Do you or does anybody you know use dollar coins?

I remember back around 1999-2000, there was a major PR push to start using the golden Sacajawea dollars. (featuring Michael Keaton as the voice of George Washington)
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Unfortunately it was a monumental failure.
Supposedly there was a huge backlash from Coca Cola and Pepsi about the necessity of adapting vending machines to accept the coins, which would have cost them an estimated $50 per machine. "Big Soda" decided it was too expensive and attempted to get the government to shoulder part of the cost, but were shot down.

I had heard of one story where a woman getting change at our local grocery store and threw a fit when handed a dollar coin as change, demanding "real" money.

And then there is the governmental factor...one of the pushes for the coin was to replace paper dollars and save taxpayers a nice chunk of change. Unfortunately the government never so much as slowed down production of paper bills, making the coins completely extraneous.

President Obama officially ended the dollar coin program in December. No new coins will enter circulation, and limited runs will be minted for collectors.

Not even the $1.4 Billion worth of coins currently being held by the Federal Reserve.



So, have you ever used a dollar coin? Or did you just take it to the bank and get paper?

And do you know of any vending machines/parking meters/etc. that actually accept dollar coins?

 

I hate coins. Heavy for their small face value and the U.S. denominations are non-intuitive in size and design for mostly archaic reasons. Then again, I wouldn't mind transitioning to dollar coins since I use debit or credit cards whenever I can.

 

Coins are moronic, the Tang dynasty developed banknotes for a reason.

That said, I totally have five of those dollar coins with William Henry Harrison on them. When else is he going to be on currency?

 

Should upgrade all money to electronic money.

 

I've got nothing against coins.


Los Angeles Lakers: Drama, guaranteed.

 

I disagree, as I believe being completely electronic would be too susceptible to error and fraud.

 

Every normal country uses coins

 

I've certainly used them plenty of times, and been given them back as change. I think part of the reason nobody was using them was that they didn't mint a whole lot, and as the article said it didn't slow down paper bill production. So, a lot of the people I know just collected them whenever they received them.


As far as vending machines go, I don't use them very much, but I have seen a few that accept dollar coins.



In general, coins annoy me because they are thicker and heavier in my wallet, and more annoying to count. I actually feel kind of bad handing coins to someone unless I'm making exact change.

 

Because we're currently less susceptible to error and fraud.

...

 

Since electronic transactions at the point of sale tend to be handled by banks and credit card companies, I would have a problem with going fully electronic. There are people who don't have or can't get checking accounts or credit cards. It'd also give those companies a HUGE boost since they already extort business that dare accept their cards. Practically, there's the matter of person-to-person exchanges, such as loaning someone $20 or paying a neighbor to babysit the kids. What if the babysitter didn't take Discover? WHAT THEN?

 

The only place I can remember getting dollar coins was the fare machines for the LA Metro, which gave me a heap of them.

I guess they have plenty in stock since nobody actually rides the LA Metro.

 

i would have used them had i ever received any as change, but i never did. the only people i saw using them were the kind that would make a point of going to the bank to get a bunch so they could use them in stores and be all cool and stuff. i'm really not against them - if it were a choice between dolloins or pennies that had to go, i would say without hesitation sayonara, 'nies. not nice knowing you.

 

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OMG, $2 coins? What's with that?!? It's even worse than the $1 coin! Ahhhh!

I find coins annoying (they add up really quickly and make your wallet heavy), but I'm used to them because our bills start at $5. But what's really evil are pennies. You always seem to end up with a pile of them and can never get rid of them unless you have the great desire be extremely annoying to a cashier by paying them solely in pennies, nickles and dimes.

 

Funny, my friends and I were just talking about dollar coins yesterday because one used some to pay for lunch. Both the Philadelphia and New York subway/metro machines dispense them for change, so people who use public transportation around here are familiar with them. Personally, I prefer carrying paper bills, or better yet, a credit card.

 

I have some presidential dollar coins my dad handed out as Christmas presents a few years back. All this fuss about the newer dollar coins is pretty much a repeat of the Susan B. Anthony dollar coin debacle of the late seventies (Anybody remember those?).

I don't know what's the best idea, but I am a bit leery of going completely electronic, because I carry nothing but cash with me, and I like the feeling I know exactly how much I have on me at the moment.

 

The rationale behind dollar coins as I heard, was that paper bills last only about 5-7 years or so whereas coins last pretty much forever. So using coins means not having to issue any new money for a good amount of time. Unfortunately, the dollar coins looked too pretty and people ended up collecting them instead of spending them.

 

I use them. And $2 coins. But I really don't have much choice.

 

I used to go to the bank and get fifty of them every paycheck so that I could put them in a treasure chest.

Evil.

 

Every so often I buy a roll of them. I put one in my son's bank every week. He likes the coins more than the bills. He's 5 though so I think it's more about the jingle the coins make when put into his bank.

 

Many years ago the UK had pound notes but switched to pound coins (due to wear and tear on the notes, I believe). Then 2-pound coins were brought in fairly recently. I tend to chuck the pound coins in a bowl as the machines in the laundrette up the street take pound coins for the washers and 20 pence coins for the dryers.

 

One time my roommate and I went to a Ren/Pirate faire, and first went to the bank and got all of our money in the dollar coins so it looked like we were paying for all of our faire swag in old money.

 

I use $1 and $2 coins all the time. The less exactly-the-same American banknotes there are, the better.

That said I don't keep them in my wallet very long. Either in the savings bowl or I use them as a priority to pay for small items.

 

Yeah all the time but I am an Aussie. What I don't understand is why a dollar coin is bigger than a two dollar coin. Yes we have two dollar coins as well.

 

I occasionally use them, when I get them as change from the lightrail. My dad was really trying to promote them for awhile, but I think he's given up now.

They were a great idea; it's too bad we couldn't switch over more completely.

 

I would support a transition to electronic processing of checks, as the paper system just seems like it's a more inefficient option. However, I do think we should retain some sort of currency that is non-electronic for the sake of convenience and access.


EDIT: Because it seems like I should in every discussion of currency, I am pleased ti state for the record that Ron Paul is an idiot and his ideas are unsound.