# Whatever Became of the Sacagawea Dollar? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 17, 2003, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-became-of-the-sacagawea-dollar/169238 "2003-04-17T03:26:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Susanann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@Susanann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Susanann)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2003, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-became-of-the-sacagawea-dollar/169238/61 "2003-04-18T12:13:27Z")
I use dollar coins all the time, I always get them from my bank. I think the Sac dollar coin is pretty(but I wish it would have been made out of real gold), and I always admired Sacagawea. My bank will give out either the Sac coin or the Susan B, they have plenty of each. I also loved the $500 bill, the $1000 bill, and the $10,000 bill, and would like to see them come back. Wads of $100 bills are too bulky. I also have loads of $50 dollar coins, they are great for keeping cash hidden around the house, without having to worry about a house fire or insects destroying your secret “cash stash”. (I used to always carry a $500 bill with me in my wallet, and if someone asked me for money, I would just say ok and ask them if they had change for a $500?) ---
**Author:** ![Susanann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@Susanann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Susanann)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2003, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-became-of-the-sacagawea-dollar/169238/62 "2003-04-18T12:24:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by StarvingButStrong \* > \*\* > > CVS (pharmacy): I had two items that added up to $11.69. I counted out 12 and handed them over. The clerk, a high school aged girl, stared at them. “What are these? We only take American money.” > > ? \*\* We always intentionally uses the dollar coins for tips. It doesnt take very long for a waiter or waitress to remember you after you give him or her dollar coins as tips. We always get excellent friendly service the second time we visit any establishment where tipping is done. This is an old trick we have successfully used for a long time, and it always works. Years ago, we used to leave the Eisenhower dollars for tips, but they were much heavier to carry around. ---
**Author:** ![Susanann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@Susanann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Susanann)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2003, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-became-of-the-sacagawea-dollar/169238/63 "2003-04-18T12:42:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Dooku \* > \*\* > > I didn’t even know there ever was such a thing as a $5000 or $10,000 bill. Has anyone ever seen one of these? \*\* Tens of millions of people have seen $10,000 bills. There used to be a display case in Las Vegas, where the Horseshoe casino had 100 $10,000 on display for every one to see. [http://www.1st100.com/part2/binion.html](http://www.1st100.com/part2/binion.html) I also have “seen” the $10,000 bill at the coin store where I get my gold coins, and where I now have to go to get an occasional $500 bill. Even the $500 bills are now hard to come by, and my dealer does not always have them anymore - they are now collector items. If you want to see them, go to a coin show. ---
**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2003, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-became-of-the-sacagawea-dollar/169238/64 "2003-04-18T15:09:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Susanann \* > I think the Sac dollar coin is pretty(but I wish it would have been made out of real gold), and I always admired Sacagawea. One thing that I’ve said before here: the point of money is not to look pretty. The point of money is to be money. Aesthetics take a back seat to utility when it comes to designing currency. If they can make it look good too, great, but if not, who cares? ---
**Author:** ![dil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f04885/32.png) [@dil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dil)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2003, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-became-of-the-sacagawea-dollar/169238/65 "2003-04-18T16:12:55Z")
This thread has given me a great idea for Poker night. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2003, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-became-of-the-sacagawea-dollar/169238/66 "2003-04-18T16:35:23Z")
I hate carrying large amounts of change, so I don’t like the dollar coins. Which is good, considering that I’ve seen maybe four Sackies in the three years they’ve been in production. A few days ago, I bought stamps from the vending machine in the post office. In my change, I got a Sackie and a Susie B. I then went to McDonalds for lunch. The cost was just under $6. Wanting to be rid of the unholy abomination that is the Susan B Anthony dollar coin, I gave it to the cashier girl along with a five-dollar bill. The girl looked at the money and gave me the Idiot Customer Look. You all know the Idiot Customer Look: it’s the look given to the guy who places his order and then realizes that he doesn’t have enough money to pay for it. I quickly pointed out that the coin was a Susie B, and not a quarter. The girl then picked it up, gave it a good look, and tossed it into the drawer with the rolled coins. The Sackie was passed off uneventfully to a convenience store clerk near where I work. This Sackie, however, was well-used and rather dull looking. It looked _a lot_ like an arcade token, and I was surprised that the clerk didn’t look at it more closely. The popularity of the Sackie is only going to drop as they become more worn and start to look like something you’d play Mortal Kombat 4 with. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2003, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-became-of-the-sacagawea-dollar/169238/67 "2003-04-18T17:32:07Z")
Another trouble is that the Sackie isn’t obviously gold in bad light. It’s such a light gold color, that in bad light or at the wrong angle it looks silver, and can still be mistaken for a quarter. Not as easily as the Suzy B, since the Sackie isn’t reeded, but it still happens. In fact, the last time I got one in change was when a clerk mistakenly handed me one thinking it was a quarter (and, yes, I gave it back). The fact that it isn’t reeded, of course, contributes to it seeming like an arcade token. I think they would have been better off with a two-tone design with a gold outside around a grey center (or vice-versa) like some other countries have done for high-denomination coins. Even it bad light you can readily distinguish a two-color design from a solid colored coin. ---
**Author:** ![dwc1970](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a183cd/32.png) [@dwc1970](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwc1970)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2003, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-became-of-the-sacagawea-dollar/169238/68 "2003-04-18T19:35:27Z")
I think there’s a catch-22 when it comes to the reasons the Sackie dollars are not widely circulated. Since they aren’t widely circulated, a lot of people who manage to get a hold of them tend to hoard them as a monetary novelty (I have three myself that I can’t bring myself to spend). Since a lot of people will just collect them and keep them more will fall out of circulation. If they were as commonly used as paper bills people like me would see no need to hold onto them for collecting puposes. If we were to go the way of the Canadians and abolish the $1 bill I’d be more inclined to hold onto a few of them before they disappeared from circulation. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Cobweb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7c8e57/32.png) [@Dr.Cobweb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Cobweb)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2003, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-became-of-the-sacagawea-dollar/169238/69 "2003-04-18T19:49:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by StarvingButStrong \* > **But, here’s a question: on the paper bills it says “This note is legal tender for all debts, public and private” – but there’s nothing like that on the coins. Does that mean stores could refuse to accept the dollar coins? Not that I expect they would, a sale is a sale, but could a chain of stores decide to declare the dollar coins off limits?** Businesses routinely decide not to accept certain denominations, or not to accept cash at all. I don’t think anybody can force them to. Lots of gas stations won’t take anything over a $50 bill (used to be anything over a $20, but with today’s gas prices, the change from a $50 doesn’t amount to much). Some hotels won’t take cash, or they require a credit card “on file” even if they do take cash. Try to rent a car sometime with cash - in any denominations. I don’t think any of the major rental agencies accept cash anymore. And for real fun, go into a major metropolitan airport and ask for a ticket to Brazil - then try to pay cash for it, in $20 bills. I hear it’s a great way to meet pleasant, fun-loving folks who carry guns and badges. So yes, I would have to guess that any store, or chain of stores, could decide not to accept dollar coins, if they wanted to. ---
**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:** [April 18, 2003, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-became-of-the-sacagawea-dollar/169238/70 "2003-04-18T20:15:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Diceman \* > \*\*I hate carrying large amounts of change, so I don’t like the dollar coins. > \*\* As I’ve said before, in answer to this argument, why would anybody have to have to carry a large amount of chainge? Unless your daughter has been selling Girl Scount Cookies and you’re responsible for banking the receipts of the entire troop, why would you have to carry more than about $7 dollars in coin for any length of time? People, remember a dollar is so very _ **little** _ money anymore. You take mass transit? Five trips at $1.35 and your $7 is _gone_. Buy lunch, once, at work? Your $7 is _gone_. Want to see a movie? You won’t be able to get in for that money, but you might be able to get popcorn and a drink. Your money is _gone_. A BritDoper whose name I forget, said that 63p is a ridiculously small value for a note. I agree with him. Actually people who hate carrying change ought to be in favor of dumping the dollar bill. Why? Because if the Sackies were in wide circulation, we could pay for the small stuff with dollar coins. Since we’d be reaching into our pockets anyway, it would be more convenient to also check our pockets for the requisite additional small change needed to _avoid_ getting another handful of change when the transaction is concluded. So if the total bill is, say, $3.07, we could get out three Sackies and a dime, and get three cents back. Instead of the way things really are, where we just pull four dollars out and end up with ninety-seven cents in change. ---
**Author:** ![BookReader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6a8cbe/32.png) [@BookReader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BookReader)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2003, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-became-of-the-sacagawea-dollar/169238/71 "2003-04-18T20:23:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by davidm \* > \*\*I don’t think I’ve ever even seen one, except for pictures. \*\* I can guarantee you I’ve never seen one … but this IS Hawaii … we don’t even have last year’s state quarters here yet. ---
**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:** [April 18, 2003, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-became-of-the-sacagawea-dollar/169238/72 "2003-04-18T20:37:46Z")
> [@](#): > > So if the total bill is, say, $3.07, we could get out three Sackies and a dime, and get three cents back. Instead of the way things really are, where we just pull four dollars out and end up with ninety-seven cents in change. I want to shop where you shop. Those four cents would add up pretty quickly. And I’ve only seen a few Sackies (and I’m almost out of Sussies, which is a shame, 'cause I like the reverse), but I know perfectly well what they look like. Heck, the _first_ time I saw one, I said “So, that’s what the new dollar coin looks like, eh?” Oh, and [Cecil](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_330.html) has written about legal tender, too. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2003, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-became-of-the-sacagawea-dollar/169238/73 "2003-04-19T17:12:25Z")
I’m late to this thread, but I’ll add a few comments from a Brit. Firstly, yes, 63p _is_ a ridiculously small amount for a note - but then 63p buys you a whole lot more in the US than it does back home, and I like that 🙂 Second, how do all you Americans keep your dollar bills? I find that I quickly accumulate them, and end up with a wallet bulging with maybe 10 or 15 singles. That, combined with the fact that American bills all look so alike, makes it very hard for me to know how much money I’ve got on me - have I got a few twenties and tens in there or have I just got a bunch of $1 bills? Back home, it’s very rare that I’ll have more than 4 or 5 notes in my wallet, and if I do… well, I know I’m pretty flush and the next round is probably on me. So, I have my wallet containing notes in my left pocket, and my coins in my right pocket. That way, if I’m making a small purchase (bus ticket, coffee, Tube ticket etc), I’ll reach for the coins, making it easy to get close to the right amount. This is easier now with the introduction of the two pound coin - it’s not unusual to have up to 10 pounds worth of change, and it’s really not that heavy. However, I have noticed that the two pound coins are still relatively rare - I think a lot of people still “hoard” them, a situation that wasn’t helped when a rumour spread that those coins with a particular portrait of the queen were somehow more valuable. (They’re not.) I guess as always it depends what you’re used to. My mindset is “notes = large amount of money”, so it seems strange to me getting a wad of low-denomination notes. I must admit I’ve never seen a Sacagawea dollar. Are they really that heavy? Surely not heavier than four quarters? Since I’ve been in the US I seem to end up with loads of quarters, so surely swapping some of them for $1 coins would lighten the load? ---
**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2003, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-became-of-the-sacagawea-dollar/169238/74 "2003-04-19T17:47:54Z")
A Sackie weighs the same as a quarter plus a penny. It’s exactly the same mass as a silver dollar. ---
**Author:** ![moriah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b2d939/32.png) [@moriah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moriah)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2003, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-became-of-the-sacagawea-dollar/169238/75 "2003-04-19T19:14:18Z")
**Re: The Dockers Crisis** Buy the [Dockers Mobile Pants.](http://www1.jcpenney.com/jcp/ProductList.aspx?DeptID=469&CatID=13199&PCatID=4397&Dep=men%27s&SearchString=mobile&SearchIn=0&T8PageNum=1&ShowMenu=T&ShopBy=4397) Not only do they have nifty zippered hide-away pockets for a cell phone and a PDA, they have a zippered hide-away pocket inside the regular pockets. My pockets don’t go jingle jangle jingle with the mobile pants. And, you can ride a loop-de-loop rollercoaster without anything falling out. **Re: Reorganizing Denominations** My first instinct would be to have the denominations decimally based, but, having to lug around nine of each denomination without being able to trade up would be too much. And so, I’ve come upon a decimal and a half base denominational structure. It would look like: ```auto 5 cents coin 10 cents coin 50 cents coin 1 dollar coin 5 dolar bill 10 dollar bill 50 dollar bill 100 dollar bill 500 dollar bill ``` In this system, the most change you would have is six coins (95 cents), as opposed to the current system of nine coins (or the treasury’s proposed system of eliminating pennies and dollar bills, which is also a nine-coin max system). If you think about our current system, having a coin which is a quarter of a dollar, and a bill which is a fifth of a hundred is kinda hodge podge. > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by StarvingButStrong \* > \*\*(BTW, why couldn’t they make square or rectangular coins? It’d be neat to use them for domino-type tricks.) > \*\* Because too many vending machines rely on the coins rolling down a chute. ## Peace. Why can’t congress be logical, like me? ---
**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2003, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-became-of-the-sacagawea-dollar/169238/76 "2003-04-19T21:09:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by moriah \* > In this system, the most change you would have is six coins (95 cents), as opposed to the current system of nine coins (or the treasury’s proposed system of eliminating pennies and dollar bills, which is also a nine-coin max system). Maybe you didn’t notice, but your system has no dollar bill. So, in your system, the most you’d need is 10 coins ($4.95). ---
**Author:** ![moriah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b2d939/32.png) [@moriah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moriah)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2003, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-became-of-the-sacagawea-dollar/169238/77 "2003-04-20T03:54:19Z")
Argh, Arch. You got me. :smack: OK, so in my enlightened system, we go from nine coin max to a ten coin max. But, that’s OK with me, since I’d like to not have to deal with those crummy crumbly dollar bills (anyone who cashiers should sympathize). Although, in my defense, if we do away with dollar bills as the Treasury wants anyway, my system of re-denominating still reduces the coinage load. ## Peace. Lets see, twelve ounces in a karat, three karats in a yard, and four yards in a ton, right? ---
**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:** [April 21, 2003, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-became-of-the-sacagawea-dollar/169238/78 "2003-04-21T13:28:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by MLS \* > \*\*I wasn’t aware anything had happened to it. I have several. Two things, IMO, keep it out of wider circulation: > > 1. Standard U.S. cash registers have no separate place for it as they do for other coins. > > (snip) > > You can get them at a bank if you want them. > > \*\* Of course, the typical register does have five coin slots, but, has has been noted, cashiers tend to use the fifth slot for rolls, stamps and whatnot. On the other hand, when I was in Germany in the pre-Euro era, they had six or seven commonly circulating denominations of coins, all the way from 1 pfennig all the way up to five marks, and the cashiers there somehow managed to handle things. And these were all commonly circulating coins you could expect to get in change any time. They weren’t "officially circulating coins that you never see, like the Kennedy half, or – ahem – the Sackie. Banks around these parts almost never have them, and the Metro machines give change in quarters. ---
**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:** [April 21, 2003, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-became-of-the-sacagawea-dollar/169238/79 "2003-04-21T13:49:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by r\_k \* > \*\*I’m late to this thread, but I’ll add a few comments from a Brit. Firstly, yes, 63p _is_ a ridiculously small amount for a note - but then 63p buys you a whole lot more in the US than it does back home, and I like that 🙂 \*\* How about a beer in a pub? We expect to pay at least four or five dollars for that, not including tip, except perhaps for mass-produced, watery, domestic beer. Better American beer, or imported, is usually at least the price I quoted. > [@](#): > > \*\* > > Second, how do all you Americans keep your dollar bills? I find that I quickly accumulate them, and end up with a wallet bulging with maybe 10 or 15 singles. \*\* I try to remember to use them, so they don’t accumulate. Just like nickels and pennies. > [@](#): > > \*\* > I guess as always it depends what you’re used to. My mindset is “notes = large amount of money”, so it seems strange to me getting a wad of low-denomination notes. > \*\* I think it’s due to the fact that as long as 25 years ago we passed the point where all coins had ridiculously little purchasing power in terms of everyday, normal, walking-about expenses. and so, effectively coins aren’t money here, they’re just “change”. As such they are a nuisance, and people are afraid of any proposed change that might force them to carry more “change”. They can’t conceive that with a better planned system, they wouldn’t accumulate change, but more or less spend it as they go. Compounding the problem is that most Americans don’t travel abroad, so we never see first hand that there is a different way of doing things. Add to that most Americans’ hidebound conservatism, and there you are. ---
**Author:** ![OxyMoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e9a140/32.png) [@OxyMoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OxyMoron)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2003, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-became-of-the-sacagawea-dollar/169238/80 "2003-04-21T16:00:32Z")
The hidebound conservatism is really an issue with money. We just don’t change our money very often, and that’s viewed as evidence that Our Currency Is Better. The sizes, colors and denominations of the Big Four coins (penny, nickel, dime, quarter) have remained unchanged for at least a century (the compositions have changed - cupronickel replaced silver in dimes and quarters, and cuprozinc replaced pure copper in pennies - but externally they’re unchanged). And the designs are pretty static, too. From a 2002 Coin World article: > [@](#): > > Lincoln has been on the 1-cent coin for 93 years. Jefferson and Monticello have been on the 5-cent coin for 64 years. Washington has been on the quarter dollar for 70 years. Kennedy has been on the half dollar for 38 years. > > Except for coin collectors, generations of Americans have never seen other designs on their U.S. coins. Because they have no other frame of reference, they can’t imagine other images on the coins in their pockets. The sizes of our bills were last changed in the 20s, and the color has stayed the same since the Fed was formed in 1912. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-became-of-the-sacagawea-dollar/169238.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-became-of-the-sacagawea-dollar/169238.md?page=5)