# Does the US not update coins and currency regularly? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 26, 2015, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-us-not-update-coins-and-currency-regularly/728969 "2015-08-26T17:52:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2015, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-us-not-update-coins-and-currency-regularly/728969/21 "2015-08-27T00:15:12Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Same in Canada and I think in Britain - coin of the realm and banknotes issued by the central banks are always good. Really? I have a Canadian one dollar bill around somewhere. Will your average merchant take it as payment? US currency (which is only bills, not coins, despite what some people upthread say) is on a rotating redesign schedule of about every 10 years or so. The most recently changed bill was the $100, which was delayed for 3 years due to technical difficulties. There was a recent campaign to put a woman’s picture on the $20 bill in place of Andrew Jackson. Which woman was not specified; just someone other than that Indian-killer Jackson. The Treasury Department gave in to this, but said it’d be on the $10 bill instead. They chose that because it was next in line to be redesigned. The campaigners weren’t too happy with that. They have nothing against Hamilton but they really want to get rid of Jackson. Anyway there’s some place online where you can either suggest a replacement person or vote for who you want. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2015, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-us-not-update-coins-and-currency-regularly/728969/22 "2015-08-27T00:32:04Z")
President Trump would not deign to place his ineffable likeness on any bill less than the $1,000,000,000 which would be the petty cash of the nation’s billionaires. ---
**Author:** ![Loopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loopus/32/15343_2.png) [@Loopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopus)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2015, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-us-not-update-coins-and-currency-regularly/728969/23 "2015-08-27T00:41:14Z")
Coin designs have changed a couple of times in order to depict someone who recently died. The FDR dime was introduced in 1946, the year after his death. The Kennedy half dollar was also introduced the year after the honoree’s death, in 1964. (And yes, halves are still used in some places — The last time I saw them was a few weeks ago at a $5 blackjack table in Vegas, used in lieu of chips to make up the 50c in the 3:2 payout for a minimum-bet blackjack.) ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2015, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-us-not-update-coins-and-currency-regularly/728969/24 "2015-08-27T01:41:33Z")
In fact, three of the four regularly-circulating coins have had at least one face redesigned since 1999. The penny has had the same version of Lincoln on it since 1909, but the reverse was changed in 2010 and there were four special versions in 2009 for the centennial of the Lincoln cent. The nickel has had the same reverse since 1938 (except for 2004 and 2005) but got a new version of Jefferson on the obverse in 2006. The dime has been the same since 1946. The quarter got a new (albeit similar) obverse in 1999 and has had constantly-changing reverses since then. > [@dtilque](#): > > Really? I have a Canadian one dollar bill around somewhere. Will your average merchant take it as payment? Maybe, maybe not. But that doesn’t really matter. Would the average merchant in the US take [this](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:US-$20-LT-1863-Fr-126b.jpg) as payment? Probably not, but it’s still good. > [@Chronos](#): > > If the UK does it the same way, then it wouldn’t be any great hardship, but it seems like trying to accelerate the process might be difficult. The UK has accelerated things several times just to change the size of coins. The 5p, 10p, and 50p coins were all replaced with smaller versions in the 90s, and the old ones were removed from circulation. The same thing is going to happen to the pound coin in a couple of years. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2015, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-us-not-update-coins-and-currency-regularly/728969/25 "2015-08-27T02:01:41Z")
And in Canada, the standard reverses of the nickel, dime, and quarter have been used since 1937 (and if the die hadn’t been lost in transit, the dollar coin would be using the voyageur design from 1935). There have been commemorative versions of all of them minted for circulation, but the norm has always been the 1937 designs, so I’m not seeing a huge difference in practice. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2015, 8:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-us-not-update-coins-and-currency-regularly/728969/26 "2015-08-27T08:50:09Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > In particular, it has been a very long time—like, since before I was born—since the U.S. changed _who_ appears on any of its circulated currency (unless you count the various unsuccessful attempts at introducing dollar coins). the only reason it’s been unsuccessful is because they won’t take the stupid $1 bill out of circulation. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2015, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-us-not-update-coins-and-currency-regularly/728969/27 "2015-08-27T12:36:49Z")
**Moderator Note** > [@Senegoid](#): > > President Trump would not deign to place his ineffable likeness on any bill less than the $1,000,000,000 which would be the petty cash of the nation’s billionaires. Let’s keep the politics out of GQ, please. No warning issued. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2015, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-us-not-update-coins-and-currency-regularly/728969/28 "2015-08-27T12:45:01Z")
> [@Anaglyph](#): > > We also change the design of our money in Switzerland regularly - the main reason is to keep up with the newest counter-forgery measures. The old currency remains valid until most of it has anyhow been replaced naturally - banks take the old currency out of circulation. After a few years, the remaining bills are no longer accepted in the stores but have to be exchanged at a bank. Eventually, they will become invalid, and have value only as collectors items. The design for the next change has just been released ([current](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c8/Banknoten_des_Schweizer_Franken_zu_den_Nominalwerten_10_bis_200_CHF_(R%C3%BCckseiten).jpg/1024px-Banknoten_des_Schweizer_Franken_zu_den_Nominalwerten_10_bis_200_CHF_(R%C3%BCckseiten).jpg) - [new](http://v2.suedostschweiz.ch/var/upload/news/image/125034_640.jpg)) I didn’t know that. I think I still have a couple of bills from 1976 when I spent a year there. The US bills have never been demonitized. A Russian visitor told me that when his grandmother died they found in her mattress $1000 in very old US bills. The US consulate was all too happy to give them $1000 in new bills. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2015, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-us-not-update-coins-and-currency-regularly/728969/29 "2015-08-27T12:58:01Z")
When I was a kid (in New Zealand in the 70s and 80s) it was not too uncommon to stumble on a coin that had George VI on it, and he hasn’t been King since 1952. And since coins don’t wear out hardly at all, and QEII has been on the throne for so long, I imagine her coinage will linger for a good 30 years or more, barring a concerted effort to change. Charles III will only be King for a very short time, he’ll be lucky if it will be even a decade, so his coins will be a blip in the circulation before being replaced with William V, then George VII. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2015, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-us-not-update-coins-and-currency-regularly/728969/30 "2015-08-27T13:44:07Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > … And since coins don’t wear out hardly at all, and QEII has been on the throne for so long, I imagine her coinage will linger for a good 30 years or more, barring a concerted effort to change. > > Charles III will only be King for a very short time, he’ll be lucky if it will be even a decade, so his coins will be a blip in the circulation before being replaced with William V, then George VII. A probable consequence of the above will be that 10ish years into the era of William V folks will encounter Elizabeth II coins more often than they do Charles III. Assuming no large-scale hoarding behavior, changes in coin issuance and usage overall, etc. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2015, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-us-not-update-coins-and-currency-regularly/728969/31 "2015-08-27T13:59:37Z")
When I was a child, the five pound note was a big white piece of paper, not that I ever got my hands on one. The smallest value note was ten shillings (50p) and these notes were usually well worn (This would have been six weeks pocket money to me as a 10yo). Now the five pound note is the smallest note in circulation and some cash machines will only dispense tens and twenties. Notes and coins have changed here scores of times in my lifetime, often to improve security but sometimes, just for aesthetic reasons. The idea of having different sizes for different values seems to be sensible. The pictures on the back, usually commemorate someone historically important but long since dead. The front is the reigning monarch. New notes have to be printed all the time and coins have to be minted. The printing plated and stamping dies will wear out, so replacing them from time to time with a new design is no big deal. Old currency will eventually (and with attendant publicity) become unacceptable to shopkeepers etc. It always remains possible to swap it for the current design at a bank, after they check that it is genuine and not some money laundering scheme. Even with the current low inflation, storing currency ‘under the mattress’ is a very bad investment. ---
**Author:** ![Canadjun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2015, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-us-not-update-coins-and-currency-regularly/728969/32 "2015-08-27T14:14:14Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > Really? I have a Canadian one dollar bill around somewhere. Will your average merchant take it as payment? The fact that it is legal tender doesn’t mean that a merchant is required to take it, just as they are not required to accept hundred dollar bills or buckets of nickels or anything else they don’t wish to accept. You would probably find quite a few merchants up here that will no longer accept pennies (since Canadian pennies are no longer produced). That doesn’t mean they aren’t good money. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2015, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-us-not-update-coins-and-currency-regularly/728969/33 "2015-08-27T18:40:15Z")
> [@Lord\_Feldon](#): > > The penny has had the same version of Lincoln on it since 1909, but the reverse was changed in 2010 and there were four special versions in 2009 for the centennial of the Lincoln cent. > > The nickel has had the same reverse since 1938 (except for 2004 and 2005) but got a new version of Jefferson on the obverse in 2006. > > The dime has been the same since 1946. > > The quarter got a new (albeit similar) obverse in 1999 and has had constantly-changing reverses since then. Seems to me I read this before. Oh yeah, I did!! 😃 > [@Kimballkid](#): > > Actually the Washington quarter came out in 1932 and, except for the national park series and the state series, hasn’t been changed since. The Roosevelt dime was introduced in 1946 and has never been changed. The Jefferson nickel was introduced in 1938 and the obverse was finally changed in 2004. The reverse was changed briefly in 2004 and 2005 to celebrate the Lewis and Clark expedition. The Lincoln cent was introduced in 1909 with a ‘wheat back’ which was changed in 1959 to the Lincoln Memorial design. In 2009 it was changed briefly to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Lincoln. Then the reverse was changed to the shield design in 2010 with the original 1909 design on the obverse. But then along came a nitpick which I’ll use against you too. 🙂 > [@Smapti](#): > > You forgot the bicentennial quarters. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2015, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-us-not-update-coins-and-currency-regularly/728969/34 "2015-08-27T18:53:48Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > - I understand why an evilutionist might be a problem in the US, but still 😉 You talk like that about Darwin, and I might have to think you’re one of those who wold have a problem with it. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2015, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-us-not-update-coins-and-currency-regularly/728969/35 "2015-08-27T20:07:11Z")
story was vending machine people really wanted dollar coins. But when that did not work out they just put stuff on the machines that took dollar bills. So they no longer cared about the coin problem. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2015, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-us-not-update-coins-and-currency-regularly/728969/36 "2015-08-27T21:50:22Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > story was vending machine people really wanted dollar coins. But when that did not work out they just put stuff on the machines that took dollar bills. So they no longer cared about the coin problem. The machinery to test & accept coins is much simpler & cheaper than that for bills, and has fewer false rejections (which annoy customers). So vending machine makers would still prefer to have a dollar coin. But they do not want it much bigger than the current quarter (the size allowable in their coin-checking machines), so a reissue of the Eisenhower dollar coin wouldn’t please them. But the public wants a coin significantly bigger than the quarter – that’s been one of the reasons they have largely rejected attempts at a dollar coin. Chances for a dollar coin might be higher now, with the death of Sen. Edward Kennedy. the mill that makes the paper used in dollar bills is located in Massachusetts, and employs a lot of people. So Massachusetts elected officials worry about that. And Sen. Kennedy had enough seniority to have a big influence in Congress. But this whole issue seems to be declining in importance, as new vending machines are designed to accept credit/debit cards and even cellphone payment systems, and those are being increasingly used by customers. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2015, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-us-not-update-coins-and-currency-regularly/728969/37 "2015-08-28T10:04:33Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > But the public wants a coin significantly bigger than the quarter – that’s been one of the reasons they have largely rejected attempts at a dollar coin. The current dollar coin _is_ significantly bigger than the quarter. If it was any bigger people would complain, as they do about the 50 cent piece, that it’s just too huge and unwieldy to use. Where did people get the idea that they’re gold-colored quarters anyways? They’re substantially larger (comparable to the difference between the nickel and the quarter), thicker, heavier, a different color, and they have a different edge. I think people just get confused about any new coin, no matter how different it is; I remember reading a story about people in Britain confusing the new 50p coin (which had seven sides) with the florin/10p (which was round). ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2015, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-us-not-update-coins-and-currency-regularly/728969/38 "2015-08-28T15:40:11Z")
The bottom 80% of any population are far more bottom-like than the rest of us commonly assume they are. But they do represent about 99% of the whining about any given issue. ---
**Author:** ![Raygun99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Raygun99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raygun99)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2015, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-us-not-update-coins-and-currency-regularly/728969/39 "2015-08-30T03:38:01Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > Really? I have a Canadian one dollar bill around somewhere. Will your average merchant take it as payment? Almost certainly, although a younger cashier might not recognize it right off the bat. I took one myself in payment about a year and a half ago. From time to time you’ll also see a 5 or a 10 from the rest of the [series](http://www.coinsandcanada.com/banknotes-prices.php?banknotes=Canadian_banknotes_from_1969_to_1975&id_cat=17)in circ. ---
**Author:** ![Raygun99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Raygun99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raygun99)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2015, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-us-not-update-coins-and-currency-regularly/728969/40 "2015-08-30T03:44:32Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > When I was a kid (in New Zealand in the 70s and 80s) it was not too uncommon to stumble on a coin that had George VI on it, and he hasn’t been King since 1952. I’ve come across theodd George V coin in recent years. Worn, but still very recognizable. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-us-not-update-coins-and-currency-regularly/728969.md?page=1)