U.S. gov't to release new dollar coins

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

The new $1 coins are being minted as a collectors item. They are gold in color, fairly large and heavy, so not really practical for routine transactions. I plan to collect the entire set.

They are being issued as circulating coins, not collector coins. People will collect them (people collect anything) and proof sets will be issued for collectors. But the program is similar to the state quarter program. Only the $1 coin isn't used by may people. They will have the same physical characteristics as the Sacajawea dollar.

http://www.usmint.gov/mint_programs/$...ion=CoinAct2005

BTW... did everyone know that the $2 bill is not rare and still in circulation?

Question: What denominations of currency are in circulation today? Will any new denominations be produced?

Answer: The present denominations of our currency in production are $1, $2, $5, $10, $20, $50 and $100.

http://www.ustreas.gov/education/faq/curre...ations.shtml#q1

[Caladan 19]

They need to get rid of the paper $1 bill for the $1 coin to work.

Yup. That's what Canada did; pull the bills as they came into banks. The only weird part is getting used to realizing that a pocket full of change can buy you dinner.

[Heracles 417]

Dollar coins are they way to go. Even $2 coins.. The penny has to go and is quite a nuisance.. For such an progressive country, the wheels of change turn so so slowly here..

Edited February 11, 2007 by Infidel

[DeadPoolX 9]

In Canada we have a $1 coin and a $2 coin. It was weird at first, but you get used to it. Now it is strange when I see one of the old 1 or 2 dollar bills.

On my visits to Canada, I sort of liked (and disliked) the usage of "loonies" and "twoonies" as it was fun to have change actually be worth something, but seeing as how I'm used to discarding my change (since in the U.S., anything except a quarter is virtually worthless), it took a complete mental shift to get used to using the coins. The one thing I didn't like about them was that having a bunch of $1 and $2 coins weighed down my pockets, and dollar bills are so might lighter to carry around.

So each has its own good and bad points. Honestly, I sort of like the dollar bill for its ease of use (it weighs less and is easier to carry), but when it comes to using in machines, the dollar coins are much simpler since the machine rarely spits them back out again. So it's a toss up, really...

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

They need to get rid of the paper $1 bill for the $1 coin to work.

Yup. That's what Canada did; pull the bills as they came into banks. The only weird part is getting used to realizing that a pocket full of change can buy you dinner.

Totally. Same with the Euro coins. At the end of my trips I make sure I spend my coins and I usually have quite a bit of money in my pocket.

[Saddle Bronc 124]

When the UK stopped using the pound note the whole of the UK was up in arms and HATED it. But, we adjusted. Now, using a dollar bill seems weird to me, I'm used to coins.

ditto, Canada with loonie and toonie (which has a rather strong resemblance to UK 2-pound coin).

(Albertans such as myself never liked C$2 bills anyway--the toonie DID NOT inherit the bad-luck connotation of those erstwhile bills).

[DeadPoolX 9]

ditto, Canada with loonie and toonie (which has a rather strong resemblance to UK 2-pound coin).

(Albertans such as myself never liked C$2 bills anyway--the toonie DID NOT inherit the bad-luck connotation of those erstwhile bills).

Most Americans I know didn't initially care for the two dollar bill either. Now it's more of a collector's item.

[sereia 0]

i always get dollar coins in the damn subway machine!

i try to use them up in cabs and they always stare at me waiting to get more money because they think its a quarter

[Carlawarla 1]

I miss the Loonie and Toonies from Canada. Especially when I thought I was broke, and looked in my change purse! Voila! About $10.00! Put them in your piggy bank at the end of the day and in no time, you have about $300.00 to roll and take to the bank!

I think the key factor here is not having any choice. If you bring a coin out, remove the paper. You eventually get used to it!

Carla

[DeadPoolX 9]

The thing is...men don't have "change purses." We have a wallet (in which we house our DL, credit/debit cards, and cash) and there's really no room for coins. The only place for change is leaving them loose in your pockets and that gets messy and eventually, fairly heavy. So I'm not really in favor of using coins and having them replace the one dollar bill, despite the novelty of Canada's one and two dollar coins.

True, if the U.S. government switched over to coins, there'd be no choice but to use them, but I'd much prefer keeping with paper. It's lighter and easier to handle. After all, you can have 20 one dollar bills easily tucked away in your wallet and it's "light as a feather." Try that with 20 Loonies.

[William33 110]

The new $1 coins are being minted as a collectors item. They are gold in color, fairly large and heavy, so not really practical for routine transactions. I plan to collect the entire set.

They are being issued as circulating coins, not collector coins. People will collect them (people collect anything) and proof sets will be issued for collectors. But the program is similar to the state quarter program. Only the $1 coin isn't used by may people. They will have the same physical characteristics as the Sacajawea dollar.

http://www.usmint.gov/mint_programs/$...ion=CoinAct2005

I hear ya. In reality though, how often do you get Susan B. Anthony or Sacagawea coins?

Although the Mint issued them for circulation, they wind up in Post Office vending machines or in someone's piggybank.

[Carlawarla 1]

The thing is...men don't have "change purses." We have a wallet (in which we house our DL, credit/debit cards, and cash) and there's really no room for coins. The only place for change is leaving them loose in your pockets and that gets messy and eventually, fairly heavy. So I'm not really in favor of using coins and having them replace the one dollar bill, despite the novelty of Canada's one and two dollar coins.

True, if the U.S. government switched over to coins, there'd be no choice but to use them, but I'd much prefer keeping with paper. It's lighter and easier to handle. After all, you can have 20 one dollar bills easily tucked away in your wallet and it's "light as a feather." Try that with 20 Loonies.

Maybe this is a good excuse to start! haha

Carla

[zyggy 9]

I cringe when I see someone my age holding up the grocery line to pay with a check. I realize that you can't teach some old dogs new tricks.

I get sooooo bent out of shape when I see people still use checks to pay at the grocery store line! With this era of check cards, why they still use checks???? I also carry a few bucks and change on my wallet, as I use my checkcard most of the time.

And I wonder why we still use the penny. Last week there was a charity collecting change at work and I gave them a mug full of pennies.....

I agree with Keltic, the dollar coin is good for transportation, it's pretty tough when it's freezing and people have to wait outside the bus for somebody with a wrinkly note that the machine refuses to accept....

when i see someone writing a check now, i immediately think of them needing to float the check... you know, expecting their paycheck the next day or something, so unable to use a debit card that day... the only other reason i can think of would be if they lost their card, but it can be replaced so quickly that it still doesnt make much sense

i LOVE my debit card and online banking... life is SOOOOOOO much simpler with it

Except tjat doesn't work anymore... they just scan the check and electronically send it to the bank for payment. It takes less than 24 hours for it to come off..

The only way people are going to use a dollar coin is if the government had the balls to just scrap the dollar bill and force everyone to use coins. I remember when Canada went to dollar coins and everyone was up in arms... It turned out a couple of years later that everyone loved them. They loved it so much that they scrapped the 2 dollar bill for a coin about 3 years later. We should do the same thing... A dollar bill is a complete waste...

And having a bunch of dollar coins in your pocket will encourage you to spend them or asking a merchant to take your coins and replacing them with paper money...

Edited February 12, 2007 by zyggy

[Fandango 1,439]

I think the majority of Americans are going to have a big problem with the coins...when I first moved to the UK, I thought the £ coin was a crappy & heavy POS (let alone the £2)...but after a while, I hardly noticed & tbh, coming home to $1 bills still seems strange.

If it can save the country money, I think they should just scrap the note.

[DeadPoolX 9]

And having a bunch of dollar coins in your pocket will encourage you to spend them or asking a merchant to take your coins and replacing them with paper money...

While my fiancee and I were out, I once paid the cover charge for a night club entirely in Loonies. I bet they were absolutely thrilled...