It's a Green-Eyed Monster, To Coin a Phrase
Even the U.S. Mint is joining the environmentally “green†marketing game. The latest entry is the new dollar coin that the Mint is trying to convince consumers to use. After two failed attempts at promoting the use of dollar coins (the Susan B. Anthony and the Sacagawea coins), the Mint has unveiled the presidential coin series. At press events held in four cities including Portland, the Treasury Department made the bold announcement that this is a “green†coin and can be recycled. What they failed to mention is that virtually all coins can be recycled.A study comparing the dollar bill with the dollar coin showed that a coin is more efficient because it lasts an average of 30 years, as opposed to a dollar bill lasting only 18 months. 18 months? I asked a bank teller to show me all the one-dollar bills in her drawer. All but two were 1999 or 2003.
Twice now a dollar coin proved to be too heavy for the consumer pocket and a nightmare for vendors. 67 million tax dollars later, the Mint gave up on the Sacagawea Dollar.
Spending 60+ million tax dollars to market the new dollar coin not only insults our intelligence, but will not have the intended result. After three failed attempts, perhaps they will finally abolish this idea all together.
Jeff Alan is Chief Investigator at Cascade Policy Institute, Oregon’s free market research center.
Twice now a dollar coin proved to be too heavy for the consumer pocket and a nightmare for vendors. 67 million tax dollars later, the Mint gave up on the Sacagawea Dollar.
Spending 60+ million tax dollars to market the new dollar coin not only insults our intelligence, but will not have the intended result. After three failed attempts, perhaps they will finally abolish this idea all together.
Jeff Alan is Chief Investigator at Cascade Policy Institute, Oregon’s free market research center.
I am very happy with the government's efforts to reduce dependence on the cloth money we are forced to use.
I am turning in all my $1 bills today at my local bank. I only hope they have enough of these coins for me.
Plus, I love Andrew Jackson.
It's appropriate these coins feature Andrew Jackson, as Old Hickory was the first Democrat to be referred to as a "jackass."
Ain't progress grand?
Britian has a one pound coin that is thicker than the other coins. You can fish it out of your pocket among a group of other coins just by feel. It is very useful for all sorts of small transactions because it is easy to use.
Every dollar coin the US has tried is just too similar to the quarter. This will fail.
Pretty soon our money will look more like a three year old's attempt to make paper dolls...
As practical use currency, they are only good if you ride the MAX or use a state park. The is a car washing whose automatic machine gives them as change but doesn't accept them for payment, go figure!
The only way they will become widely used, is if the Fed. removes all dollar bills from circulation and forces the people to go to the dollar coin. Otherwise this whole program is a waste!
It's really as simple as that... Now if they just worked in the vending machines at work...
I think that the US needs to get over the 'we are different' thing. You have missed out on Metric, Don't miss out on this.
I don't like to carry coins either, but money devalues. It's a rare rich county these days that makes a bill worth as little as a US dollar.