Logic has nothing to do with it. To paraphrase The American President, the American people have a funny way of deciding what is, and is not, their business, or in this case what to carry in their wallets. The metric system died as a general method in this country, and the idea of dollar and two-dollar coins died as well. When 'Merkins want these coins, then and only then will they fly. I am willing to bet that if the gummint tried such a high-handed approach as the Canadian gummint did (withdrawing bills in favor of coins) there would be such an outcry that whoever pushed the idea would find themselves out of government service and flipping burgers before they knew what hit them!
Of course, if McDonald’s, etc. all decided that they were going to push the use of the new coins, and started refusing dollar bills…that’s a different story!
Around the time the Sackies went into circulation, I started seeing vending machines everywhere that took them. Most vending machines I see these days still take them. Since they’re not in general circulation anymore, though, it doesn’t really matter much.
I agree that the next time they implement a dollar coin, they should just stop circulating dollar bills.
The why just north of the border was the Canadian government able to pull it off, and their politicians didn’t end up flipping burgers and accepting payment with $1 Canadian bills? I find it hard to believe that the Canadians are all this different than people in the US when it comes to money. I think a reasonable alternate scenario is that if the politicians decided to phase out the dollar bill, the people would just end up seeing the advantage to dollar coins, rather than vote them out just because of this issue. Other political issues like cutting taxes, opposing abortion, etc. would dominate over the $1 coin issue.
I’ve used both Sackies and $2 bills to pay for stuff, and I’ve gotten quizzical looks from cashiers along with “Are you sure you want to use that?” I get the Sackies from the post-office vending machines and my credit union once had someone cash in many $2 bills, so that’s what the teller had. I’ve got one of the $2 bills stashed in my wallet as “emergency” money in case I get stranded somewhere.
I just paid for a meal last night with 3 Sackies. I had to turn the light on in my car and put on my glasses to make sure they weren’t quarters, but I never have anyone refuse them. I mostly get them as change for the Regional Transit Authority vending machine, and the bus fare is $1.50, so I still have to carry three coins or a bill and two coins…a dollar coin doesn’t make it anymore convenient.
I find it amazing that anyone even thinks it odd all our currency is the same color. It never occurred to me that it presents any difficulties, since I’m so used to having to look at the numbers anyhow. It can’t be all that difficult if all us unsophisticated Americans can do it from an early age! For me it would be harder to remember which color went with which amount, but I think I could adapt.
I like money in whatever form it comes in, but I find dollar bills to be much more convenient. And the two vending machines I use most often? Both brand new, from the same manufacturer? One accepts dollar coins, the other doesn’t, and of course the item I wanted was in the one that doesn’t take the dollar coin…luckily I had quarters on me. Also, I’ve never seen a ending machine that accepts only bills…they all have coin slots and bill slots around here.
Where exactly was this happening in the US? That “Location: NY, London, Paris, Munich” is a tad vague. Clearly the Sackie is in general circulation. But apparently only in some areas, such as where they are very convenient for use in mass transit. You must be in an area like mine, where I have yet to actually eyeball a Sackie.
As for the $2 bill, I can see why that isn’t all that useful. The lowest currency being a $5 bill, with the Sackie replacing the $1 bill, makes more sense to me. Although when I was in Canada, getting twoonie coins happened a lot, curiously enough.
For the first part, the Sackie has a smooth edge, while the quarter has a milled edge. Use that to differentiate between the 2 in the dark. As for the advantage of currency in different colors, think about vision impaired people. Different colors makes it easy for these folks to know what bill it is. This is why in the US the new bills greater than $1 have the numeral very big on the bottom right on the back.
[QUOTE=rfgdxm As for the advantage of currency in different colors, think about vision impaired people. Different colors makes it easy for these folks to know what bill it is. This is why in the US the new bills greater than $1 have the numeral very big on the bottom right on the back.[/QUOTE]
The simplest way that most currencies help blind people is by having noticeably different sizes for different denomination notes.
Note I wrote “vision impaired”. Obviously different colors would do no good for the totally blind. How many countries have switched to different sized currencies to aid the blind, after previously having a single sized currency? I’d suspect that the US wouldn’t change the size of currency with helping the blind in mind, as there just aren’t that many blind people.
Actually the dollar coins are much cheaper than bills. Dollar bills have a life expectancy of 3 years. Coins can last many decades in general circulation. Not to mention that there are still Lydian coins around yet none of the early Chinese paper money.
The 2 official languages issue hasn’t been that relevant in the US. It isn’t like there is a state where the vast majority spoke Spanish, and would be demanding it also be recognized as an official language. And there are parts of the US where people like hockey. I’m in Michigan, and the Red Wings most definitely do get prominent press coverage. You do have a point about the metric system. In the US that is also an official measurement system, although its use is limited. I’m drinking Coke right now I poured out of a 2 liter bottle. And with all pharmaceuticals, dosages are specified in metric units. And speaking of money, look at this:
Note the Treasury lists the specifications of the Sacagawea dollar coin only in metric notation, with no reference to inches or ounces. The mint has gone fully metric.
Many vending machines and coin-mechs accept dollar coins. If the vending machine has a bill reader that accepts $5 bills, then it usually dispenses dollar coins as change.
As mentioned earlier, the Susan B. Anthony coin failed partly because it looks so much like a quarter. When they designed the Sacky they attempted to avoid this problem by making it gold and removing the reeds. However, in an effort to be compatible with existing coin-mechs, the Sacky has the same physical dimensions (weight, diameter, thickness etc.). This means that vending machines that accepted Susan B.'s would also accept Sackies without modification. The down-side was that the Sacky was still a lot like a quarter.
I don’t think a dollar coin can survive in the US unless they discontinue the dollar bill. But at this point it seems electronic payment will replace both.
I hadn’t thought about that with vending machines that accept $5 bills. If I can’t get a Sacky at the bank, that may be another possibility. I agree that the size being so close to the dollar was a mistake with the SBA dollar, and that has carried over to the Sacky. Too late to change that now. As for electronic payment replacing dollar bills and coins, this won’t happen anytime soon. Think of bus fare, vending machines, newspaper boxes, etc.
I, too, can get the Sacky at my bank. I started using them as soon as they came out, but not lately, as I have too many other things in my pockets-keys, celltel, other coins, billfold, Swill Army knife (I don’t fly).
But I call them Minnie Driver dollars. Check her out.
Why would that surprise you? We have no 2$ bill, just the twoonie, so it makes just as much sense to give those as change as it does to give a loonie. Besides, pretty much every vending machine takes both anyways, and that happened pretty quickly after the twoonie was released. Personally, I like the coins. Now I just need to get me a poppy quarter…
Yes, but things can become a lot simpler. I can pay for a monthly bus pass or bus tickets with my debit card, and not use cash. In fact, I can’t remember the last time when I’ve seen someone here pay cash for the bus, because someone can just get a sheet of tickets that ends up being a bit cheaper. Unless, of course, they only need to use the bus once or twice.
For vending machines, my school has a swipe-card reader installed on each one so that I can swipe my student card (which has money on it), and the card can also be used at the cafeteria, bookstore, etc.
DO strippers accept dollar coins? For some reason, slipping a cold metal coin into a stripper’s g-string strikes me as being inconvenient.
How do you Canadian’s manage it? :smack:
I disagree. I keep my bills and coins in separate places; I think I’m like most people in this. I’d rather reach into my pocket, and pull out one dollar coin and two quarters, because it’s a one-movement, one-handed operation. While if I have to get a dollar bill out, I have to pull out my wallet and get the dollar*, and still reach into my pocket for coins. This operation takes two hands, and is a lot more inconvenient. If I’m holding packages, a briefcase, or whatever, it’s really inconvenient.
*I’ve started keeping lower value bills loose in my pocket as a way to solve this problem, but I find that the bills get all mashed and hard to pry loose or count, so I may stop doing that.
For me it would be harder to remember which color went with which amount, but I think I could adapt.
Clearly the Sackie is in general circulation. But apparently only in some areas, such as where they are very convenient for use in mass transit. You must be in an area like mine, where I have yet to actually eyeball a Sackie.