(Hemera)
The folks over at NPR’s Planet Money have a great piece today on the stash of unused dollar coins that’s piling up at the Federal Reserve. Back in 2005, Congress passed a law ordering the Fed to mint a series of dollar coins honoring the presidents. The plan was to wean Americans off paper bills. It hasn’t exactly worked. There are currently about 1.2 billion dollar coins sitting unused in Federal Reserve vaults. The program has cost $300 million so far, and is scheduled to run through 2016.
and 
. You can also watch it on 
I like being able to pay for small stuff by reaching into my pocket for a couple of coins, instead of pulling out my wallet. Like you can do in many foreign countries. I think the problem with these $1 coins is that they were too close in size and appearance to the quarter.
Take a dollar coin, a quarter, and a nickel and look at them. The dollar coin is almost exactly the same amount larger than the quarter as the nickel is smaller. When was the last time you confused a quarter and a nickel?
The problem is NOT size.
The way to get people to use dollar coins is to eliminate dollar bills. The supposed confusion with quarters will quickly disappear as familiarity increases.
I also had a coin collection until I decided this money should go back to the market
here is how to save the economy with the help of small change
http://theregjoe.blogspot.com/2010/11/small-change-can-go-long-way.html
It is so simple, just recall the paper $1 bills.
Canadians complained for about five minutes and then adopted first the Loonie and then the Twoonie. Not sure if we love em, but we use them. That wouldn’t have happened if they left the $1 and $2 bills in circulation.
The dollar coins either look like a quarter (Anthony) or corrode to the color of a turd (sacagawea and presidents). They weigh too much in the pocket. They are not appropriate for tucking into a stripper’s garter belt. As soon as I get one, it goes to the next toll booth. They are not dollars, they are tokens.
“They are not appropriate for tucking into a stripper’s garter belt.”
Well, neither are dollar bills, unless you want to mark yourself as a cheapskate
Don’t strippers have coin slots too?
[rimshot-cymbal crash]
Present a sound arguement to keep the one dollar bill that does not involve a strippers g-string.
I’ve heared that pennies are kept around primarily due to pressure from zinc lobbies (Big Zinc).
Is there a corresponding lobby pushing to keep the dollar bill around? Big Paper? Big Suplliers-Of-Optical-Scanners-For-Vending-Machines?
Where do you get your $1 bills? Not from ATMs. You get them from merchants. Getting a $1 coin accepted is all about getting merchants to use it. Stop blaming consumers. To paraphrase Superfreakonomics: “Merchants respond to incentives.” So give merchants some incentive to use $1 coins.
I have a Zachary Taylor in my bowl of loonies (I’m Canadian, he’s not a loon.) It might be worth my while to collect them, as the USD is below ours right now.