# New Dollar Coins! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 14, 2005, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-dollar-coins/335595 "2005-12-14T15:42:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-dollar-coins/335595/61 "2005-12-15T17:27:04Z")
Oh! Proposed [New Swiss Banknotes!](http://www.snb.ch/e/banknoten/neue_noten/gestalter/krebs.html), we got the AIDS virus, a fetus (or preborn American if you prefer), the circulatory system, neat maps and skull. There are not enough skull on most bank note. All the experts agree. ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-dollar-coins/335595/62 "2005-12-15T17:27:28Z")
> [@JustAnotherGeek](#): > > Tipping strippers! If you take away the 1$ bill, strippers will need to dance _twice as long_ for every Jefferson they get! > > Won’t someone please think of the strippers? Why wouldn’t you be able to tip them with a dollar coin? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Garfield226](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Garfield226](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Garfield226)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-dollar-coins/335595/63 "2005-12-15T17:28:59Z")
> [@robardin](#): > > Why wouldn’t you be able to tip them with a dollar coin? 😕 Coin slot jokes aside, where would you put it? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-dollar-coins/335595/64 "2005-12-15T18:01:07Z")
> [@Garfield226](#): > > Coin slot jokes aside, where would you put it? They could attached little cloth bags to their garters. They’d have to START wearing garters first, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-dollar-coins/335595/65 "2005-12-15T18:24:47Z")
> [@Paul in Saudi](#): > > The dollar bill will never go away. The Crane Paper Company is in Massachusetts, and their congressional delegation will not let us go to cheaper coins. It is more important to save a few featherbedding jobs that to save the people money. I think if more Americans had been to Europe, or even Canada, they’d be less stuck on the dollar bill. I can’t conceive that anyone could have been to Europe and experience the convenience of paying for a whole lunch with a few coins, and still prefer wads of low-value paper bills over that [quote BTW, is it just me, or does the US have the ugliest money on Earth? They ought to have a contest to redesign it.[/QUOTE] I agree! They should change all the backs to be scenes of natural beauty, like the national parks. ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-dollar-coins/335595/66 "2005-12-15T18:26:59Z")
> [@Garfield226](#): > > Coin slot jokes aside, where would you put it? Don’t you just hand them a tip at the end of the show? Or are you suggesting… Oh my… I have a mental image now of where one might put bills that coins would not be welcome… You’re all sick! Sick, sick sick! :smack: ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-dollar-coins/335595/67 "2005-12-15T18:38:44Z")
> [@Spectre of Pithecanthropus](#): > > I think if more Americans had been to Europe, or even Canada, they’d be less stuck on the dollar bill. I can’t conceive that anyone could have been to Europe and experience the convenience of paying for a whole lunch with a few coins, and still prefer wads of low-value paper bills over that. Guess again. Been to Europe many times, Canada even more. Still hate dollar coins, and don’t get me started on the “twonie!” ---
**Author:** ![carlb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carlb/32/5930_2.png) [@carlb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carlb)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-dollar-coins/335595/68 "2005-12-15T18:52:49Z")
> [@Diceman](#): > > The general public prefers dollar bills because most people don’t like carrying coins around. Dollar bills are lighter and less cumbersome. I find that, for me, dollar and two-dollar coins (or one- and two-pound coins) actually lead to carrying _less_ change than I do in the US. In the States, I hardly ever reach into my pocket for change. It’s too easy to just pull out the appropriate number of bills, take whatever coins are coming to me, and put them in my pocket. When I’m in Canada or the UK, I’ll need to reach into my pocket for anything smaller than $5 (or pounds), so as long as I’m digging out the larger coins, I might as well count out exact change using the lesser coins. At the end of the day, I invariably have fewer coins in my pocket than when I’m in the US. Your mileage my vary. ---
**Author:** ![UncleBeer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/977dab/32.png) [@UncleBeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBeer)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-dollar-coins/335595/69 "2005-12-15T19:31:25Z")
> [@Dewey Finn](#): > > A lot of people collected the state quarters (and not just kids), and it’s profitable for the government when people choose to do that. So I’m all for the presidential dollar coins. I just hope they look attractive. How much would it cost to electroplate them in real gold? And would they keep a nice shiny appearance, or would they get tarnished or grimy anyhow? Let me ask a question about that. Is it really profitable for the gov’t to mint coins that are going to be taken out of circulation? Doesn’t that just force them to make more? If you have a reasonable expectation that the life of a coin is going to extend twenty or more years, then doesn’t it cost _more_ to maintain a sufficient supply to accomodate the early “retirement” of so many of them? I know the mint sells some coins directly to collectors at a premium, but do they really sell enough of them in this fashion to offset the costs of the coins that are removed from the usual circulation patterns? And most of the coins sold at premium are special strikings never intended for general circulation. I know a number of people who have an awful lot of those state quarters squirreled away but haven’t ever purchased one at a premium; they’ve got 'em all thru everyday commercial transactions. Coins aren’t like stamps, which are sold in advance with the expectation of them being exchanged for a service to be provided at some point in the future - letter delivery - and then never being redeemed. There’s an obvious profit to that; the USPS never has to perform the service for which they’ve been paid. But coins intended for general circulation don’t work that way. ---
**Author:** ![Not\_A\_Tame\_Lion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e36b37/32.png) [@Not\_A\_Tame\_Lion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Not_A_Tame_Lion)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-dollar-coins/335595/70 "2005-12-15T20:28:34Z")
> [@UncleBeer](#): > > Not so fast there, Leo. Cecil says 5 seconds per penny. > > [http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1\_334.html](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_334.html) Now, now. 5 seconds per penny is a ridiculous assessment of pick-up time. Hell, just do it yourself–drop a coin and time yourself picking it up. It’s much more like two seconds, maybe three max. A whole five seconds to pick up one coin is just shameless lazy dawdling, and may explain why this country has fallen so far behind in industrial production (or did before all the production jobs were shipped overseas). On the subject of our “ugly” money: I’ve never had much problem with the look of our money. As long as it looks like “money” I’m cool with it. I would point out, however, that the one bill which has not been redesigned recently is the $1 bill–all the rest, down to the $5, have the “new look” to their designs. Why didn’t the Bureau of Engraving redesign the $1 bill? That suggest to me that they don’t want to bother redesigning the One, because they will eventually get rid of it anyway. So this question may already be decided; we just haven’t been informed of the decision yet. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-dollar-coins/335595/71 "2005-12-15T20:36:16Z")
> [@UncleBeer](#): > > Let me ask a question about that. Is it really profitable for the gov’t to mint coins that are going to be taken out of circulation? Doesn’t that just force them to make more? I’m not an economist, but my understanding is that, yes, it’s profitable when people hoard money instead of spending it. Take an extreme example. Let’s say I get a ten-dollar bill from the bank, take it home and burn it. The bill cost something well under a dollar to produce but was “sold” to the me (via the bank and the Federal Reserve) for ten bucks. Since it’s never going to return to the government, they never need to give me ten dollars in exchange for it. Ergo, the government has a profit of close to ten dollars. The same thing is true when I save a state quarter, although in that case, it’s very possible for the money to return to circulation. But if it takes a few years, then the inflation-adjusted value is slightly less than $0.25. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-dollar-coins/335595/72 "2005-12-15T20:57:19Z")
[Here](http://www.slate.com/id/1003959/) is a Slate magazine “Explainer” column that goes into more detail as to why the state quarters program is profitable. An important term they explain is _seigniorage_, which is the difference between the face value of a coin and its production cost. ---
**Author:** ![UncleBeer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/977dab/32.png) [@UncleBeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBeer)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-dollar-coins/335595/73 "2005-12-15T21:51:41Z")
> [@Dewey Finn](#): > > I’m not an economist, but my understanding is that, yes, it’s profitable when people hoard money instead of spending it. Take an extreme example. Let’s say I get a ten-dollar bill from the bank, take it home and burn it. The bill cost something well under a dollar to produce but was “sold” to the me (via the bank and the Federal Reserve) for ten bucks. Since it’s never going to return to the government, they never need to give me ten dollars in exchange for it. Ergo, the government has a profit of close to ten dollars. The same thing is true when I save a state quarter, although in that case, it’s very possible for the money to return to circulation. But if it takes a few years, then the inflation-adjusted value is slightly less than $0.25. Hmmmm. That’s an interesting aspect I will admit entirely escaped me. But I’m not so sure it applies. If it did, then wouldn’t the government “own” all the money. Surely physical money, being nothing more really than a medium of exchange, enters circulation without someone “paying” the government for it. Else, there’s no way to create wealth. When the Federal Reserve Bank in Cleveland says they need a roll of quarters, do they really give the goverment a ten spot for it? The Slate article you linked, though, sure appears to be saying that someone is giving the mint a Hamilton in exchange for every roll of quarters it issues. I dunno why, but that seems oddly counterintuitive to me. Cecil has even touched on the this [here](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a981009a.html), in this article about the practicality of pennies. Also, from what you’re telling me, it would seem that my hoard of quarters is inflationary. Is that right? This is really curious - and puzzling. What a weird thing money is, eh? Thanks for the info. It is most interesting. ---
**Author:** ![dogbutler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dogbutler/32/428_2.png) [@dogbutler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dogbutler)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2005, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-dollar-coins/335595/74 "2005-12-16T01:38:48Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > I got one of the new nickels yesterday. My first thought: “Why is there a viking longboat on my nickel?” [Capital One]Arrr! What’s in your change purse?[/CO] First time I saw that one, I thought it was Norwegian. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2005, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-dollar-coins/335595/75 "2005-12-16T05:13:09Z")
Seigniorage! I spent half an hour yesterday trying to figure out how to spell that for a post here. Thank you! Now we can talk about Pyx too! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-dollar-coins/335595.md?page=3)