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 Replies: 97 / Views: 11,218 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3499 Posts |
Just a bit ago NPR published an article on their website which claimed that over a billion dollar coins are sitting in US government vaults. (I would post the link to the article on NPR's website, but I am afraid that it might be against forum rules.)What do you think that the government will ever do with all of these unused coins? Is it possible that many could be melted down? What are your thoughts on the matter?
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Pillar of the Community
United States
511 Posts |
Nobody wants the butt ugly brass arcade tokens, but as usual, the government is totally clueless.
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Moderator
 Australia
16806 Posts |
The last time someone pointed out the size of the dollar coin stockpile, in this thread, someone pointed out that you'd need a stockpile of at least 7 to 8 billion coins to replace all the $1 notes in circulation. Though that number could probably be reduced if some of those ones were replaced with a circulating $2 note instead, you'd need to wait for the stockpile to at least double before ceasing the $1 note. And anyone can post links to news an informaition sites as much as they wish. If a site is on the blacklist, the link will be automatically deleted by the forum's filter. If you've got more than 50 posts and the website isn't on the blacklist, then link away.  Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
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Pillar of the Community
United States
917 Posts |
I read that as long as those coins count as "money" in the books, they can't be destroyed.
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Bedrock of the Community
 United States
12811 Posts |
Yep, it's mostly the Presidential $1 coins (now, I think they're pretty cool, but I've never thought in the least that they'd take off). Here are a few of my favorite snips from the article: Quote:
Members of Congress reasoned that a coin series that changed frequently and had educational appeal would make dollar coins more popular. The idea came from the successful program that put each of the 50 states on the backs of quarters And not a bad idea. IMHO, many of the coolest currency/coins in the history of the nation have educational intent. But the dollar coin has never fared well in the US. More: Quote:
Some 2.4 billion dollar coins have been minted since the start of the program in 2007, costing taxpayers about $720 million. The government has made about $680 million in profit by selling some 1.4 billion dollar coins to the public since the program began.
Still, it's the program's waste that hits home when you're staring at millions of unused coins. and: Quote:
Inside one basement-like Federal Reserve vault in Baltimore, NPR was able to see 45 million $1 coins of various types. The coins were overflow from vaults elsewhere.
And despite a national indifference to the coins, they were heavily guarded. Interesting. Sad and interesting. (yet possibly good news for collectors). Quote:
...in a report to Congress last year, the Federal Reserve said the coins are now being held "with no perceivable benefit to the taxpayer," and that banks are sending them back to the Fed in increasing numbers.
"We have no reason to expect demand to improve," the Fed said, "We also note that a 2008 Harris poll found that more than three fourths of people questioned continue to prefer the $1 note." Which is sad on so many levels. I'm unhappy both as a taxpayer and a collector. Finally, and sorry for so many quotes: Quote:
Even if all dollar bills were replaced with coins, some say the nation's evident distaste for dollar coins will simply mean more small transactions will be done electronically. And, it could accelerate a technological trend toward payments with mobile devices. Yikes. That's fodder for other chat/discussion. But please read the entire article by googling "NPR coin". There is quite a bit more to the article...and as always, NPR does a fairly good job of responsible journalism. |
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Valued Member
United States
384 Posts |
I don't much agree with the last quote. I don't think most people care too much. The ones who use cards will keep using cards, and the ones who use cash will gradually switch over to coins. It's not such a big deal. Of course the media will make a big deal out it in the beginning, and you'll here it for a year or so. And then everybody will move on. That's what I think.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
12811 Posts |
Quote:
I don't much agree with the last quote. AlmostCollectible, what's to disagree with? Pretty weak language anyway. "some say", "evident distaste", "could accelerate". Exactly the kind of language that keeps NPR out of hot water. :) |
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Valued Member
United States
406 Posts |
Quote:
Members of Congress reasoned that a coin series that changed frequently and had educational appeal would make dollar coins more popular. The idea came from the successful program that put each of the 50 states on the backs of quarters. This statement right here shows how out of touch Congress apparently is with the American public in general. Yes, the State Quarter series was very successful, with (most) of the designs being very attractive and educational (in some cases). But, the quarter was already in heavy circulation and always has been. Did Congress really think that just putting pictures of Presidents on dollar coins would get people to go out and spend them in mass quantities? Really? As long as dollar bills are in use, the public is never going to embrace a dollar coin. I mean, I like dollar coins myself (As far as I'm concerned Eisenhower dollars are just fine  ), but most people would rather carry around 12 or 13 dollar bills in their wallet or purse than carry around 12 or 13 dollar coins. If Congress is really serious about wanting us to switch to a dollar coins (and the mintages of the Sacagawea and Presidential dollars seem to indicate they are), then they need to remove the dollar bill from circulation. Otherwise, those hundreds of millions of dollar coins are going to just keep on languishing in vaults. But I don't think that is going to happen. Removing the dollar bill from circulation would be unpopular with the public, and Congress has shown pretty clearly that it is spineless when it comes to proposals that are unpopular. My personal prediction is that it won't be very many more years before the Presidential/Sacagawea Dollars joins the Kennedy half as being a "collectors-only" item. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2448 Posts |
Quote:
Even if all dollar bills were replaced with coins, some say the nation's evident distaste for dollar coins will simply mean more small transactions will be done electronically. And, it could accelerate a technological trend toward payments with mobile devices.
Sorry, I have to agree. Many of my friends no longer carry cash after receiving their debit card; oh and their credit cards give them points. We are moving towards a cashless society. I'm just curious how they'll maintain the level of technology to sustain commerce as our world monetary systems erode. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7840 Posts |
IMO I believe that as long as the BEP keeps churning out one dollar bills, the American public WILL NOT use the dollar coins. Most other countries have eliminated the ONE denomination paper currency; Canada, European Union, (I am sure that there are others), etc...
My apologies for the background noise; I have five Ike's and two Kennedy's shifting in my pocket.
Edited by oih82w8
06/28/2011 1:21 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2200 Posts |
I heard that story on NPR this morning.
I think it's incumbent upon Congress and everyone else to come up with ideas as to how to solve this problem. A little ingeniousness never hurt anyone.
Perhaps we could have a public redemption program where, for every dollar bill you turn in, you receive two dollar coins in return?
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Moderator
United States
187582 Posts |
Here is the article... $1 Billion That Nobody WantsQuote:
IMO I believe that as long as the BEP keeps churning out one dollar bills, the public WILL NOT use the dollar coins. Most other countries have eliminated the ONE denomination paper currency; Canada, European Union, (I am sure that there are others), etc... I am glad you said it so I do not have to. Of course, I had to quote it so that it was said again.  Quote:
My apologies for the background noise; I have five Ike's and two Kennedy's shifting in my pocket. Background noise? I call that music. |
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Valued Member
United States
439 Posts |
Sounds like a roll searchers paradise.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4132 Posts |
It would save something like half a billion dollars a year to stop printing dollar bills and switch over completely to coins because they last so much longer. There was initial resistance in Canada to the dollar coin, but they bit the bullet and stopped printing dollar bills and now Canadians are quite happy with their Loonies and Twonies.
We should stop printing $1, $2 and $5 bills and stop minting pennies and nickels. The small coins are vanity items that don't represent useful amounts of money. Put TJ and Abe on new $2 and $5 coins.
It's like the metric system. There's no good reason why we're using this weird old system that's obsolete in the rest of the world. We should have switch over long ago, but we're too stubborn.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
12437 Posts |
Just imagine all of the dollars sitting there with missing or double edge lettering  I would be like Scrooge McDuck swimming through the pile-  or maybe I would end up like this poor fella   |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
543 Posts |
The fact there are so many of those sitting in government vaults is the reason why I do not order the Presidental Dollars from the mint. P & D rolls of Lincoln have been the exception.
I also wish that they would stop making dollar bills and go to that vaults instead of going to the printing press. The government wants to save money, they can start right there, by using something they already have and something that will last about fifteen times longer.
Edited by wulffy11
06/28/2011 11:55 am
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Replies: 97 / Views: 11,218 |
Posted 06/28/2011 01:43 am
