The End Of The Dollar Bill? (Update)

A dollar saved is a dollar earned but silver & gold is a hedge against it !

Fox, I admire your passion on this issue. Don't give up. I would really love to see the $1 bill go away. The cent also is ready to go also, even though I am one of the "minority" that actually pick up cents on the sidewalk. But I rarely spend them. A $2 coin would be awesome, even if used for commemorative issues. In the meantime, I spend $2 bills regularly and it surprises me that most machines will not accept these. I actually got to ride the bus for 75 cents recently because all I had were $2 bills and half dollars on me at the time and 3 quarters. The bus machine would not accept either the $2 bills or half dollars, even though the slot was large enough to accept them. Go figure.

I think the government did not redesign the $1 bill because they expect it to be eliminated, so why redesign it? Even if it does not happen for a while. They probably have not redesigned the $2 bill because it is not heavily used. But that is an interesting idea. I would bet if the $2 bill got a makeover it would be more popular. I don't think the $1 bill will be redesigned.

@perfessor

Don't worry, I don't plan to give up any time soon. And neither does the Dollar Coin Alliance. I was just at my local Walmart, and I asked the managers what they plan to do to their self checkout stands, if the $1 bill goes, as far as dispensing dollar coins, mainly because I wanted to ask them to ask the U-Scan people to include a new feature to dispense halves, as well as dollar coins and $2 bills, and eventually $2 coins, and they told me that, there were talks of them getting new U-Scans in a few months, and they didn't know much about the machines, as that company is outside their store, but said that they could probably make them do that (accept and dispense halves and $2 bills if they did, dollar coins) I was told to call their World Headquarters to address the issue with them. I want to get the idea in their heads before they forget about the possibility of the half. The $2 bill idea should be a given, because there will be a space for it, where $1 bills would have went, and many people are not going to want to be carrying around a bunch of dollar coins, when they can carry $2 bills instead. Not sure about $2 coins, but I'm sure that, if it was done in Canada, it can be done here. One of the managers I talked to said he was from Canada, as I mentioned Canada scrapping their cents, and I asked him if he liked the loonies and toonies, and he said "Oh yeah" and we talked about eliminating cents here in the U.S. too.

I still stand by my idea for a $2 coin series to be used to start a U.S. circulating $2 coin, and my mother and I both like my "Famous Dogs $2 Coin Act" that would be a nine year program featuring four famous dogs of U.S. history each year, discluding false famous dogs, such as celeberty dogs, Presidential pets, movie star dogs and other false famous dogs. Only dogs such as sled, fire, rescue, police, military etc. hero dogs being featured on the front of the new $2 coins, with their name and breed stamped on the boarder of the bottom of the coin ("Mixed Breed" if the dog is not purebred) and on the reverse of the new $2 coins, the first four years would feature the Gray Wolf, the second three years, the Coyote, and the final three years, the North American Red Fox to honor the decendents of the dog, for dogs serving man kind for 30,000+ years or so. And I think that the Famous Dogs series should start out with Balto the Husky that did the serum run from Anchorage to Nome Alaska during a deadly dyptheria outbreak. And actually, I really think that this coin series should be called the "Balto $2 Coin Act" in which Balto would be put on the coin first, then after the multiple dog program ends, a permanent Balto design should remain on the obverse of the $2 coin as the permanent design for the $2 coin, seeing as there have been famous men on U.S. coins and currency, and famous women on dollar coins, and although there have been animals on U.S. coins and currency in the past, such as buffalo, and eagles, there has never been a "famous" animal that has been featured on a coin or banknote in the U.S. as the main portrait that has actually meant something. I think Balto would be the most known choice to feature a famous true hero dog on a coin or bill (even though the story tells that Balto stole most of the fame from another sled dog named Togo, who supposedly was more involved in the serum run than Balto was if I recall correctly, so maybe Togo should be honored, if not Balto as the final design.

It is the worst for commerce. It is a colossal waste of resources and the epitome of special interest spending.

I am all in favour of keeping it around for collectors (NIFC), as a 95% copper issue, of course.

Ironically I thought about not including the $20. But it still has reasonably significant buying power, is already in heavy circulation and is kind of the ATM default. So I figured I would leave it there. I agree we could easily omit it though.

I don't have a big problem with your list, only that I like simple. 20 cents is too small a denomination to be worth it, IMO. People already had a chance to love the $2 and they didn't. $70 seems pointless when we already have a $50+$20 and counting by 70s is not something I'd trust a minimum wage employee to handle. Anything over $100 and I think you have to worry about it all ending up in the drug trade.

As for vending machines, we already have the perfect coin for those - the small dollar.

Well said!

The cent has no buying power and cost more to manufacture than it is worth. We should get rid of it except for sale to collectors. Production of the paper dollar should end and it should be replaced by the dollar coin. Both of these measures will save the government (and therefore us) tons of money over the long haul. Some tax credits to help the vending machine companies modify existing machines would be a good idea to not have a negative impact on their businesses.

Beyond that, I think the rest isn't going to happen because the need isn't as urgent. There is no need for a $2 bill. The $500 bill probably won't happen simply because purchases that large rarely use cash these days. Recirculation of the half dollar won't happen either because it weighs as much as two quarters and is larger in diameter.

I would ONLY support a $2 coin if there is NO edge lettering and having just a regular design. Reagan would be an interesting choice for the obverse.