gold coins, and pieces of eight

[lotsofplants]

I found out the other day that the mint had never intended to replace the dollar bill with the new dollar coin. They were simply producing more dollar coins because their supplies of Susan Bs were running out, and created a new coin because the Susan B really didn't work well. But they also are not actively promoting the circulation of the Sac.

I'm not sure why this is, but it doesn't make a lot of sense. Dollar bills wear out very quickly, coins last a long time. I'm given to understand that the higher cost of producing coins is more than made up for by the longer life of a coin (with the exception of the penny, which is a separate issue). It seems like they should try phasing out the dollar bill in favor of the coin, possibly eventually only printing the dollar bill occasionally, or just keeping some supplies around, rather like the $2 bill.

Apparently the mint plans to sit on the Sacs coined in 2000 until their supplies get low again.

I'm thinking I should to write to the mint (and possibly congress critters) and encourage them to ditch the bill in favor of the coin. Yeah, it's a small issue. And it's not going to address most of the pain and suffering in the world. But one small blow for reason, as it were. :)

I also need to use the coins more; difficult, because they can be hard to get. The only place I've ever gotten them is from the post-office stamp machines. But they make excellent bus fare. And they're very fun to cascade from hand to hand, watching the light glint off the gold surface. And they'd be great for pirate-themed decorations. And they're just cool.

Comments

[gfish.livejournal.com]

Blame the vending machine owners. They don't want to pay for complete upgrades to their machines, so we keep coming out with dollar coins in the same size as quarters. No one is going to accept a dollar coin unless it is nice and beefy.

[vixyish.livejournal.com]

And then the cattle farmers will be hard-pressed to keep up with the demand.

[plantae.livejournal.com]

I do not agree. I believe that the Sac solves the identification problems the Susan B had--color, edge texture, and size are all usefully different from quarters. Approximately as much so as dimes from pennies, in fact, and no one complains they can't tell those two apart. :)

I see no reason the Sac cannot become as widely used here as the Loonie in Canada. Exactly the same size, nearly the same color and heft. Main difference is the corners on the Loonie. And frankly, the larger dollar coins (mine are from the 1970s) are *heavy*! I would not want more than one or possibly two in my pocket, while 4-5 Sacs would not be a problem.

We use sacs a lot

[sprgtime.livejournal.com]

I would say that we typically spend more sacs than paper dollar bills.

My husband loves them and thinks we should switch over, as you do. Whenever he's at a bank, he gets some. Most won't let him have more than 8 at a time, and if they're out of supply then he can't get any.

We love leaving them as tips instead of paper dollars.

Re: We use sacs a lot

[plantae.livejournal.com]

Horray for you and your husband! :)

You might want to let him know about the post office stamp machines. If, you know, you run out of stamps and only happen to have a couple twenties, and accidently feed them both into the machine... :) (Try to bring some change, too. The one here gives dollars and nickles. A book gives you 60 cents in nickles--12 of them can be annoying in one's pocket.)

[zanfur.livejournal.com]

The reason for it, as I understand, is to make the mint money. Those new quarters that everyone and their mother is collecting? That makes the mint money. If it's in circulation, the mint doesn't actually make anything from it. If it's "bought" and removed from circulation, the mint makes money.

Honestly, it all seems kinda hocus-pocus-ey to me, and I don't understand why it would work that way. But, that's what I've been told ...

[beaq.livejournal.com]

The mint makes money no matter what. That's what makes it a MINT!

[plantae.livejournal.com]

Hee! That's great. :)

[plantae.livejournal.com]

Incorrect on both points.

1. The US Mint is a government agency, not a for-profit business. Their primary goal is not 'making money' in the profit sense.

2. By your argument, they should be actively coining the sacs (or at least getting them out to the public) as people are more likely to collect coins than bills, thus removing them from circulation.

[zanfur.livejournal.com]

I don't believe that the government is disinterested in monetary matters ... but as I said, the idea didn't seem to hold water to me, either.

[plantae.livejournal.com]

So...you left a comment you felt contributed nothing of value to the discussion why?

[zanfur.livejournal.com]

Ah, but if it were merely that, I wouldn't have left it, for that is useless and stupid.