# So much for more dollar coins. **URL:** \ **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:** 14
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2013, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-much-for-more-dollar-coins/606066/261 "2013-07-27T19:30:54Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > But that makes it seem as if all coins are equally vile, and the dollar coin would be no better and no worse than a quarter. If the dollar coin were added at the same time as the penny was eliminated, would that be acceptable? The dollar coin is “worse” than a penny because it’s actually valuable, and therefore I can’t just ignore it. Get rid of the penny _and_ nickel, though, and you have a deal :). ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2013, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-much-for-more-dollar-coins/606066/262 "2013-07-27T19:41:14Z")
> [@Flyer](#): > > And you know what? He and his friends LIKED the coins. And it was BECAUSE of the noise and jingling. They used it as sort of a non-verbal sneak bragging about how much money they had. Silver dollars were cooler when they were actual silver–about $20 worth in today’s dollars. $20 in Sacagawea dollars weigh more than my cell phone. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2013, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-much-for-more-dollar-coins/606066/263 "2013-07-27T19:47:47Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > The dollar coin is “worse” than a penny because it’s actually valuable, and therefore I can’t just ignore it. Get rid of the penny _and_ nickel, though, and you have a deal :). Done! I’d actually go further: when we got rid of the half cent in 1857, the lowest denomination, the penny, was worth roughly what a quarter is today. Clearly, we don’t _need_ the dime, either. In the interest of simplifying the system and anticipating future inflation, how about 50¢ coin (modelled on the current nickel, but copper-colored) $1 coin (modelled on the current quarter) $2 coin (modelled on the current dollar coin) $5 bill $20 bill (people don’t really use the $10 much, I’ve noticed) $50 bill I don’t see the need for anything larger given the ubiquity of credit and debit cards, which are only going to expand. Purchases are rounded to the nearest half dollar. People who cannot handle that level of math are summarily executed by patriotic citizens in the interest of stamping out math phobia. ---
**Author:** ![aNewLeaf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@aNewLeaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aNewLeaf)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2013, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-much-for-more-dollar-coins/606066/264 "2013-07-27T19:51:11Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > I have six dollar bills in my wallet. > There isn’t room in my pocket for change, a cell phone, pocket knife, all the keys I have to carry at work and six Sacajaweas (sp). You could have a $5 Obama coin, a $1 Sacagawea, and some small change. Easier than having pennies, in terms of the payout. ---
**Author:** ![Desert\_Nomad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desert_nomad/32/177_2.png) [@Desert\_Nomad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desert_Nomad)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2013, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-much-for-more-dollar-coins/606066/265 "2013-07-27T20:25:17Z")
If they want a dollar coin to work it has to be two-toned so as to be very different from a quarter. Lots of countries have these bi-metalic coins. Just off the top of my head I have seen and used them in the Eurozone, Bahrain, Jordan, Hungary, UK, Malawi, South Africa, Canada and Turkey. The Susan B and more recent $1 coins are just not distinct enough. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2013, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-much-for-more-dollar-coins/606066/266 "2013-07-27T20:36:43Z")
> [@Desert\_Nomad](#): > > If they want a dollar coin to work it has to be two-toned so as to be very different from a quarter. Lots of countries have these bi-metalic coins. Just off the top of my head I have seen and used them in the Eurozone, Bahrain, Jordan, Hungary, UK, Malawi, South Africa, Canada and Turkey. > > The Susan B and more recent $1 coins are just not distinct enough. Have you noticed that for the last 14 years, the $1 coins are, in fact, very different from a quarter, in color, thickness, diameter, and images? Certainly as distinct as the dime is from the penny. Even the old Susan B.s weren’t very much like a quarter _if you kept in mind that such a thing existed_. They were just much more like a quarter than they were like the old silver dollars (by which I mean the Eisenhower dollars: I know they weren’t silver, it’s just what we called them). They’re not objectively hard to distinguish. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2013, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-much-for-more-dollar-coins/606066/267 "2013-07-27T23:03:20Z")
> [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](#): > > You know, as an American, I never liked coins much, for all the reasons **silenus** and **carnivorousplant** and others have mentioned. To be clear, for me isn’t the weight, it’s the inconvenience of having coins floating around, especially when mixed into my pocket with cell phone, keys, a pen or two, etc. A small coin purse is the solution to this problem - it stops the coins jingling, getting lost, wearing a hole in your pocket, etc, and it means you can pull all your pocket change out in a single movement. You’d have problems with paper money if you just shoved it into random pockets, instead of organising it in a wallet. > [@](#): > > I don’t spend them much, either. I always feel kind of embarrassed standing in a checkout line searching through my pocket for the exact change, even if no one is behind me. Again, a coin purse - dump coins into left palm, pick out the right ones, hand them over, dump coins back into purse. > [@](#): > > Then I went to Europe earlier this summer, where there are 2-euro coins and 2-pound coins. And you know what? It was awful. My pocket very quickly reached the point where I couldn’t get anything out, just like in the US, only this time the coins had actual value–at one point I had something like fifteen euros in my pocket–and so I really needed to use them in cash transactions. And it was really difficult to find the correct value that I needed. Much more difficult than opening up my wallet and getting out the bills. That just sounds like simple unfamiliarity - unfamiliarity with the currency itself, and unfamiliarity with the habit of paying with change instead of breaking another note. The only time I ever have more than £5 (the smallest note) in change is when I’ve been given more than a note’s worth of coins in change (i.e. if a shop was short of notes in the till). ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2013, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-much-for-more-dollar-coins/606066/268 "2013-07-27T23:23:17Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Again, a coin purse - dump coins into left palm, pick out the right ones, hand them over, dump coins back into purse. > > till). You mean, dump coins into left palm, drop coins onto floor, stomp on them to prevent them from rolling under the counter 🙂 Seriously, if a coin purse is big enough to hold more than a couple of coins I am quite sure I would find it inconvenient to drag in and out of my pocket, given all the other things that are already in there. Maybe I am just clumsy, but I don’t see it working for me. It is hard enough to get the keys out some times. (and to the poster who suggested carrying things in the back pocket, I don’t ever carry anything back there…very uncomfortable when I sit down! Now it is true I don’t have lots of padding back there; other people’s mileage may indeed vary.) A serious question for you coin buffs…why have paper money at all? Why not have fifty-euro coins, and ATMs that discharge seventy-five pounds in metal? Wouldn’t that be easier? ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2013, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-much-for-more-dollar-coins/606066/269 "2013-07-27T23:28:21Z")
I know how to fix the “no bills for the strippers” problem. Have them wear garters with metal cups attached, about mid-thigh. Drop in coins. They wouldn’t be able to go upside down on the pole any more, but they could learn some new skills using the cups as maracas. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2013, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-much-for-more-dollar-coins/606066/270 "2013-07-27T23:48:12Z")
> [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](#): > > You mean, dump coins into left palm, drop coins onto floor, stomp on them to prevent them from rolling under the counter 🙂 No, I definitely don’t mean that. This doesn’t happen. I don’t tend to spill the coins because I never let them accumulate beyond a handful (I achieve this by paying in change whenever I have enough of it). If I resented using change, but still decided to carry it around, I’m certain I’d have problems. > [@](#): > > Seriously, if a coin purse is big enough to hold more than a couple of coins I am quite sure I would find it inconvenient to drag in and out of my pocket, given all the other things that are already in there. Maybe I am just clumsy, but I don’t see it working for me. It is hard enough to get the keys out some times. \ works fine for me. My coin purse is soft leather, about 10cm square with a spring-shut mouth, right now, it’s fairly empty, having 19 coins in it, total value £1,24 I carry my phone in my left front pocket (and nothing else, so the screen doesn’t get damaged), coin purse in right front pocket, wallet in right back pocket or right lower pocket if I’m wearing cargo shorts. I seldom have to carry more than one key - (either the house key or the car key - never both) > [@](#): > > A serious question for you coin buffs…why have paper money at all? Why not have fifty-euro coins, and ATMs that discharge seventy-five pounds in metal? Wouldn’t that be easier? That would be quite a drastic change (no pun intended), and I imagine I’d feel a little resistant to the idea. I’m not sure I’d be able to muster the strength of feeling about it that I’ve seen in this thread and elsewhere, concerning the dollar coin, however. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2013, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-much-for-more-dollar-coins/606066/271 "2013-07-28T00:03:47Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > A small coin purse is the solution to this problem > > Again, a coin purse. You want me to carry a purse? F–k that. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2013, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-much-for-more-dollar-coins/606066/272 "2013-07-28T00:05:10Z")
> [@california\_jobcase](#): > > They wouldn’t be able to go upside down on the pole any more, And f–k that, too! 🙂 This forum requires that you wait 60 seconds between posts. Please try again in 4 seconds. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2013, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-much-for-more-dollar-coins/606066/273 "2013-07-28T00:05:56Z")
My wallet has a little coin pouch. Right now it has nine coins in it, and it doesn’t alter the wallet’s dimensions appreciably. When I was looking to replace my old wallet, it was hard to find a nice one that had a coin pouch. I think there’s some weird cultural practice in America that you have to be flummoxed by the use of coins. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2013, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-much-for-more-dollar-coins/606066/274 "2013-07-28T00:10:30Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > You want me to carry a purse? > > F–k that. > > 🙂 It’s like wearing a pink shirt - I’m man enough to pull it off. I do understand not everyone is sufficiently masculine. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2013, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-much-for-more-dollar-coins/606066/275 "2013-07-28T00:22:34Z")
> [@california\_jobcase](#): > > I know how to fix the “no bills for the strippers” problem. Have them wear garters with metal cups attached, about mid-thigh. Drop in coins. They wouldn’t be able to go upside down on the pole any more, but they could learn some new skills using the cups as maracas. I recall this one strip joint in West Texas back in the day. This one old codger shuffled up to the stage and tried to put a quarter in the lass’ G-string. She hollered at him: “I’m not a goddamned slot machine!” ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2013, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-much-for-more-dollar-coins/606066/276 "2013-07-28T00:39:17Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > It’s like wearing a pink shirt - I’m man enough to pull it off. I do understand not everyone is sufficiently masculine. 🙂 Yeah, wimps delude themselves like that. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2013, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-much-for-more-dollar-coins/606066/277 "2013-07-28T00:40:01Z")
You guys realize you started throwing coins in a jar because they were worth so little. Make them worth more and you’ll actually start spending the coins. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2013, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-much-for-more-dollar-coins/606066/278 "2013-07-28T00:48:38Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > I recall this one strip joint in West Texas back in the day. This one old codger shuffled up to the stage and tried to put a quarter in the lass’ G-string. She hollered at him: “I’m not a goddamned slot machine!” See? Sam always has something _important_ to contribute to a conversation. Haven’t you got something serious to argue about, like Gun Ownership, Abortion, Race Relations, Jews in the Military? ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2013, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-much-for-more-dollar-coins/606066/279 "2013-07-28T00:51:09Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > See? > Sam always has something _important_ to contribute to a conversation. > > Haven’t you got something serious to argue about, like Gun Ownership, Abortion, Race Relations, Jews in the Military? How about ladyboys in the military? That falls under almost each one of those topics. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2013, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-much-for-more-dollar-coins/606066/280 "2013-07-28T01:01:08Z")
> [@Desert\_Nomad](#): > > Lots of countries have these bi-metalic coins. Just off the top of my head I have seen and used them in the Eurozone, Bahrain, Jordan, Hungary, UK, Malawi, South Africa, Canada and Turkey. Thailand and Hong Kong too. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-much-for-more-dollar-coins/606066.md?page=13) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-much-for-more-dollar-coins/606066.md?page=15)