# US Golden Dollars ($1 Coins) only really being used in Washington DC? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 20, 2018, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-golden-dollars-1-coins-only-really-being-used-in-washington-dc/818303 "2018-07-20T23:25:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2018, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-golden-dollars-1-coins-only-really-being-used-in-washington-dc/818303/1 "2018-07-20T23:25:26Z")
Kind of a poll, kind of a general observation. Mundane on both counts. . . I’m on a business trip to Washington, D.C. this week, and used the Metro. To get my Metro card, I added paper money to the vending kiosk, and got change in “golden dollars”–the gold colored, Presidentially-faced dollar coins that made an appearance about 10 years ago or so. Remember “the Sackie?” I do. Brought back some fond memories. Admittedly, there were a pair of Susan B. Anthony dollar coins in the mix too. But after a few minutes of rifling through the collection of Adams, Jeffersons and Van Burens I’d recently acquired, I realized that it was at least a decade since I’d seen any of these things. Nowhere else in the U.S. do they seem to be used. . . at least to my knowledge. Has the “golden dollar”(both Sackies and Prezzies) thing kind of fizzled out? Is it strictly a D.C. regionalism? Do you use them regularly, or are they more of a novelty? Are they pretty much “collected and hoarded” out of circulation? I can see the Treasury Department now: “Hey Joe, what do we do with all these bags of things?” “Don’t know, Mike. Put em in machines for change, I guess. . .” Tripler Genuinely curious. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2018, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-golden-dollars-1-coins-only-really-being-used-in-washington-dc/818303/2 "2018-07-20T23:49:28Z")
People overwhelmingly get change from retail businesses–and they haven’t seen any value in adding the dollar coin. The average coin drawer has 5 places for bill and 5 for coins. And besides the penny, nickel, dime and quarter the other drawer is usually used for rolls of coins. I don’t recall seeing a dollar coin anywhere locally–although I suppose you can get them from banks. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2018, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-golden-dollars-1-coins-only-really-being-used-in-washington-dc/818303/3 "2018-07-20T23:52:12Z")
The post office machines out here used to give them as change. I think the real issue is: who uses cash anymore? There’s just not very much use for dollar coins. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2018, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-golden-dollars-1-coins-only-really-being-used-in-washington-dc/818303/4 "2018-07-20T23:54:29Z")
When I was in Philadelphia, if you bought tickets for SEPTA (the local medium-range commuter rail) at one of the machines, it’d give you change in dollar coins, too (at that time, Sackies). ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2018, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-golden-dollars-1-coins-only-really-being-used-in-washington-dc/818303/5 "2018-07-21T00:25:05Z")
It does make sense to give them out in the few vending machine where someone is likely to use a denomination that could give you a substantial amount back in change. I’ve never seen a vending machine where you can buy a Coke with a $20 bill. If all you’ve got is a wallet full of twenties, then you’ll have to do without. But for something like a transit station, it does make sense. Especially since the person buying from the machine may not be a local and just have some twenties that they recently obtained from an ATM. If someone is buying a $5 transit card, it wouldn’t make sense to give them an avalanche of quarters as change, plus that would mean the machine would have to be stocked frequently with change. Of course, getting rid of the $1 and $2 bills and replacing them with the dollar coin would make them easily spendable rather than a novelty. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Bill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mr.Bill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Bill)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2018, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-golden-dollars-1-coins-only-really-being-used-in-washington-dc/818303/6 "2018-07-21T00:28:44Z")
I got some back recently from a vending machine. I bought an item costing $1.65 with a 3.00 bill. Got 3 $1.00 coins and other change. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2018, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-golden-dollars-1-coins-only-really-being-used-in-washington-dc/818303/7 "2018-07-21T00:35:44Z")
A couple of years ago I was driving out of a parking garage and realized I had no coins. So I had to use a $20 bill. I got nineteen golden dollars as change, mostly Prezzies, but a couple of Sackies. havent had to do anything like that since, I don’t know now if it would still work that way. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2018, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-golden-dollars-1-coins-only-really-being-used-in-washington-dc/818303/8 "2018-07-21T00:37:02Z")
There’s something queer about that. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2018, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-golden-dollars-1-coins-only-really-being-used-in-washington-dc/818303/9 "2018-07-21T00:37:42Z")
La county gives them out in change from in their public transportation ticket machines I used the metro link so much that at one point I traded them in for a 20 dollar bill every month Also the post office gives them out in the few machines that take money (opposed to the atm/cc only machines) ---
**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:** [July 21, 2018, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-golden-dollars-1-coins-only-really-being-used-in-washington-dc/818303/10 "2018-07-21T00:40:46Z")
They’re common in transit ticket machines all over the country, not just in DC. The old stamp vending machines also gave them out. > [@PastTense](#): > > People overwhelmingly get change from retail businesses–and they haven’t seen any value in adding the dollar coin. The average coin drawer has 5 places for bill and 5 for coins. And besides the penny, nickel, dime and quarter the other drawer is usually used for rolls of coins. And dollar coins are much heavier in bulk, which I believe also makes them more expensive for retailers that receive shipments of cash. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Vorlon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@The\_Vorlon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Vorlon)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2018, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-golden-dollars-1-coins-only-really-being-used-in-washington-dc/818303/11 "2018-07-21T00:42:40Z")
At the rate the cost of a bottle of soda is going up, I’m glad that most take the dollar coins–it beats spending time trying to feed the one-armed bandits moldy dollar bills. In–Out–In–Out… ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2018, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-golden-dollars-1-coins-only-really-being-used-in-washington-dc/818303/12 "2018-07-21T00:43:07Z")
> [@Mr.Bill](#): > > I got some back recently from a vending machine. I bought an item costing $1.65 with a 3.00 bill. Got 3 $1.00 coins and other change. Sounds like a good deal to me. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2018, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-golden-dollars-1-coins-only-really-being-used-in-washington-dc/818303/13 "2018-07-21T01:52:17Z")
The light rail in St. Louis gives dollar coins in change from their machines. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2018, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-golden-dollars-1-coins-only-really-being-used-in-washington-dc/818303/14 "2018-07-21T02:14:25Z")
> [@nightshadea](#): > > La county gives them out in change from in their public transportation ticket machines I used the metro link so much that at one point I traded them in for a 20 dollar bill every month > Also the post office gives them out in the few machines that take money (opposed to the atm/cc only machines) Yeah, I get them and use them for other things. As mentioned above, dollar coins aren’t given out much because cash vendors don’t want to change their drawers. That’s what it comes down to. Everyone tries to come up with complicated explanations for why dollar coins don’t catch on, and it’s just because of the cash registers. As long as there are dollar bills, they won’t change the drawers. (And we don’t have any inflation to make us change our currency often, the way other countries do.) ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2018, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-golden-dollars-1-coins-only-really-being-used-in-washington-dc/818303/15 "2018-07-21T02:46:30Z")
Plenty of room for $1 coins in registers as soon as they do away with Pennies & Nickles like they should. I’ve have received $1 coins from vending machine that take $5 bills. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2018, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-golden-dollars-1-coins-only-really-being-used-in-washington-dc/818303/16 "2018-07-21T03:36:42Z")
I take a drawsting bag full of $1 coins when I go to the Renaissance Faire. Great for tipping, always good for a huzzah or two. ---
**Author:** ![caligulathegod](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/caligulathegod/32/9685_2.png) [@caligulathegod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caligulathegod)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2018, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-golden-dollars-1-coins-only-really-being-used-in-washington-dc/818303/17 "2018-07-21T04:15:01Z")
The only time I ever use a penny is so I can avoid getting MORE pennies. It’s time to get rid of them. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Bill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mr.Bill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Bill)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2018, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-golden-dollars-1-coins-only-really-being-used-in-washington-dc/818303/18 "2018-07-21T04:27:53Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Sounds like a good deal to me. And the best part was I didn’t get arrested for using a $3 bill!:eek: Typo, I meant to say I used a $5 bill, but then I’m sure you knew that…:smack: ---
**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:** [July 21, 2018, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-golden-dollars-1-coins-only-really-being-used-in-washington-dc/818303/19 "2018-07-21T05:00:33Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > As mentioned above, dollar coins aren’t given out much because cash vendors don’t want to change their drawers. That’s what it comes down to. Everyone tries to come up with complicated explanations for why dollar coins don’t catch on, and it’s just because of the cash registers. It’s not _just_ the cash registers. Even if you magically changed all the registers, the larger retailers that get their change delivered still wouldn’t want to deal with a coin that weighs as much as 26 bills. ---
**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:** [July 21, 2018, 9:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-golden-dollars-1-coins-only-really-being-used-in-washington-dc/818303/20 "2018-07-21T09:41:29Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > Yeah, I get them and use them for other things. > > As mentioned above, dollar coins aren’t given out much because cash vendors don’t want to change their drawers. That’s what it comes down to. Everyone tries to come up with complicated explanations for why dollar coins don’t catch on, and it’s just because of the cash registers. As long as there are dollar bills, they won’t change the drawers. (And we don’t have any inflation to make us change our currency often, the way other countries do.) No, it’s because no matter what the .gov does to try to get people to use dollar coins, if they don’t withdraw the dollar _bill_ from circulation people won’t change. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-golden-dollars-1-coins-only-really-being-used-in-washington-dc/818303.md?page=2)