A new thread on Other Topics: Poll: Replace the Dollar Bill with a Dollar Coin?

[Alan]

Paper bills? Coins? I'm waiting for the day the washers and dryers in my building get converted from taking quarters to plastic like the corner laundromat. Every few weeks I lug home two rolls of quarters, inflation will bring it to three rolls soon; sometimes I forget and wonder why my bag is so heavy.

We've been using laundrettes a lot in recent weeks in our travels around England and it sure is much faster pumping 1 & 2 pound( and 50p) coins into machines than other coins. Washers cost 2 pounds each and driers 1 pound, powder costs 50p from the dispensers.

I have no problem with the paper dollar going away.

 

[Geoffrey]

Been living in Japan for almost 10 years . . . the 100 yen and 500 yen coins (approx. $1 and $5, respectively) work very well here. You tend to spend them before they build up in your pocket. Perhaps its just a matter of personal taste, but I rather like the higher denomination coins and wouldn't mind having them replace their paper counterparts in the U.S.

 

[bruce1]

I was reluctant when Canada switched to larger denomination coins but like it now. Makes it easy for vending machines and saves money overall due to the high cost of paper money. After shopping I place my change in two containers I have on my fridge. One is for $1 and $2 and the other for smaller denominations. Each November I roll the $1 and $2 and this yields about $700 and the quarters give me another $150. These I take to the bank for Christmas money. The pennies nickels and dimes go into a coin counter at the local grocery and give me about $100 for Groceries.

 

[harley]

It would help if they made the dollar coins more significantly different than quarters. Twice I've thrown them accidently into the toll bin. To add insult to injury, not only do you overpay but you don't even get credit for the quarter you thought it was!

I don't have a real problem with it, but there needs to be a lot of infrastructure change in order for it to work. An extra bin in the cash register drawers, all vending type machines accepting them, easy differentiation from other coins (size, shape, or color), stronger pocket seams, etc.

 

[Grizz]

In Canada we've had the coins since around '87 and it actually works quite well for me. I keep my "Loonies" in the console and use them for things like drive through coffees, car washes, shopping carts, and parking meters. They do get used up. IMO anything below a quarter is just dead weight though.

I'd love it if the U.S. switched to coins since I'm accustomed to colorful bills and when I visit and I am in a low light or a rushed situation I am always paranoid that I've mistaken a $100 for a $1.

 

[thefed]

didnt read the whole thread, so i apologize if someone else mentioned it...


what the heck would i do with a bunch of dollar coins at a strip club?

 

[CuppaJoe]

didnt read the whole thread, so i apologize if someone else mentioned it...


what the heck would i do with a bunch of dollar coins at a strip club?

It's been covered.

 

[Geoffrey]

No doubt the strippers would adapt quickly and find interesting places for you to deposit the coins . . .

 

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

I agree that replacing the dollar with a coin will never work unless the dollar bill is retired at the same time. It has been tried twice that I know of with the same lake of success. The sign of neurosis is doing the same thing over and over expecting a different outcome.

Why do they do this? All I can think of is that the dollar bill has some kind of mythic stature. We want George. The Canucks paste the Queen's face on all kinds of money, but we only have George on the dollar and the quarter and we don't want to lose him.

I work in Canada and prefer the $1 and $2 coins. I wish pennies would go away in both countries, though. And if debit and credit cards weren't so insecure, I would not use cash--but they are insecure and I minimize their use. Cash also limits my spending, which is a good thing.

 

[ziggy29]

I'm sticking with $1 bills. How would you fit dollar coins in a garter?

Maybe those dancers are behind the change, figuring that patrons will have to switch to $2 bills instead...

I work in Canada and prefer the $1 and $2 coins. I wish pennies would go away in both countries, though. And if debit and credit cards weren't so insecure, I would not use cash--but they are insecure and I minimize their use. Cash also limits my spending, which is a good thing.

This is consistent with what I've heard from others in Canada and the UK. The change wasn't popular at first but became accepted over time.

I think many of us forget today that the "static" and unchanging nature of our coins is an outlier and perhaps that has made people more resistant to change today. Only in the last 50-75 years have we stopped drastically changing coin designs. Until they started putting dead presidents on the coins the designs changed every 25-40 years on average. Once upon a time it was normal and accepted to have different coin designs in circulation at the same time.

 

[FUEGO]

Wait, they still make paper and metallic money? Who knew!!

 

[kcowan]

We use dollar and 2-dollar coins for parking, transit and laundry. One cup for $2 and quarters and the other for $1 coins. Cup in the car as well. Works great and do not lug around a bunch of coin.

For strippers, we use $5s!

 

[dex]

BBC NEWS | UK | Magazine | How do you spot a fake pound coin?

 

[BigNick]

Eliminating the penny would penalize people who pay cash. Someone paying by check, credit card or debit card could pay to the exact penny, but cash payers would no longer be able to, and those extra pennies would be a sore temptation to revenue-strapped state and local taxing authorities.

Various European countries (France and the Netherlands pre-Euro, Finland post-Euro even) have eliminated the 0.01 (and, if it existed, 0.02) coin from daily use. It's very simple: price ends in 1, 2, 6, or 7, round down; price ends in 3, 4, 8, or 9, round up. Overall, no price difference.

Much the same applies already when you buy gas, which is priced to 1/10 of a cent per gallon, and you can see two decimal places on the gallon. The agency which inspects the pumps makes sure that the rounding mechanism is neutral; there's no need for a 4-decimal-place transaction.