Have you seen the new $100 yet?

[fyrwrxz]

I personally love the dollar coins, and regularly use them. I hear the Fed has a glut, and there's no shortage for those of us that want to use them.
Dollar bills are, however, lighter and more effective as a replacement for dog barf than coins.

LOL! For me- the dog barf would have more value.....

 

[Kehoes23]

Wasn't there talk about the Amero, just like the Euro? What ever happened with that?

 

[ThirstyBarbarian]

Wasn't there talk about the Amero, just like the Euro? What ever happened with that?

Amero --- like the Euro but with our amigos.

 

[les]

Also the Federal Reserve makes 2 billion profit per year by issuing one dollar bills and has been fighting against dollar coins for many years with lies. .

I thought the government wanted to go to $1 coins and $2 bills.

It was the stores and people that did not want them. The cash drawers didn't have spaces for the different denominations and people complained they couldn't tell the difference. My uncle hated the $1 coin - claimed he kept confusing it with a quarter. And I knew people who complained about the $2 bill saying they confused them with a $20. I never understood how they could keep the $1, $10, and $100 straight but confused the $2 and $20.

Just like the effort to go metric - people hate change and refused to accept it.

 

[shreadvector]

I thought the government wanted to go to $1 coins and $2 bills.

It was the stores and people that did not want them. The cash drawers didn't have spaces for the different denominations and people complained they couldn't tell the difference. My uncle hated the $1 coin - claimed he kept confusing it with a quarter. And I knew people who complained about the $2 bill saying they confused them with a $20. I never understood how they could keep the $1, $10, and $100 straight but confused the $2 and $20.

Just like the effort to go metric - people hate change and refused to accept it.

People confused the SBA dollar with the quarter even though it is 43% larger by volume/mass and about the same diameter difference as cent/nickel. It is the reeded edge. Blind folks have no problem as the eagle's wing sticks way off the surface of the Apollo XI reverse.

These issues went away with the Golden Dollar but most banks refuse to order and stock them as normal money so merchants have difficulty trying to use them.

Read all the GAO reports as well as info from the DCA.

 

[Worsaer]

This is beginning to smell like politics. Time to get back to rockets.

 

[ThirstyBarbarian]

People confused the SBA dollar with the quarter even though it is 43% larger by volume/mass and about the same diameter difference as cent/nickel. It is the reeded edge. Blind folks have no problem as the eagle's wing sticks way off the surface of the Apollo XI reverse.

These issues went away with the Golden Dollar but most banks refuse to order and stock them as normal money so merchants have difficulty trying to use them.

Read all the GAO reports as well as info from the DCA.

I like the golden dollars, and they seem to make a lot more sense than the SBA dollars ---less likely to be confused with another denomination.

 

[PhlAsh]

The story goes that the Susan B was supposed to be 13-sided, but the vending machine interest balked so they made it round with the 13 'edges' embossed

 

[shreadvector]

The story goes that the Susan B was supposed to be 13-sided, but the vending machine interest balked so they made it round with the 13 'edges' embossed

11 sided. The 11 sides are there but inside the border rim. The Canadian Loonie has. 11 sides but they are arcs not flats so it rolls through vending machine coin mechanisms with no problem.

Virtually every vending machine coin mech made since 1979 can accept dollar coins. If they do not they simply need a switch flipped. And they can be set to "US ONLY" or "US/CAN".

PDF of all manuals are online if you have a machine at work that needs its switch flipped.

 

[Peartree]

These issues went away with the Golden Dollar but most banks refuse to order and stock them as normal money so merchants have difficulty trying to use

Yes, and no. Cause and effect is a little blurry here. I have a friend who is a bank manager. When the golden dollars came out I asked him if we could get some and he said I would have to find a bank that would carry them. His would not.*because* customers would get a few as a curiosity but, in general, refuse to use them or take them as change at the bank windows. The end result for the bank was that they had to get a minimum order from the federal reserve bank, and since they gave some out, couldn't return the remainder. That, in turn, resulted in the bank having a fair amount of vault space taken up, for years at a time, by coins their customers didn't want. For him, it just wasn't worth the hassle when, obviously, it was a product none of their customers, retailers or private citizens, wanted.

 

[shreadvector]

Yes, and no. Cause and effect is a little blurry here. I have a friend who is a bank manager. When the golden dollars came out I asked him if we could get some and he said I would have to find a bank that would carry them. His would not.*because* customers would get a few as a curiosity but, in general, refuse to use them or take them as change at the bank windows. The end result for the bank was that they had to get a minimum order from the federal reserve bank, and since they gave some out, couldn't return the remainder. That, in turn, resulted in the bank having a fair amount of vault space taken up, for years at a time, by coins their customers didn't want. For him, it just wasn't worth the hassle when, obviously, it was a product none of their customers, retailers or private citizens, wanted.

Actually I've been involved in this for several decades and my experience is the exact opposite. The story you bank person told you is the standard "lie" told by bank tellers and managers. I have been in countless banks where other customers ask the teller for dollar coins or two dollar bills. Go to my cheesy website linked in the signature and read the "banks and twos" PDF for the description of the typical interaction.

Dollar coins come in a small box that holds $1000 (40 rolls of 25). They don't take up much vault space and can easily fit in a teller's rolling cart. One cent and five cent coins take up massive vault space.

All of the false arguments are proven false by the reality of all other major countries on Earth that use one and two unit coins (Canadian Australian etc one and two dollar coins, British one and two pound coins, one and two Euro coins...)

 

[Peartree]

Actually I've been involved in this for several decades and my experience is the exact opposite. The story you bank person told you is the standard "lie" told by bank tellers and managers. I have been in countless banks where other customers ask the teller for dollar coins or two dollar bills. Go to my cheesy website linked in the signature and read the "banks and twos" PDF for the description of the typical interaction.

Dollar coins come in a small box that holds $1000 (40 rolls of 25). They don't take up much vault space and can easily fit in a teller's rolling cart. One cent and five cent coins take up massive vault space.

All of the false arguments are proven false by the reality of all other major countries on Earth that use one and two unit coins (Canadian Australian etc one and two dollar coins, British one and two pound coins, one and two Euro coins...)

Believe what you want Fred, I understand you never met my friend. Personally, in the interaction that we had, he had nothing to gain from telling a lie and knowing him, if he said it, I have absolutely no reason to disbelieve him. Further, there is ample evidence, perhaps anecdotal, that even though other countries have successfully switched over, the average American consumer doesn't want it. Having traveled overseas on many occasions, it is frequently obvious that what works for others doesn't work here and what works here often doesn't work elsewhere. Do you like peanut butter? Most likely you do, it is practically a staple in American kitchens and yet, in Germany people find it repulsive. Sweet corn? Same thing. I have often heard relatives say something to the effect of, "Corn is food for ANIMALS, PEOPLE don't eat that." Cow brains or kidneys? Common on many European tables but you have to work hard to find a specialty market in the US that would carry it. Americans are oddly passionate about some things and given that politicians have to face reelection, they are obviously reluctant to hack off the people that vote for them over what, in comparison to our overall deficit, is frankly chump change.

 

[shreadvector]

Coins are not cow brains.

The simple and easy to understand "fair amount of vault space" statement is obviously false to anyone who understand simple geometry and who is not attempting to defend a personal friend who told him that absurd non-fact. Take a deep breath and imagine you did not know the person who told you that a cardboard box that is 2.25" x 6" x 9.25" would take up a fair amount of vault space. That statement is scientifically absurd and flat out false.

 

[ThirstyBarbarian]

I think the "banks don't stock them because people don't want them vs people don't use them because the banks don't carry them" issue is a chicken and egg situation, and the real issue is people aren't used to it, so they won't really try it voluntarily. The real problem with switching is that they try to do it halfway --- introduce the coin but still keep the bill, just like when they tried to switch to the metric system --- and that never works, because people will choose the familiar, even if the new thing is better. If the Treasury just decided to stop making dollar bills and make 1 and 2 dollar coins instead, there would be a loud uproar that would completely fade away in less than 6 months after people got used to it. People are like chickens --- put something new in the barnyard and there is a huge amount of clucking and flapping, and within 5 minutes they are roosting on whatever thing had them so alarmed.

 

[Rocketjunkie]

None of the other countries, when issuing the dollar/euro/pound. etc coins, continued issuing paper bills of the same denomination. The only way to get golden dollars in widespread circulation would to stop printing dollar bills.
I've been using them for years in vending machines. A few in my pocket avoids the finicky bill readers

 

[ThirstyBarbarian]

I'm thinking maybe they should get rid of ALL the bills and issue new coins in denominations up to $100. The people can decide between carrying around a leather pouch filled with coins, or paying with a debit/credit card.

 

[ThirstyBarbarian]

None of the other countries, when issuing the dollar/euro/pound. etc coins, continued issuing paper bills of the same denomination. The only way to get golden dollars in widespread circulation would to stop printing dollar bills.

I agree. People do not like change --- even good change --- but they get used to new things pretty quickly.

 

[shreadvector]

None of the other countries, when issuing the dollar/euro/pound. etc coins, continued issuing paper bills of the same denomination. The only way to get golden dollars in widespread circulation would to stop printing dollar bills.
I've been using them for years in vending machines. A few in my pocket avoids the finicky bill readers

Correct. There was a recent 2 hour hearing with testimony from the RCM and former US mint director as well as a bloated mouthpiece from the federal reserve bank. The fed makes billions off the interest from issuing federal reserve notes . None of this goes to taxpayers as the fed is not part of the govt. the fed has done everything they can to present obstacles to dollar coin adoption.

Go to the Dollar Coin Alliance website and browse around and if you feel like it click on the link to send emails to your Senators and Congressperson to support the House Resolution and Senate Bill that will (if passed) end rag dollar production and also remove the SBA dollar coins from the circulated commingled supply. They will be shipped to other dollarized countries or sold to collectors or melted (if there are any left after the first two)

 

[chadrog]

None of the other countries, when issuing the dollar/euro/pound. etc coins, continued issuing paper bills of the same denomination. The only way to get golden dollars in widespread circulation would to stop printing dollar bills.
I've been using them for years in vending machines. A few in my pocket avoids the finicky bill readers

Yup. The vending machines never complain when you put a dollar coin in them, bills are a whole other issue. I like the dollar coins.

 

[shreadvector]

Yup. The vending machines never complain when you put a dollar coin in them, bills are a whole other issue. I like the dollar coins.

We could start a thread titled "another good reason to dump the Rag Dollar" but that would be wrong.

 

[Worsaer]

Fred, the forceful nature of your arguments make it sound like you have a vested interest in the outcome, more so than just a plan to save the government money money over 30 years. I know what the Crane paper lobby has in the game. The DCA home page indicates that the vending machine industry and coin metal suppliers are involved. That's fine, there are always two sides. I just don't understand how removing one dollar bills from circulation helps the vending machine industry, when so many now take paper and even plastic. Can you explain this part of the story? It's hard to get excited about it when it appears to be two big lobby groups trying to influence legislation that ultimately affects my choice.

 

[shreadvector]

I'm an aerospace engineer since graduating from MIT IN 1980. I have no financial interest in mining or vending .

Bill validators cost hundreds of dollars and add to the price of all vended items. They say they also require costly repairs and when they jam or malfunction there are lost sales.

 

[shrox]

... I never understood how they could keep the $1, $10, and $100 straight but confused the $2 and $20...

Funny and true.

 

[Worsaer]

So then it's a long term, strategic move for the vending machine industry? I'm guessing it will take a decade or longer for one dollar bills to gradually disappear - and many people will expect machines to continue to accept $2's. I don't get it, but that's ok. You mentioned removing unpopular SBA's from circulation. That makes sense. Is that just for uncirculated coins? Does the Fed have the equipment to sort SBAs from the golden dollars that are co-mingled in their vaults?

 

[shrox]

I personally love the dollar coins, and regularly use them. I hear the Fed has a glut, and there's no shortage for those of us that want to use them.
Dollar bills are, however, lighter and more effective as a replacement for dog barf than coins.

I liked using coins in Europe, a handful of change can be worth a large bill. A handful of 5 pound coins is about the same weight and bulk as a handful of quarters, but worth much more.

 

[shreadvector]

So then it's a long term, strategic move for the vending machine industry? I'm guessing it will take a decade or longer for one dollar bills to gradually disappear - and many people will expect machines to continue to accept $2's. I don't get it, but that's ok. You mentioned removing unpopular SBA's from circulation. That makes sense. Is that just for uncirculated coins? Does the Fed have the equipment to sort SBAs from the golden dollars that are co-mingled in their vaults?

I'm not privy to long term strategic plans of the vending industry, but it has been a logical goal for decades - and they are not alone. Self serve car washes and coinop laundry want it as well. How many rolls of quarters does it take to do famy laundry at a laundromat? And then there are parking meters..

Read the text of the proposed legislation for the timetable for no longer issuing dollar bills after the transition starts. People may have hoards but after they get spent they will get returned to the fed and retired.

Machinery to optically sort commingled circulated SBAs may already exist since it was part of an earlier study but it may be prototype and not production machines deployed in large numbers at this time. It can be done. There are very few uncirculated SBA dollars anywhere. They ran out in 1999 and had to mint more before the Golden Dollar was ready.

Also Check stands with automated change dispensers can be adapted to dispense dollar coins since those cassettes are available. Time savings = savings. Plus dollar coins are great for self checkout.

Ask anyone from Canada. Europe, UK, Australia, etc.

 

[sodmeister]

I think the "banks don't stock them because people don't want them vs people don't use them because the banks don't carry them" issue is a chicken and egg situation, and the real issue is people aren't used to it, so they won't really try it voluntarily. The real problem with switching is that they try to do it halfway --- introduce the coin but still keep the bill, just like when they tried to switch to the metric system --- and that never works, because people will choose the familiar, even if the new thing is better. If the Treasury just decided to stop making dollar bills and make 1 and 2 dollar coins instead, there would be a loud uproar that would completely fade away in less than 6 months after people got used to it. People are like chickens --- put something new in the barnyard and there is a huge amount of clucking and flapping, and within 5 minutes they are roosting on whatever thing had them so alarmed.

That`s pretty much it !

Here in Canada they said the dollar bill was being phased out on a certain date ,and a dollar coin was being issued.....period !

People complained and after a few months ,business as usual.

Then they phased out the two dollar bill and switched to the two dollar coin...done ,complain..... business as usual.

Then they mentioned doing away with the penny ,and i think most people cheered LOL

As you mention, you can`t do things half hearted ,just do it ,phase it out, done,finito ! People forget soon enough ,as long as they have a few weeks to complain about something ,then all is well.

But again ,as mentioned ,with credit cards and bank cards etc. , not many people use cash as much as they once did, I rarely carry more than $ 40-60 bucks on me ,just in case one of those damn bank machines breaks down.

Then there was the metric switcharoo............oh......never mind !:wink:


Paul T

 

[belfert]

The ticket machines for light rail here give all change as quarters or dollar coins. I have used a $10 bill to pay for a 50 cent fare before, and nine dollar coins are a lot heavier in the the pocket than nine dollar bills. (The machines take cards too, but it seems ridiculous to use a card for a 50 cent transaction.)

 

[Nessalco]

The $100 is the largest bill in common distribution. There used to be a $100,000 bill which was used exclusively for bank transfers (had Coolidge on it, IIRC).
View attachment 157531

Salmon P. Chase was on the $100K note.

Kevin

 

[Nessalco]

Oops, sorry. Chase was on the $10K note. Wilson was on the $100K

KO