Quote: In the past I've had coins wear holes in pants pockets and fall out all over the place. So now hate to carry excessive coins.
They do make wallets that carry coins. If you're willing to make the investment to carry paper that way... :-)
Quote: On commuter trains by me the conductors use those coin changers on their belts. No place for those baby dollars. So they ask people not to try using them.
This I think is a valid regional problem. Some metropolitan areas are primed for them, others are still lacking. The only way to get around this problem is updated infrastructure.
Quote: At a restaurant I left some as a tip. The waitress yelled at me as I left saying "Sir, you left some of your kids play money on the table". One reason I don't use them now.
That's a funny one. :-) However, it outlines poor education about currency on the waitress' part. You wouldn't find anyone who didn't know what a brass buck was here.
Quote: If you do use a lot of single currency, the same amount of baby sized dollars is just way to much to carry.
This is what higher denominations of paper money are for. I wouldn't carry 100 singles as much as I would carry 100 coins. Two twenties and ten dollar coins covers most of my errands at a given time.
Quote: Still many vending machines will not take them and many of the smaller vending machine company owners don't want to spend money converting.
Again, a regional problem. I have yet to find a vending machine here that doesn't accept them that isn't less than 30 years old. Even the parking meters take dollar coins.
Quote: To easy to mistake them for Quarters. Yes they are different colored but in the dark, a barr or tavern, not the best thing to use or get in change.
Out of the thousands I've spent since they first came out, I've never had someone mistake a golden dollar for a quarter in any circumstances. Light, dark, tarnished, groping around in a pocket, etc. They feel different in hand.
However, I've had Suzies confused for quarters twice (and each time the person who confused them was under 19 years old; one of them even exclaimed "I've never seen these before!" while her older manager poked her and said, "Just take his money, dear").
I have no apologetics for Suzies.
Quote: And sort of late to start something new. As more and more people go to plastic credit and debit cards, all forms of cash will soon enough be a thing of the past.
There are too many paranoid people in the world for that to happen. :-)
Anyways, getting back to the OP, I think that the biggest reason why dollar coins are failing is a lack of education about them. The Mint, to misquote the observation of S. Black III, "once put their keen and penetrating mind to the task and as usual come to the wrong conclusion."
In Canada, there is an entire PR campaign that spans all sorts of media for their currency, educating citizens about its availability and use.
They've been doing it since 1987:
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However, production values have increased since... :-)
Quote: You didn't list any reasons, just excuses. The only reason is "I don't wanna".
Ummm... Yeah that was my point.
Quote: Merchants don't use them because banks make it a hassle.
Do you care to explain that? Banks are just giving their customers what they want.
If a merchant wants $300 in ones and they get $300 in dollar coins they aren't gonna be too happy. The only way the public will use dollar coins is to make $1 green backs no longer available.
I still think its a "resistance to change" thing. In the times I've been to the USA, one of the most annoying things is dealing with your money - too many one dollar bills and one cent coins flying around in my pocket (all the Lincoln Cent collectors will hate me for this - but the one cent coin is the BIGGEST pain). For the dollar coin to stick, it needs to be introduced Aussie style - take out all the bills and force people onto the coin.
I've said this before, as have so many others.....
All they have to do is remove the CHOICE !
Get rid of all the $1.00 F.R.N.'s asap. Then go ahead and listen to all the complaining and grumbling by the people, but the transition WILL take place, and the dollar coins WILL be used. Whether they're happy about it or not. Then all of the billions and billions of dollar coins sitting in the vaults will start being commerced with. Everyone might be walking around with an angry glare about it for a year or two.....but they'll get used to it. And guess what ! ....... I bet ya there's still somebody in America smart enough to invent a new cash register that has a slot for the dollar coins ! ... And all of the other "issues" will evolve along as well.
"Change" isn't always quick and streamlined....sometimes the public must be dragged along kicking and screaming.
So if somebody wants to run for president on the platform of -elimination of pennies -replacement of $1 bill with $1 coin -replacement of US measurement with the metric system
I think they might be able to get jbuck to head their campaign
To me, a reason is justifiable and an excuse is for something that you SHOULD do, but don't. I think the points covered by Rewster are very good REASONS why people don't use dollar coins. I have lost money on more than one occasion because the machine I put my dollar coin into counted it as a quarter. This is annoying and inconvenient. As for the old coins being too large.. it comes down to convenience as well. Convenience runs the world these days. Why else would you pay $1.50 for a 20 oz coke when you could get a 2 liter for the same price? Dollar bills are just more convenient.
Also, what can you get with a dollar now anyway? the only reason I use singles it to make up the shortfall of the other bills I am using. I cant remember the last time I was able to use just a few ones to pay for my purchase. Back in morgan/peace times a single coin could get you 3 cats, a whitewall radial and and a chicken dinner. (okay, not really, but you get the idea) Inflation has done its part to kill the dollar coin too I think.
Quote: Fact: Mal-Wart went through 100 million brass bucks in about a week.
Quote: I remember that Wal-mart stocked dollar coins when the Sacagawea coins where first issued. The lasted a couple of months before they stopped carrying them.
The Wal-mart Program lasted for one month, Jan 2000. During that period they distributed over 95 million coins before the end of the program. It took the Treasury 20 months to distribute that many after the program ended. The Treasury considers the Wal-mart Program a failure.
Quote: But I don't see why that was a problem, since the Mint was getting their dollar coins distributed and the banks were getting them without any delivery charge and they were already wrapped!
The problem was that as long as the had dollar bills the banks didn't want or need the coins so they just sent them back to the Fed where they piled up. It didn't get them distributed, it just got them into the Fed through a back door when the Fed wasn't ordering them because they already had too many.
I think weve hit the nail right on the head with this one. As long as the choice of bill or coin remains people will stick with the bill as the general population is generally resistant to change and will continue to use what they have always used.
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Posted 04/26/2012 09:38 am
