Impeached By Public Indifference

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No...everyone is missing the point because we are all coin collectors. The real move should be away from paper money and coins. This is the digital age, folks, and in (most of) our lifetimes, we will see the end to "dollars and cents" and the need to carry anything more than a debit card. I won't like it, at first, but I'll get used to it, I suppose.

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This process is already occurring but it can't go all the way without limiting our freedom. How do we buy something at a garage sale or flea market without currency. How about that TV your neighbor is selling?

As more computer systems are hooked together how long will it be before your insurance company refuses to allow your credit card to be used to buy a pack of cigarettes or a candy bar?

The simple fact is that all purchases are not able to be paid or desired to be open to public scrutiny. The law makers are not inclined to eliminate currency though it seems apparent they don't want it to trade efficiently either. Their view is probably primarily related to law enforcement.

The political clout behind Crane Paper Co. is rediculous. I do not think a private company has ever had that type of legislative protection given to them. Here is a very informative article from Time in 2006 http://www.time.com/time/magazine/a...86-1,00.html

You are right, CladKing, that there are obstacles yet to be overcome vis-a-vis a cashless society, but never underestimate the power of technology. All it will take is someone in the private sector to find a way to profit from the transition at the same time offering excellent "convenience" and the change will be unstoppable. Look at cell phones, and what has happened to the old can't-live-without-it land line. Or, more pertinently, how Apple's iTunes and iPod have forever completely changed the music industry. All Apple has to do is invent and introduce iMoney as an attachment to their iPod or iPhone (which is really a computer)and you can transfer funds readily from anywhere to anyone. No more boring trips to the bank; no more ordering checks; no more extortionist charges at the ATM. Just one low monthly fee.... LOL (and RFID chips implanted in you and the card so no one can use your debit card because it won't "recognize" them.) You will have instant access to your money, and instant read-out of purchases and remaining balance in your account(s).

It will likely NOT be the government that does away with coins and currency. It will be good old-fashioned capitalism. We already have the technology, though it has to be refined. All we need is the profit motive.

Yes...it won't happen overnight, but when it happens, it will "feel" as though it was overnight. Look how quickly the iPod became ubiquitous. And how text messaging and instant messaging made email nearly obsolete among the under-30 crowd.

People in rural areas may be the last to hang on to their dollars and cents...but urban areas will rapidly shed their usage. All IMHO. And heaven only knows, I've NEVER been wrong before.

Sigh...I never understood the process whereby the US Treasury produces our coin and currency. From the very beginning, it seems fraught with inefficiency and back-room deals. I recently read Taxay's "The US Mint and Coinage". What an eye-opener!

I think the big coin melt is in 2055.

Why do we need SO MANY dollar coins?

Think about what is circulating and what is
being minted...

Sacs
SBAs
The occasional Ike
4 or 5 prez coins
More prez coins to come
ASE in business strike
ASE in burnish
ASE in proof
The occasional rev proof (is that over?)
The occasional special in some set
(remember the gold set with ASE?) I can see that
happening again.
At least 2 commem dollars a year... Many more in an
Olymipic year (or 2)

My point is:
Why can't we have:
Max 2 commems a year... 90%
Max 2 ASEs... 1 proof, 1 bullion
(no special burnish, rev proof, or little
something planted in with a multi-$grand set)
Then, the kicker, a circulating ACE (American Clad Eagle)
It's obvious that the small and gold don't a circulator
make. So make it big and clad, like days of old.
Use the ASE design to keep things simple.

Just my humble, and apparently "so 20th century" opinion.

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Why can't we have:
Max 2 commems a year

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There is a current self-imposed limitation of two commemorative programs per year. However, there can be multiple coins in a program, see the three coins of the Blad Eagle program.