

If merchants get dollar coins regularly, I think they'll give them as change. I think dollar coins are a good idea (although I'm intrigued by this plastic money thing), and I expect it would work if the government stuck with it instead of giving up right away.

[dropzone]

Originally Posted by Apos

All these new coins just make life harder for vending machines. They have to be able to recognize THREE different one dollar coins now?

The dollar coins we currently use have the same diameter (26.5mm), thickness (2mm), weight (8.1g), and posess the same electromechanical characteristics. As far as a vending machine is concerned, a Suzy and a Sacky are the same coin. I assume the new coins will be the same.

On the other hand, vending machine operators need to modify their machines every time the Mint revises the paper currency.

[gonzomax]

Coins eventually wear holes in your pockets. When you sit down they will leak out and hide in car and sofa cushions. You can not throw a dollar bill across the Potomac though.

[iamthewalrus(:3=]

Originally Posted by mobo85

Federal law prohibits a living person to be depicted on a U.S. coin. If a President dies during the duration of this program, they have to be dead for at least two years before their coin comes along to be included in the proper order.

Emphasis mine.

I assume that the delay is ensure that the recently deceased not return to life in some way and thus violate federal law. Two years is long enough for near-complete decomposition, preventing any possible presidential zombification scenario.

[Nanoda]

Originally Posted by iamthewalrus(:3=

I assume that the delay is ensure that the recently deceased not return to life in some way and thus violate federal law. Two years is long enough for near-complete decomposition, preventing any possible presidential zombification scenario.

Makes sense. I hope the U.S. Mint is planning ahead for 2022... wouldn't want to be breaking the law.