# So much for more dollar coins.
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-much-for-more-dollar-coins/606066
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [December 13, 2011, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-much-for-more-dollar-coins/606066 "2011-12-13T19:56:18Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)
#### Post date: [December 13, 2011, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-much-for-more-dollar-coins/606066/1 "2011-12-13T19:56:18Z")
[Ha-Ha!](http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/13/9420182-us-mint-says-goodbye-to-1-presidential-coins)
We don’t like them, we don’t want them, you can’t make us use them!
Paper bills forever!
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### Author:  [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)
#### Post date: [December 13, 2011, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-much-for-more-dollar-coins/606066/2 "2011-12-13T20:02:40Z")
Looks like a really stupid decision to me.
> [@](#):
>
> The announcement was part of a Cabinet meeting aimed at discussing ways to reign in wasteful government spending.
So they decided to stop producing the coins because making them was “wasteful” even though it [costs money to replace all the paper bills that wear out every year.](http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/business/2011/10/coins-could-replace-dollar-bills-save-us-5-6-billion/)
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### Author:  [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)
#### Post date: [December 13, 2011, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-much-for-more-dollar-coins/606066/3 "2011-12-13T20:07:49Z")
> [@Marley23](#):
>
> Looks like a really stupid decision to me.
> So they decided to stop producing the coins because making them was “wasteful” even though it [costs money to replace all the paper bills that wear out every year.](http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/business/2011/10/coins-could-replace-dollar-bills-save-us-5-6-billion/)
The problem is that the government is still replacing the paper bills even with the dollar coins, because nobody wants the dollar coins. Theoretically, the coins could save the money used to replace the paper bills that wear out every year, but bitter experience has shown that they don’t.
The only thing that would make this work is if paper dollars were forcibly removed from circulation, as happened in Canada. For political reasons, that’s unlikely to happen in the U.S.
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### Author:  [@Lord\_Il\_Palazzo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Il_Palazzo)
#### Post date: [December 13, 2011, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-much-for-more-dollar-coins/606066/4 "2011-12-13T20:10:50Z")
It was a decent idea to try to capitalize on the coin collecting buzz the 50 states quarters had started, but the problem is that you just never see dollar coins whereas quarters are ubiquitous. I’d personally be glad to use a dollar coin if I ever got any, but in the years since the presidential coins started production, I only ever got one of them.
I very much doubt that dollar coints will ever catch on in the US until dollar bills are phased out.
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### Author:  [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)
#### Post date: [December 13, 2011, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-much-for-more-dollar-coins/606066/5 "2011-12-13T20:13:53Z")
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a presidential dollar coin. I agree that the only way to make Americans use a dollar coin is to stop printing more paper dollar bills and remove the ones that are already in circulation. Not sure if it will ever happen.
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### Author:  [@Covered\_In\_Bees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covered_In_Bees)
#### Post date: [December 13, 2011, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-much-for-more-dollar-coins/606066/6 "2011-12-13T20:15:06Z")
> [@Lord\_Il\_Palazzo](#):
>
> It was a decent idea to try to capitalize on the coin collecting buzz the 50 states quarters had started, but the problem is that you just never see dollar coins whereas quarters are ubiquitous. I’d personally be glad to use a dollar coin if I ever got any, but in the years since the presidential coins started production, I only ever got one of them.
>
> I very much doubt that dollar coints will ever catch on in the US until dollar bills are phased out.
You can ask your bank for them if you are ever there. Same with $2 bills.
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### Author:  [@Typo\_Knig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Knig)
#### Post date: [December 13, 2011, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-much-for-more-dollar-coins/606066/7 "2011-12-13T20:18:45Z")
Too bad IMO. When I was in Canada a few years ago having dollar coins and “twonies” worked well. I never had to pull out my wallet for small purchases, just my small coin holder. Let’s face it, a buck is only worth as much as a quarter was when I was a pup, might as well go to a coin.
The dollar coin may come up again. As I recall Sen. Ted Kennedy was a big opponent, as the paper producer for bills was in Massachusetts. He’s not around to block it anymore.
I say put MLK on the $1 coin and make the dollar King again.
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### Author:  [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)
#### Post date: [December 13, 2011, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-much-for-more-dollar-coins/606066/8 "2011-12-13T20:21:44Z")
The good Ol’ USA, where our currency was perfectly good in 1911, when people made $10 a week and you could buy a cup of coffee for 5 cents, it’s still just as good now. :rolleyes:
Sure, we collect our coins in jars until we have enough of them to make it worth our time to lug them over to a machine that takes 5% of the value to exchange them back into “real” money. 2 of our 4 main coins are so valueless it’s difficult to think up a single item you can purchase with one of them.
We’ve gone so far around the corner with our currency, we have generations of people who don’t even understand the concept of buying something with a coin.
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### Author:  [@JoseB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoseB)
#### Post date: [December 13, 2011, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-much-for-more-dollar-coins/606066/9 "2011-12-13T20:22:06Z")
On the other hand, in Ecuador (they stopped using their own currency and switched to the US$ some years ago) dollar coins are very popular, and circulate very well.
Maybe the mint could simply have Ecuador buy their stock of dollar coins in order to use them there…
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### Author:  [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)
#### Post date: [December 13, 2011, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-much-for-more-dollar-coins/606066/10 "2011-12-13T20:23:02Z")
> [@suranyi](#):
>
> The problem is that the government is still replacing the paper bills even with the dollar coins, because nobody wants the dollar coins. Theoretically, the coins could save the money used to replace the paper bills that wear out every year, but bitter experience has shown that they don’t.
Yes, I understand that. It seems like the better solution would be to stop letting people trade them in and transition away from paper money.
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### Author:  [@JBDivmstr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JBDivmstr)
#### Post date: [December 13, 2011, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-much-for-more-dollar-coins/606066/11 "2011-12-13T20:23:52Z")
> [@Covered\_In\_Bees](#):
>
> You can ask your bank for them if you are ever there. Same with $2 bills.
Here in Texas, you can also get them at just about any ‘toll booth’ as change. I try to always have a few in the center console for just that purpose.
It allows one to utilize the ‘change only’ lanes.
(Which generally _ **don’t** _ have a line of cars waiting. ;))
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### Author:  [@realmojo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/realmojo)
#### Post date: [December 13, 2011, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-much-for-more-dollar-coins/606066/12 "2011-12-13T20:24:17Z")
It’s because strippers would look silly wearing a change purse for tips.
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### Author:  [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)
#### Post date: [December 13, 2011, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-much-for-more-dollar-coins/606066/13 "2011-12-13T20:28:38Z")
A while back I started a thread bitching about a guy paying me back $50 he owed me in dollar coins. [It was a dick move IMHO.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=555202&highlight=coin)
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### Author:  [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)
#### Post date: [December 13, 2011, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-much-for-more-dollar-coins/606066/14 "2011-12-13T20:30:38Z")
They did do a great job of getting people [near-unlimited free airline miles](http://articles.businessinsider.com/2011-07-22/lifestyle/29975853_1_dollar-coins-chase-freedom-credit-card), so they did have their uses.
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### Author:  [@Lord\_Il\_Palazzo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Il_Palazzo)
#### Post date: [December 13, 2011, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-much-for-more-dollar-coins/606066/15 "2011-12-13T20:33:08Z")
> [@Covered\_In\_Bees](#):
>
> You can ask your bank for them if you are ever there. Same with $2 bills.
This doesn’t work so well at the ATM. I can’t remember the last time I actually spoke to a human at a bank to make a withdrawal.
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### Author:  [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)
#### Post date: [December 13, 2011, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-much-for-more-dollar-coins/606066/16 "2011-12-13T20:40:53Z")
> [@realmojo](#):
>
> It’s because strippers would look silly wearing a change purse for tips.
Where I danced the guys could buy $5 “coins” (metal tokens) with their credit card if they didn’t have cash to tip with. They got the coins in these little (cheapo) drawstring bags. Most of the dancers had one of these bags in her locker for times she got tipped in tokens (or the rare actual coin). We didn’t like them. (The short term until-you-got-back-to-your-locker solution was to put them in your shoe/boot.)
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### Author:  [@Covered\_In\_Bees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covered_In_Bees)
#### Post date: [December 13, 2011, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-much-for-more-dollar-coins/606066/17 "2011-12-13T20:42:32Z")
I know what you mean, it’s something to think about should the urge for dollar coins or $2 bills strike you.
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### Author:  [@sachertorte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sachertorte)
#### Post date: [December 13, 2011, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-much-for-more-dollar-coins/606066/18 "2011-12-13T21:45:25Z")
Do soda machines accept dollar coins?
If not, that would be a big contributor to their failure.
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### Author:  [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)
#### Post date: [December 13, 2011, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-much-for-more-dollar-coins/606066/19 "2011-12-13T21:54:07Z")
> [@OpalCat](#):
>
> I don’t think I’ve ever seen a presidential dollar coin. I agree that the only way to make Americans use a dollar coin is to stop printing more paper dollar bills and remove the ones that are already in circulation. Not sure if it will ever happen.
You don’t have to “remove the ones in circulation”, just stop printing dollar bills and only circulate the coins. Over time they’ll take over, simple as that. It seems like such an obvious move I don’t know why it hasn’t happened yet.
I would like not only for a dollar coin to replace the bill, but for there to be a $2.50 coin (equal to ten quarters), a “twenty bit” piece if you will. I don’t really see the point in a $2 coin. But lots of things cost $2.50 or $5. I guess that’s a stretch to hope for but I think it’d be great.
And yes, every vending machine I’ve seen takes dollar coins, at least around here in NYC, and I get them dispensed from “official” vending machines if I pay in cash for things like train tickets or booklets of stamps. (Neither of which I buy very frequently, much less paying in cash, but I still do so a couple of times a year.)
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### Author:  [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)
#### Post date: [December 13, 2011, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-much-for-more-dollar-coins/606066/20 "2011-12-13T21:56:10Z")
> [@Marley23](#):
>
> Yes, I understand that. It seems like the better solution would be to stop letting people trade them in and transition away from paper money.
That’s a political decision. You know how hard it is for political decisions to get made nowadays, even ones that have clear economic benefits.
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