Which would you eliminate? You can vote for more than one!

[MTHead-migration]

Of the coins currently circulating in the US which would you eliminate?

 

Or would you keep the dollar coin and do away with the paper dollar?

 

For the sake of completeness I have included the Half Dollar even though I don't think they are being minted for circulation.

 

You may choose up to 3.

[G-Myth]

get rid of the paper dollar and put half dollar back into circulation

 

 

[James_OldeTowne]

I would get rid of the cent, nickel and dime, and consider getting rid of the quarter. Then, eliminate $1, $2 and $5 bills, and replace them with circulating coins. This would be an attempt to compensate for the rate of inflation, which has made purchases under 25c rather ridiculous.

[Coindude]

Good point there James... but how would you feel if you lost a dollar coin at the rate we lose pennies, nickels and dimes? I wouldn't much care for that...

[BillJones]

put half dollar back into circulation

 

And how do you propose to do that? The Kennedy half dollar drove the half dollar out of circulation in 1964. Before that I used get half dollars in change now and then, and quite a few of them had a lot of wear, which indicated that they were being used.

 

You can't force people to use half dollars any more than you can force them to use dollar coins.

[zrlevin]

I think that I am one of the few coin collectors that doesn't like the dollar coins. I much prefer the ragbuck.

 

The ticket machine at the train station gives change in dollar coins. Whenever I bought something, I would ask for change in fives (train fare is $4.90) so I don't have to get dollar coins back.

 

They are always a pain to use, mostly because my wallet doesn't have a spot for them.

[World Colonial]

I voted the dollar coin. If there is anything I cannot stand it is a monopoly forcing its "customers" to use something they do not want. That is obviously the situation with the dollar coin.

[bsshog40]

I voted the dollar coin also. It wouldn't be so bad with one dollar coin floating around, but I just feel that the mint just took the road with the dollar just like they did with the statehood qtrs. Next year is the cent. It looks like a pattern starting to me. Luckily they stopped after 2 years for the nickel. All they have left are the half and dime.

[harvey8542]

I went with the cent, nickel, and the paper dollar.

[MTHead-migration]

I voted the dollar coin. If there is anything I cannot stand it is a monopoly forcing its "customers" to use something they do not want. That is obviously the situation with the dollar coin.

 

I voted the paper Dollar. I cannot stand being held captive by "traditions" created by Crane Paper and perpetuated by the senior Senator from Taxachusetts. That is obviously the situation with the paper dollar.

[World Colonial]

I'm not familair with what you wrote, but if the paper dollar is being forced on the public, then why are they choosing it by a lopsided margin over the dollar coin?

[MTHead-migration]

Crane Co. and Edward Kennedy

 

Last 3 paragraphs beginning with " In 1996 ". With the weight of a Kennedy on your side arms can be twisted, backs scratched and votes against garnered to ensure the Crane tradition continues.

[CHABSENTIA]

I'm not familair with what you wrote, but if the paper dollar is being forced on the public, then why are they choosing it by a lopsided margin over the dollar coin?

 

I recently read an article in Coin world. The writer had a Business. He said that he always went to the Bank and got several rolls of Dollar Coins. He was also a Collector and he saaid that he would first go through the Coins to make sure there were no errors etc. He would then give them in change. He said that nine out of ten people would ask if they could have it in paper dollars etc.

 

He also said that he would put 8 or 9 dollar coins in his pocket and would use to pay for soem purchases. He said that he had instances where cashiers taking the Money would act as if he had made a mistake or if it was a rarity. He said he would always tell them that they could go to any Bank and get as many as they wanted for a dollar each.

 

You are correct. They are choosing the paper dollar over a lopsided margin.His answer was that some people seem to be unfamilar with it and/or don't trust it.He also said that some people preferred the paper because it was convenient to carry in a wallet which was easier to produce then coins that got stuck on the inside of pockets or had a tendency to be lost from them.

[thebeav]

I think that I am one of the few coin collectors that doesn't like the dollar coins. I much prefer the ragbuck.

 

Me too ! By a M I L E .........

I'm shocked at the number of folks on here that would rather have holes worn into their pockets by our unattractive dollar coins.

 

Paul

[MTHead-migration]

I think that I am one of the few coin collectors that doesn't like the dollar coins. I much prefer the ragbuck.

 

Me too ! By a M I L E .........

I'm shocked at the number of folks on here that would rather have holes worn into their pockets by our unattractive dollar coins.

 

Paul

 

Baloney! Do you carry keys in your pocket? When was the last time THEY wore a hole in your pocket?

[jtryka]

If the dollar coins were silver I'd choose them in a heartbeat, but with all the base metal junk circulating today, they are all just irrelevant. I'll take paper over brass manganese...

[Revenant]

If the dollar coins were silver I'd choose them in a heartbeat, but with all the base metal junk circulating today, they are all just irrelevant. I'll take paper over brass manganese...

 

The silver dollars would have to be smaller than dimes today though. Unless they went with 40% clad....

[jtryka]

I think my point is with debased fiat currency, none of it really matters. Maybe I am ahead of the curve, but ask anyone in Zimbabwe if they care that the smallest bill is $100 billion or $500 billion and I bet you get the same answer.

[Doogy]

 

this may sound weird coming from a numismatist, but having change of any kind in my pocket annoys me. is there a 'all of the above' option? ha!

 

 

[CarlWohlforth]

"I would get rid of the cent, nickel and dime, and consider getting rid of the quarter. Then, eliminate $1, $2 and $5 bills, and replace them with circulating coins. This would be an attempt to compensate for the rate of inflation, which has made purchases under 25c rather ridiculous"

 

I voted to get rid of the paper dollar. Then I read the resonses.

 

If everybody loves the paper dollar so much we can simply recognize the very real inflation that James_EarlyUS points out and devalue the buck. If we devalued 10 for 1 that is similar to eliminating cents and nickels. The new Cent would be worth (and cost) 10 old cents.

[zrlevin]

I think that everyone likes the paper dollar because no one likes spending coins. There is a reason it is called "change".

[MTHead-migration]

I think that everyone likes the paper dollar because no one likes spending coins. There is a reason it is called "change".

 

I found this to be true on a trip to Toronto. It took me a couple days to "get" the idea that the Loonie ($1) and Toonie ($2) coins were in fact of sufficient value to be used in making purchases without me looking like some penny-pinching exact change fossil. The quarters and lower were good for pop machines but the $1 and $2 coins actually were useful.

[Revenant]

My grandmother will still break out her coin purse and count out the exact number of cents, nickels, and dimes in order to give exact change and avoid breaking a dollar... She also asks akward questions about technology and television. The joys of being 84 I guess.

[DC Dawg]

I think that everyone likes the paper dollar because no one likes spending coins. There is a reason it is called "change".

Zack, not to pick on you since I know you are less than half my age, but you would be surprised how resilient the American people are when faced with a change. A lot of things have changed in just the last seven years, but there has been tremendous changes that I have seen in my 48 years on the planet. We're always changing, evolving, updating and upgrading.

 

Yet, we've adjusted to all of the changes. From clad coinage to airport security, we have adapted to many changes in our lives. I am not going into them here... even a subset, but we have adapted to all of the changes. There is nothing to suggest that the country couldn't adjust to a change in our change.

 

Remember that axiom: The only sure thing in life is change.

 

HOWEVER, unless BEP can find a country willing to let the US print money for them, do not expect the one dollar Federal Reserve Note to go away any time soon. Rather than into the full reason why (and that answer.com note is only the tip of the iceberg), you can read this. It's pretty well written, if I should say so myself!!

 

Scott

[DC Dawg]

Crane Co. and Edward Kennedy

 

Last 3 paragraphs beginning with " In 1996 ". With the weight of a Kennedy on your side arms can be twisted, backs scratched and votes against garnered to ensure the Crane tradition continues.

Don't believe everything you read on the Internet. Answers.com responses are not checked for accuracy or updated when things change. Wikipedia is better but should not be a primary source!

 

In 2005, the Government Accountability Office issued report GAO-05-368 assailing the Bureau of Engraving and Printing for not doing what is necessary to open the bidding process for other companies to bid for the BEP's paper supply business. The report was requested by the House Committee on Ways and Means, subcommittee on Finance, which Rep Barney Frank (D-MA) was ranking member after Crane and Co. protested the altering of the 2005 Request for Proposal (RFP) during the best and final offer (BAFO) stage (decision B-297398). Crane won because the BEP changed the parameters outlined in the RFP after the proposal was accepted.

 

With the contract in hand for six years, there is nothing that can be done about the bidding process. However, the contract is an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (ID/IQ) contract. While there is a contractual minimum, there are no maximums, and there are provisions for the BEP to reduce the delivery amount if production profiles change.

 

ID/IQ contracts are an interesting aspect of government contracting (I have worked on both sides of this fence). There are protections on both sides which the company makes money, but the government (usually) doesn't overpay... unless they do something stupid. However, in this case, it looks like the government is covered.

 

For this proposal, the BEP was smart in breaking up the RFP into two contracts. In doing that, the BEP is only beholden for buying the full production of one-dollar (and two-dollar) notes from Crane until 2010--and only at production levels. After 2010, BEP could either drop the entire production of one-dollar notes or rebid that part the contract--and still buy notes from Crane under the ID/IQ contract until 2012 until the contract is rebid.

 

With the GAO report and the bidder's court decision, the BEP has to open the process on the next RFP. If that is the case, Crane will either come up with the best proposal or they will lose the business. Crane has to be prepared to lose the business--yes, it is possible that incumbents lose rebids and it happens more often than advertised. So the "influence" of the Kennedy family will be irrelevant until the contract expires--but I am not discounting pressure from Kennedy and Frank until that expiration.

 

Scott

[zrlevin]

I think that everyone likes the paper dollar because no one likes spending coins. There is a reason it is called "change".

Zack, not to pick on you since I know you are less than half my age, but you would be surprised how resilient the American people are when faced with a change. A lot of things have changed in just the last seven years, but there has been tremendous changes that I have seen in my 48 years on the planet. We're always changing, evolving, updating and upgrading.

 

Yet, we've adjusted to all of the changes. From clad coinage to airport security, we have adapted to many changes in our lives. I am not going into them here... even a subset, but we have adapted to all of the changes. There is nothing to suggest that the country couldn't adjust to a change in our change.

 

Remember that axiom: The only sure thing in life is change.

 

HOWEVER, unless BEP can find a country willing to let the US print money for them, do not expect the one dollar Federal Reserve Note to go away any time soon. Rather than into the full reason why (and that answer.com note is only the tip of the iceberg), you can read this. It's pretty well written, if I should say so myself!!

 

Scott

 

 

I meant that the coins were called "change", as in change received from payment. Not the changing of society. Sorry for the misunderstanding.

 

I believe that society is capable of change, but not of using coins. They [the coins] are simply a pain in the .

[astrostu]

I think that everyone likes the paper dollar because no one likes spending coins. There is a reason it is called "change".

...HOWEVER, unless BEP can find a country willing to let the US print money for them, do not expect the one dollar Federal Reserve Note to go away any time soon. Rather than into the full reason why (and that answer.com note is only the tip of the iceberg), you can read this. It's pretty well written, if I should say so myself!!

 

 

I meant that the coins were called "change", as in change received from payment. Not the changing of society. Sorry for the misunderstanding.

 

I believe that society is capable of change, but not of using coins. They [the coins] are simply a pain in the .

 

This was the very reason my mom gave for not wanting to use dollar coins. She said that, psychologically, people don't want to think of $1 as "just change."

 

Oh, and nice blog post, Scott.

[Revenant]

HOWEVER, unless BEP can find a country willing to let the US print money for them, do not expect the one dollar Federal Reserve Note to go away any time soon. Rather than into the full reason why (and that answer.com note is only the tip of the iceberg), you can read this. It's pretty well written, if I should say so myself!!

 

Scott

 

Well, I hear that Zimbabwe just got cut off by that German note manufacturer so...