Because it’s not up to consumers. No coin will be a success if businesses don’t hand it out in change regularly, and businesses have a vested interest in dollar bills since they’re so much lighter. (Dollar coins found a niche in higher-value vending machines, like for stamps and train tickets, but that’s really it.)
I think I read somewhere that one thing preventing businesses from using dollar coins is that the cash drawers typically have five slots; four are used for the current coins and the fifth is used for rolled coins. Everyday use of a dollar coin means changing this practice. So getting rid of the penny and nickel will free up coin slots for one- and two-dollar coins.
This issue did not stop Canada from implementing dollar and two-dollar coins long before even thinking of getting rid of the penny…
Canada also got rid of the banknotes at the same time, so not only did businesses have no choice but to cope, they also eventually had two paper slots freed up that they could use for coins if necessary (the $2 bill was actually used there).
If we got a 20c coin, what would we call it? A fifth?
No, they still have Scott. He’s a dick.
I propose leaving pennies in circ but not making any more. There are enough out there to last awhile. When they start to become scarce the sentiment against them will rise. Who wants to be bothered with “Hey you got 5 pennies for a nickle?” When it’s the public that wants them gone instead of the government, they’ll go quickly.
The biggest hangup might be persuading the math challenged that it will even out on the rounding and they can’t conspire to always have it round up.
Just now dropped the penny? Funny but I always thought Canada made no cents.
I think it would be more likely that we’d come up with a penny that was actually cheap to mint.
And, yes, I did often find myself with 10s of dollar bills, back when I still used paper money. In fact, I went out of my way to break them up that way, so I could use them in vending machines. From that experience, I also know what it’s like to carry around $8 worth of quarters, and it only works if you have some fairly hefty pockets. And a belt, which seemed to be out of fashion at the time, at least, for college students.
Wait, all the vending machines around you now take credit? I mean I’ve seen them once or twice, literally.