Poll: Should the U.S. get rid of dollar bills and use dollar coins?

I think we should follow Canada's lead and make $1 And $2 coins. This is one of those things that really has no down side but people are conservative and don't like change. A dollar not used for major purchases. It is what you buy a paper with or candy bar. It should be a coin. The government would save millions of dollars a year by making the switch.

How would it dave millions of dollars a year? Aren't paper bills cheapers to produce than minted coins?

yes paper money is somewhat cheaper but it doesn't last nearly as long. Old bills are constantly being replaced with new ones.

I prefer this: http://www.norfed.com

:)

I prefer George Boggs, an artist who makes his own elaborately decorated currency (by hand) and then spends it.

Here's one

That's actually illegal.

I think that is part of the point of doing it. Performance art and all. But most people won't care, because the the artwork is going to be worth MUCH MUCH more than a dollar!

Okay, if you say so. But I wouldn't want to run afoul of the government counterfitting laws. They carry some pretty stiff penalties.

AGH! After reading the $20 bill thread I was thinking about posting about dollar coins... GET THE HELL OUT OF MY HEAD!

What I was going to mention in that thread was precisely what is brought up below... that we have dollar coins, and they are actually quite common here in New York City, but when I travel to other states, people don't even recognize them. When someone says they never caught on, I get confused... cause as far as i can tell they've caught on just fine here, there just aren't too terribly many of them in circulation. Now I know the reason we see them here is because they are dispensed as change in the metrocard machines. I just don't understand why they aren't all over.

When I lived in Las Vegas, they were in heavy circulation too, what with slot machines and all.� That was before Sacagewea (sp?), and they were all Suzie B.� I don't know what the mix is now.

Here they seem to get spit out by postal machines...

I've gotten Susan B's back in change in place of a quarter several times. That was just a lousy design. The Sac dollar is better since it's a different color.

I think Americans pretty much hate change in general.

Oh - there's a restaurant called "Titio's Tacos" in L.A. that used to have all their prices be in increments of 50 cents - and they'd always give change in 50 cent pieces, which you rarely see these days. Someone theorized that their bank was charging them on the amount of coins they handled. Reminded me of the old skit on SNL about the bank that specialized in making change.

Because the rest of us don't HAVE metrocard machines. Duh! ;)

But you have other ways of introducing the currency into common circulation, dumbass.

I agree...but the Susan B Anthony and Sacagawea have been out there and never quite caught on. I'm not sure why they work up north and not here.�I know that the post office vending machines and our local light rail give nothing but $1 coins as change and still people look at me funny when I use them.

They work in Canada because $1 and $2 bills were withdrawn from circulation.� Give people a choice, and they're generally comfy using what they've always used, and�will resist the innovation even if it's more practical.� And of course, we're all about "freedom of choice" in the states even when it makes no economic sense and actually makes life more complicated.

That said, the one thing I have against loonies and toonies in Canada is that they tend to make you think of larger amounts of money as "just pocket change", ie insignificant and not worth worrying about if it's misplaced, dropped, or�frittered away.� I think this degrades�people's perception of the value of money, and may lead to greater acceptance of higher prices, not to mention sloppy spending habits.�

For example, when I'm making a charitable donation on the fly I tend to reach into my pocket and toss in whatever change I wrap my fingers around.� In the States that's usually under $1 -- a reasonable amount�for a Salvation Army kettle or a fundraising bucket brigade, especially when I may encounter several others in the course of my day of errands.�� In Canada,�the same�fistful of�coins could be $7 or $8.�� As for my son, who's in the habit of putting change on his lunch tray -- it's no big deal if fifteen cents winds up in the trash,� although I'd rather he be more careful.� But if he were throwing away dollars a couple of times a week, both he and I would be chagrined.

The value of money is degrading due to inflation. When the present system of money was started during the Wilson administration, a dollar was a lot of money. I'm not sure the exact correspondence but I'm sure the buying power was the equivilent of at least $20 and probably a lot more than that. We actually had coins worth up to $20 then made of gold. So as the value of the money has decreased so has the denominations.

It is time to get rid of pennies and dollar bilsl and accept the new realities.

Our counting system is based on 1, not 5. Keep the penny, damn it.

As the checkbook keeper and penny-pincher in this family, I'm in wholehearted agreement -- unless we can persuade all merchants, banks, and utilities to round their charges down, not up, to the next nickel amount. Like that would ever happen.

most places would simply round to the nearest 5cents either up or down. Teh place I get my coffee in the morning charges $2.01 for a large cup. They always take $2.00

Brian Gundersdorf from WA9 talks about opening the exact change store, everything would come out to a whole number of dollars with tax.

Hmmm. Not quite Gordon. I would have thougt so too, but according to the inflation calculator at http://146.142.4.24/cgi-bin/cpicalc.pl, $1 in 1916 would only be worth $16.99 today. So It is a lot of inflation, but not $20 worth.

You can still get paper $1.00s at the bank (Canadian funds).

I got one by accident around 2 years ago.

Interesting topic. It's quite the other way round over here. We have the coins you mentioned but the European Central Bank thinks of introducing �1 and �2 bills as well.

Especially Italy has expressed interest for this move because they only had bills before the Euro was introduced (The coins were of no real value anyway). And they are annoyed about the heavy wallets now <g>

I'm all for dollar and two dollar coins. They would last longer, and I think we should completly follow canada's lead and make two-tone coins.
Actually, I think the States could really use any common two-dollar piece. Few things cost less than a dollar anymore, and it would be nice to be able to pay with a single coin (or bill even)

Granted, just making things cost less would be good to (well, in the short run at least)

We have 2 dollar bills, Talcott, although you may be too young to remember them. They were REintroduced back in... the mid seventies I think, and like the dollar coins, never really caught on. But they ARE in circulation. You can order them at the bank if you want some.

Oh waitaminute! Seems they will likely be printing another run of them soon! :) http://money.cnn.com/2003/06/12/pf/banking/new_two_bill/

Oh, I know we have them. That's why I modified that with "common". We have dollar coins too, but they're not common either (here in the midwest at least).

I don't think I'm quite as young as you think I am ;-)
(although, I also tend to get refrences that are beyond my age, so that could be it too)

Well do you REMEMBER the big reintroduction of the $2, with much hoopla and so forth, only to have it fizzle? I think I was 12 or something. :)

I like coins FAR more than bills.... when I use anything at all, that is.

Whenever I go to canada... and... when I went to ireland (pre-euro) I absolutely loved that I could reach into a pocket of change and actually BUY something.

And, obviously, there is the benefit to the country of not having to produce new currency nearly as frequently.

I don't like coins. The way I shop, I tend to never spend them - I'll give the cashier $6 for a $5.19 bill, then pocket the $0.81. When I get home, it all goes in a jar. Every couple years, I take it to the bank and watch my jaw drop at how many hundreds of dollars I've saved.

Coins are just inconvenient to me. They're bulky and hard to manage. Bills are crisp, light, and fit easily in one spot. Add coins into the mix, and you have two sources of currency to gather every time you make a purchase.

Every time I go to a coin-happy country, I end up with twenty tons of coins in my pocket by the end of the day. Add to that the idiocy of the Euro - coin denominations include 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, $1 and $2. C'mon, people. Give me quarters and bills.

Word. Word, word, word.

I do like to give exact change, but I find bills much much easier to sort through than coins. And with the Euro coinage system being so out-of-control - not only are there a ton of denominations, the 1 and 2 cent coins and the 10 and 20 and sometimes 50 cent coins are very difficult to tell apart at a glance if you're not used to them - I end up with a 3-ton wallet, like, allthetime. Also, having 2� (worth, for now at least, more than $2) in coin form makes it feel like a lot less money, which is kinda dangerous as far as spending habits go.

Give me the $1 bill any day.

I second that. Way to many different sorts of coins which isn't necessary at all. This is so sick.
*signs petition to introduce a �1 bill*

And get rid of pennies.� Those things really bug me.

Say it sistah! I hear ya!

I too, have a jar of change, but being the unorganized person I am, it's a mix of US, Canadian and sundry other currencies.

Because of this, I got a chance to compare the Canadian $1 coin, and the US one (Sacagawea, not S B. A) and they're the exact same size, weight and color. Who thinks up this currency copying anyways? :)

there's one place near my office where we get lunch periodically that has them in the register, and whenever I need change there, I always request them. until I got EZPass, then, I'd always use them at the toll in Baltimore, since it was exactly $1.

I wish they'd catch on at Metro, at least - it sucks when your smallest bill is a $10 and you need a $1.10 farecard - you end up with 35 quarters, a dime and a nickel. with $1 and $2 coins, instead of 37 coins (in a row?) I'd have 9 (still a lot of change, but better than 35 quarters).

wheeeeeee!��1 and �2�coins are don. :) although admittedly i've always wanted to�use the $1 bills like they do on tv. heehee. :D

ok, am i alone in absolutely HATING loonies and twonies?? they are vile.� in fact, whenever possible, i exchange my loons and twons in for fives and tens.� I tend to spend less if i have paper money, and its so much easier to hang onto.� i dearly miss one and two dollar bills. what the hell's next, five and ten dollar coins? it aint right.� i LOVE going to the states with wads of ones, i feel rich.� In fact, when going to FFRF 2000, the border guard looked at me funny and asked me where i got "all that money"� I had a a huge wad of american singles (maybe 60 bucks) and i love the feel of it. you americans are so lucky in that respect.� the only thing that should change about your currency is the colour, so you can distinguish it easier. i guess for yanks its easy enough, but i have to glance twice at an american bill to make sure the domination.� canada's money rocks for the colours, but IM SICK OF THE CHNAGE! BRING BACK THE BILLS!

See, I feel rich when I can hand the clerk a single coin and get a bottle of pop.
Plus, I like the idea of having a bag of coins instead of a wad of bills. I think we could (wouldn't, but could) go to a society with no paper money. Most of the big numbers are done electronically, and while I think cash is here for a while longer, I think we could do just fine with $.01, $.10, $.25, $.50, $2, $5, $10, $20, $50, $100, and $500 coins. The ones worth less than a dollar would all be solid and different sizes. Maybe even with edged ridges. $2 and $5 would both be two-toned like the toonie, $10, $20, and $50 would all have a hole in the center, and the $100 and $500 would be subtantially larger than the first. One "gold" another "silver".

At least, that's how I'd do money. If it were thin enough, I don't think weight would be a big issue, and they would be better for the blind this way too. (He says, trying to make this more than just "I like coins" ;-)

and $500 coins.

wow. imagine that. buying an iPod and plunking down a single coin on the counter.

I think large valued coins would be a bad thing, since coins are easier to lose than bills - you won't care that much if you drop even a $5 coin on the ground, especially if you have a pocket full of change and won't notice its absence. but if you're carrying around a $500 coin, you probably know you have it, and would definitely notice if it disappeared.

I imagine if you had a $500 coin on you, you'd be guarding it with your life (or at least a lot of attention). We could put holes in all of them and go back to the idea of putting them on a string...

I agree... I looove coins... hate paper money.

I hardly use cash for anything anymore... most is electronic.... all my banking is online, I pay for everything with my atm card, which is accepted anywhere mastercard is.....

The only time I use cash is on the rare occasion I have to go to a place that doesn't take cards... but luckily those are few and far between these days.

So, when that happens, I'd be far more into having a pocket full of a few coins than having to deal with a fat wallet.

yeah, cash is becoming less and less necessary. it's faster sometimes for small amounts - I have a hard time justifying using plastic for a $5 fast food meal - but then, coins would solve that problem.

I also still tend to use cash when we go out to lunch at work, because it's much easier to pool money with cash than to ask the restaurant to split the check so we can all charge it.

$500 coin! LOL! You know we don't even have a $500 bill any more? I tried to get one once years ago (engagement present), and they were withdrawn from circulation. :(

... pennies STAY. yearly i round up all the pennies�people don't give a shit about, and scrounge me up a good 20-30 bucks which i take to the bank for "real money".� imagine how much money you could have at the end of the year if you�filled a Bubba can or water jug with useless pennies every day.� the day pennies go out of circulation is the day i cry.

jen��