# Well now it really does seem that any hope of coinage reform is dashed in America. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 26, 2002, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-now-it-really-does-seem-that-any-hope-of-coinage-reform-is-dashed-in-america/133999 "2002-10-26T17:11:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**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:** [October 26, 2002, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-now-it-really-does-seem-that-any-hope-of-coinage-reform-is-dashed-in-america/133999/1 "2002-10-26T17:11:32Z")
I’m bringing this up again because of a few of things I’ve noticed recently. (1) The U.S. Treasury is planning to redesign all the coins, but the four basic denominations–cent, nickel, dime, and quarter-- will be retained at their current size and weight. I heard this on TV news recently (but can’t find a cite now despite dilligent googling). (2) For the first time, I recently noticed that the 2001 series of one-dollar bills has appeared. So yes, they are going to keep printing these chits which are not worth enough even to mail three letters, or to buy a hotdog and a soda. (3) For the first time in over a year, I used a fin to buy a $1.35 train ticket from one of the L.A. metro’s vending machines. Passing lightly over the fact that I had a hell of a time finding a machine whose bill acceptor would actually take a $5 bill, and if I lived in a more sensible country I wouldn’t have to buy a subway ticket from a machine with folding money, I was dismayed to find that the change came back, not as three Sackies, two quarters, one dime, and one nickel, but as 16 quarters, one dime and one nickel. Damn! I thought at least the dollar coins would continue to circulate in metro ticket and postage stamp vending machines. So…my question, addressed to those of you who frequently use these types of vending machines, is whether you still get dollar coins in change, or if the dollars are basically all gone now. How about in cities like NY and Chicago, where people use metro vending machines more? ---
**Author:** ![lurkernomore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@lurkernomore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lurkernomore)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2002, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-now-it-really-does-seem-that-any-hope-of-coinage-reform-is-dashed-in-america/133999/2 "2002-10-26T17:33:00Z")
IN NYC you can use credit cards in the Metrocard machines, and they use sackies prefrentially in giving change. ---
**Author:** ![lurkernomore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@lurkernomore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lurkernomore)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2002, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-now-it-really-does-seem-that-any-hope-of-coinage-reform-is-dashed-in-america/133999/3 "2002-10-26T17:37:56Z")
Oh, and do you realize you got $4.15 in change? Good deal 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2002, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-now-it-really-does-seem-that-any-hope-of-coinage-reform-is-dashed-in-america/133999/4 "2002-10-26T18:56:21Z")
That dollar coin isn’t gonna mean a damn thing until the U.S. Mint bites the bullet and phases out dollar bills. You’ll have a few malcontents complaining, but we Canadians managed to live without our $1 and $2 notes (I keep an old $2 folded in my wallet for emergencies). Vending machines of all kinds are easier to use, thouigh I’ve yet to find a parking meter that will take a $2 coin. ---
**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:** [October 26, 2002, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-now-it-really-does-seem-that-any-hope-of-coinage-reform-is-dashed-in-america/133999/6 "2002-10-26T19:48:44Z")
There’s a slot for those coins, you know. :d&r: ---
**Author:** ![Kat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b19c9b/32.png) [@Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kat)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2002, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-now-it-really-does-seem-that-any-hope-of-coinage-reform-is-dashed-in-america/133999/7 "2002-10-26T21:26:45Z")
Dollar bills won’t be discontinued because people don’t use the Sackies. People don’t use Sackies because they never get them as change (I’ve seen a Sackie twice–and only ever gotten one as change once, the other one I saw belonged to a friend of mine). People don’t use Sackies because they can’t be used in vending machines. I have yet to see a vending machine I could use a Sackie in, so I still have to save up quarters to do laundry (although the candy and pop machines will take dollar bills, at least). _sighs_ ---
**Author:** ![lurkernomore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@lurkernomore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lurkernomore)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2002, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-now-it-really-does-seem-that-any-hope-of-coinage-reform-is-dashed-in-america/133999/8 "2002-10-26T21:41:20Z")
actually, I see a lot of machines that take them. I’ve never gotten them in change, though, except from token booths/machines in the subway or the stamp machine at the post office. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2002, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-now-it-really-does-seem-that-any-hope-of-coinage-reform-is-dashed-in-america/133999/9 "2002-10-26T21:41:35Z")
Many vending machines will take Sackies and Susies. When the Susies first came out, some amusement machines would give an extra play if you used a Susie. ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2002, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-now-it-really-does-seem-that-any-hope-of-coinage-reform-is-dashed-in-america/133999/10 "2002-10-26T21:43:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Bryan Ekers \* > \*\*You’ll have a few malcontents complaining … \*\* I think it would be a whole lot more then a few. And I wouldn’t call us malcontents but rather contents since we are quite happy with the way things are now. [U.S. Treasury on coin design changes](http://www.treas.gov/education/faq/coins/portraits.html#q10). No answer, they just say it’s up to Congress. Perhaps what you heard was some Congressman had submitted a proposal for a change but if it had been voted on and approved then it would be all over and we would have heard about it. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2002, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-now-it-really-does-seem-that-any-hope-of-coinage-reform-is-dashed-in-america/133999/11 "2002-10-26T23:54:05Z")
Australia replaced its $1 bill with a coin in 1984, and the $2 became a coin in '88. In the 90s, 1c and 2c coins were eliminated. Later, our remaining banknotes switched from paper to polymer. There was opposition to these changes at the time, but later I think most people realised they were a good thing. Even back in the 80s, one or two dollars didn’t buy much, and the low denomination bills were always grimy and beat up. I think the average American will get to like S1 coins, given some time to get used to the idea. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2002, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-now-it-really-does-seem-that-any-hope-of-coinage-reform-is-dashed-in-america/133999/12 "2002-10-27T01:29:58Z")
It won’t change because, on the whole, we find bills more convenient than coins. They fold up nicely in a wallet, which is more easily securable than a pocket, and they don’t wear out your pocket linings. Most vending machines do take dollar bills here, and even credit-card machines are coming into use (no cash at all). In the UK, where they don’t even have bills for smaller denominations than 5 pounds / 8 dollars, carrying useful amounts of cash can be an annoying experience. The smallest remaining Canadian bill comes to only a little over $3 US, so the situation doesn’t really compare. We don’t have a demand for dollar coins, but we do have one for eliminating pennies, though. I think the consensus now is that they’re no longer worth the trouble. Many stores have penny bins at the counter so no one really has to bother with them anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Mudshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Mudshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mudshark)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2002, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-now-it-really-does-seem-that-any-hope-of-coinage-reform-is-dashed-in-america/133999/13 "2002-10-27T01:55:28Z")
Not the pennies! ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2002, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-now-it-really-does-seem-that-any-hope-of-coinage-reform-is-dashed-in-america/133999/14 "2002-10-27T03:10:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by TheLoadedDog \* > \*\* banknotes switched from paper to polymer. . \*\* Australian bills are not printed on paper? ---
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2002, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-now-it-really-does-seem-that-any-hope-of-coinage-reform-is-dashed-in-america/133999/15 "2002-10-27T03:21:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by AskNott \* > \*\*Many vending machines will take Sackies and Susies. When the Susies first came out, some amusement machines would give an extra play if you used a Susie. \*\* What I want to know is why some of the vending machines on campus will accept a Susie, but not a Sackie… ---
**Author:** ![Dignan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f07891/32.png) [@Dignan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dignan)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2002, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-now-it-really-does-seem-that-any-hope-of-coinage-reform-is-dashed-in-america/133999/16 "2002-10-27T03:40:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by astro \* > \*\* > > Australian bills are not printed on paper? \*\* Nope, at least I don’t believe so. Someone from Australia will eventually post on whether I’m right or not. I had a camp counselor from Australia and he showed us some bills and demonstrated how they wouldn’t rip (for the most part). The plastic bills were more durable than paper. I have memory of seeing a pink or a purple bill, though I may be confusing them with the old Franc. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2002, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-now-it-really-does-seem-that-any-hope-of-coinage-reform-is-dashed-in-america/133999/17 "2002-10-27T04:24:36Z")
[The technology](http://www.noteprinting.com/sc02_home.html) [The banknotes](http://www.geocities.com/Area51/5058/banknotes.html) (it’s Geocities, sorry) Ripping an Australian banknote is like trying to rip an old T-shirt. If you just grab one and tug on it, you’ll find it far superior to a paper note. Chances are you won’t be able to tear it. However, if you nick the edge with something sharp, then it will tear much _more_ readily than a paper one. On balance, they’re stronger. They’re waterproof, and much cleaner than paper. I hated them at first, but like them now. ---
**Author:** ![Tars\_Tarkas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Tars\_Tarkas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tars_Tarkas)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2002, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-now-it-really-does-seem-that-any-hope-of-coinage-reform-is-dashed-in-america/133999/18 "2002-10-27T05:01:54Z")
Dollar coins are the devil. I have 2 sackies in my wallet i use to show off. i also have a $2 HK coin i found when i was loading my car in St. Louis to move out here. But i want my George Washingtons!!! ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2002, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-now-it-really-does-seem-that-any-hope-of-coinage-reform-is-dashed-in-america/133999/19 "2002-10-27T05:32:58Z")
I was saving all sorts of coins. Now I’ve come top the conclusion that it is a waste of time. I don’t think I can even make an impression on my grandkids. Nobody really cares about old stuff unless it is an all out grab for prefect history. Just a good set of coins needs to be 100 years old to be worth much at all and the interest would have done me better. I am using all my coins now. They will be a relic of the past in less than 20 years IMO. It will be imprints and electrical banking by then for everything. ---
**Author:** ![Pythagoras](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/48db29/32.png) [@Pythagoras](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pythagoras)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2002, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-now-it-really-does-seem-that-any-hope-of-coinage-reform-is-dashed-in-america/133999/20 "2002-10-27T05:44:09Z")
Pennies are utterly useless much of the time. They are used ONLY when somebody DOESNT want a lot of change. Much of the time when people recieve pennies they end up in the need a penny/take a penny jar so people can make sure they dont get pennies. It all amounts to, people essentially round to the nearest nickel themselves, discarding unwanted pennies and taking them while only spending a multiple of 5 cents of their money (with the penny amounts coming and going from the communal holding place). You might as well save everyone the bother and get rid of them. Especially when vending machines dont take them. Ugh, I hate pennies. I might start throwing them out in disgust. ---
**Author:** ![Urban\_Ranger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Urban\_Ranger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urban_Ranger)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2002, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-now-it-really-does-seem-that-any-hope-of-coinage-reform-is-dashed-in-america/133999/21 "2002-10-27T06:02:52Z")
I agree. The pennies are totally useless. Replace the quarter with a half-dollar, and add $1 and $3 dollar coins. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-now-it-really-does-seem-that-any-hope-of-coinage-reform-is-dashed-in-america/133999.md?page=2)