US could save $4.4B by dumping paper $1 bill for coin | Hacker News Reader

US could save $4.4B by dumping paper $1 bill for coin

networkworld.com

8 pointscoondoggie12 comments

Britain, Australia, Japan and Switzerland each have four coins in circulation with greater value than the US quarter. The Eurozone has three. It's hard to find a highly developed country that doesn't have at least one higher-value coin.

It seems weird that the interests of cotton growers, bill printers and strip clubs seem to outweigh the interests of the rest of the US.

I only count three Australian coins: the 20¢ isn't yet worth more than a US quarter though it's getting disturbingly close.

I love the dollar coins. I used to take all my change to the post office, put it all in the stamp machine at once, buy a single stamp and get my change back in $1 coins.

A lot of people must have done that because the software was changed at some point to not allow it.

...if only public could be convinced to use $1 coins. I personally like them, but there are literally a billion of the things sitting unused in US Mint warehouses because most people prefer folding money: http://www.npr.org/2011/06/28/137394348/-1-billion-that-nobo...

Not just individuals, either - coin-op machines of all descriptions and cash registers aren't ready for the change, either. People have been making this argument since the Carter administration, and I think it's been tried in three separate waves.

I worked in the coin-op/vending industry for over a decade. Every single time a new dollar coin was prepared, all the way back to the Susan B Anthony, the manufacturers were ready with coin acceptors and related mechs. Hell, most of the time they were ready BEFORE the coins were issued. Most modern acceptors can even be reprogrammed in the field.

The industry WANTS the dollar coin. They've lobbied for it for decades. They've been knocked down by the other lobby, the "Save The Greenback" coalition which was primarily backed by Trent Lott and Ted Kennedy's factions.

Why Lott and Kennedy? Lott represented cotton growers, who made the cotton that went into the paper that was manufactured by Crane, the only government-approved mill that could make US Currency stock. Guess where Crane is located?

Everyone in the business knew that we couldn't get traction on the dollar coin until the paper dollar is killed. Paper dollars wear out every 18 months as opposed to 30 years for a minted coin. Yet, here we are. Now there's the stigma of "oh, these dollar coins keep failing, let's just stop this nonsense." Understand the precise reason why they've failed and we can fix this.

Convincing is easy. Don't make it be an option. So long as it remains an option, what's the reason for people to change?

(Also, the tarnished "golden" look feels dirty.)

"End times - DC pols plot to destroy American currency! Washington rolls in grave as treason stalks the nation, etc. etc. etc."

American currency is already destroyed - what's with the whack colors and big heads? It's getting to be like furrin money! Besides, pennies should have pictures of wheat on the back, and nickels should contain silver.

We can't even get rid of the penny, which is a worthless coin. Worse since its intrinsic metal value is worth more than a penny.

But the special interest groups of the cotton industry and the Crane Paper Company, and employees of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, and their influence in Congress, keeps change at bay.

When I moved to Washington, the Metro farecard machines were not nearly as good they later became. If you tried to feed in a dollar that was not all but starched and ironed, you could find yourself holding up the line, missing the train, trying to crease it longways, etc. I'd have loved the option of feeding in Susan B. Anthony (or Sacajawea, or etc.) coins.

I just use my debit card everywhere. And just get pissed off when I need coins for parkmeter and laundromat. Everywhere else -> slide!

Australia dumped notes for coins some time ago -- we also have a $2 coin that is fairly convenient. We also use polymer notes, which last much longer and can survive being put through the laundry.

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