Why Is The US Mint Producing Dollar Coins?

That's pretty funny that some places ask for a different form of payment. I plan ordering a box or two of the direct ship coins and using them in everyday transactions when I get back stateside in a couple weeks. I cant wait for the first store that tells me they don't take those, I will be on the floor laughing my butt off.

Yes they are required to take them by law.

Coin Community, We should all order the direct ship coins and start using them, together we can make a difference. LETS DO IT !!

I think the real issue should be is why is the fed still printing dollar bills? With the debt we already have, we need to save as much as we can over the years, and with a 2-3 year lifespan on average on the notes and a 20 plus year life span on the coins, the choice is obvious...

The 'legal tender' issue is a bit more complicated than that:

If the store had posted a sign in advance stating "No Dollar Coins
Accepted", you would be 'out of luck', legally speaking.

Businesses are allowed to refuse particular types of legal tender.

The same pizzeria I go to that gets Dollar coins regularly, has a
sign posted stating "We do not accept $100 Bills".

However, if a store refuses to accept $1 coins without prior notice,
the customer could say in court that the store arbitrarily refused to
accept a valid legal tender form of payment.

The business would probably be better off accepting the Dollar coins
that once, rather than getting dragged to court, where it is quite
possible that the judge could order them to accept the coins from the
plaintiff in that particular case. (and possibly even order them to
pay for the plaintiff's attorney's fees! )

So, there you go: If the business regularly accepts cash payments and
doesn't specify that they refuse a particular type of legal tender in
advance, it could ultimately be a court judge who decides whether the
business has to accept the coins in that particular case.
(the business would always have the right to give prior notice
to refuse to accept that kind of legal tender, afterward)

I can't understand why $1 coins are frowned upon. I am Canadian - biased maybe - but I've had $2 bills and they got very wrecked after heavy usage. When the $2 coin came about, the economy started to boom and very few things still cost $1; it's all jacked up in price (plus tax) to give you chump change in exchange for your $2. It should've stayed at just $1 coins.

On a side note, I'll bet casinos love coins higher quarters.

In the mountain towns of Colorado where coins 1¢ and up are still used
in slot machines (yes, even the 1¢ 'penny slots', which have increased
in popularity during this recession), the modern 26.5mm Dollar coin
slot machine has taken the place of the old "Half-Dollar" slots.

A number of the Dollar coin slot machines were originally Half-Dollar
machines, converted after 2001 to take Dollars. (the last Half-Dollar
issued for circulation was the 2001-D)

Several times when I have spent Dollar coins, the cashiers assumed
that they were my leftover 'gambling money'....