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… :o
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.
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.
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.
They do, yes - but that may only be the case with newer vending machines. I couldn’t say for sure.
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.
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.
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.
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.
I like dollar bills. I hate coins, I hate jingling when I walk, I hate the weight in my pocket. I don’t keep bills in a billfold, I keep them in my front pocket, and given the choice between 10 slips of paper and 10 coins, I will take the slips of paper. I never got used to having pound coins in my 2.5 years in England, and loaded up on pound notes when I visited Scotland, 2 years into my stay.
Why not? Is Nixon’s name not on a 1969 plaque on the moon, where it will stay for all eternity?
Can you just see it now? The year is 2030. We finally make contact with aliens from another solar system who come to visit Earth after first studying us from the moon to make sure we are not too dangerous. They have studied the lunar lander and its inscriptions. And when they arrive, to be polite, they greet us in the name of our great and wonderful diety Richard Nixon. Naturally! The aliens would logically conclude: Why else would the human race have put his name on a plaque on the moon if he were not the most wise, wonderful, saintly, honest and exemplary man in human history?
I agree totally!!! If we converted to dollars, I would withdraw all my cash in $1 bills. I would hoard more dollars than a Las Vegas trailer park crack whore stripper.
It’s seigniorage. [link provided for people wondering what the hell it is we’re talking about.]
This is the reason our government doesn’t work. I’ll tell you the reason we need to switch to dollar coins, in fact I can give you a half a billion of them. That’s how much money the mint would save each year by switching to dollar coins. Now, a half a billion dollars is a trifling ammount, a pittance in government terms, but it’s still money that we have to pay through taxes. The only reason not to switch is because Jenny Coinpurse and Joe Moneyclip might be slightly inconvenienced and bitch. Fuck 'em. Mint the coins, 86 the bills, and move on to something of real importance.
