$1 Billion That Nobody Wants: NPR

NPR:

Politicians in Washington hardly let a few minutes go by without mentioning how broke the government is. So, it's a little surprising that they've created a stash of more than $1 billion that almost no one wants.

Read the whole story: NPR

Comments

[Reedo1981]

10:13 AM on 06/30/2011

"I think Americans will definitely embrace the dollar coin if they're just given the opportunity,"

If the government withdraws dollar bills from circulation as Ms. Paige suggests then I guess that would qualify as being given an "opportunity" to use the coins. Sounds more like no alternative though.

[StuffMoreStuff]

10:07 AM on 06/30/2011

In all seriousness it is a lot cheaper to have dollar coins than paper, just ask Canada. Coins last WAY longer than bills.

[planetjeffy]

05:03 AM on 06/30/2011

for a 50% fee, I will take all the dollar coins the gov will give me
in exchange for paper dollars

[mamacat]

04:46 AM on 06/30/2011

I was given one of the John Adams coins in change at a store. It is the same size as a quarter, does not shine, and doesn't even look like legal tender. I took it to the bank and they told me that yes, it is indeed legal tender.
What an ugly little coin.
At least the other one dollar coins they used to make were pleasant to look at. This one looks like it was made overseas by a cheap forger.

[DismayedRepub]

02:02 AM on 06/30/2011

I wonder if they would arrest me if I demanded to pay my property taxes with these and dumped a wheelbarrow full of them in the county assessor’s office?

[kdlaiusa]

11:13 PM on 06/29/2011

Would you prefer carrying 10 x $1 coins or 10 x $1 dollar bills?

[Real Patriot]

10:41 PM on 06/29/2011

The US has to dump the paper dollar to get people to use dollar coins.

I like them.

[RedRat]

10:19 PM on 06/29/2011

How many of us really want coins anymore. I have not used cash for several years since just about every retail outlet takes a credit card. Heck, even in nearby Seattle, the parking meters take credit cars (not too well I might add, but doable). All those coins jingling around in your pocket do nothing but wear out the pockets.

In fact many retail outlets would much prefer to do away with cash entirely to minimize robberies. Some demand exact change and the money goes into a holding pit or safe. Handling large sums of cash is a pain and opens you up to crime.

At the end of the day, would you rather lug around 20 dollars in coins or paper. Paper weighs a heck of lot less and takes up little space compared to the coins.

[AgathaX]

08:06 PM on 06/29/2011

Until we stop making paper $1s, nobody is going to alter all the change drawers and vending machines to accept the coins, and merchants aren't going to go get $1 coins. Your average consumer thinks $1 coins are cool, but they aren't going to make a special trip to the bank to get some, they aren't going to be dispensed by the ATM, and merchants don't use them, due to above stated reasons.

[MSmith62]

07:38 PM on 06/29/2011

If they need a home for that billion, I'll volunteer.

[Peter Combs]

02:40 PM on 06/29/2011

didn't they learn their lesson with the stupid Susan B. Anthony coins?

[mamacat]

04:49 AM on 06/30/2011

At least those looked like real coins. These look like amusement park tokens.

[Benjamin Rosenfeld]

02:38 PM on 06/29/2011

One time, a couple of years ago. I was at the Westchester County airport and I wanted a bottle of water from the vending machine. I had a $5 bill, so I put that in. The water was $2 and my change came out in three $1 coins. One was the Sacagawea, another was the Susan B. Anthony, and the third was a presidential dollar featuring James K. Polk. I received one of each of the three types of circulating $1 coins and you know what? I still have them.

[Benjamin Rosenfeld]

02:32 PM on 06/29/2011

Which costs more to produce, dollar bills or dollar coins? I would think that the material and labor used to produce coins would cost more than those to produce bills.

[OutAtFirst]

02:53 PM on 06/29/2011

But coins can circulate at least a hundred times as long.

[Benjamin Rosenfeld]

03:09 PM on 06/29/2011

That's if they circulate.

[Steve41]

08:01 PM on 06/29/2011

Actually with the cost of the specialized paper, special ink, and the magnetic strip they will undoubtedly be putting in at some point I doubt the actual cost is all that different, especially considering the longer life of the coins. Copper runs $3-4/lb, nickel about $.50/lb, alumininum $.80/lb. 3 lbs of metal makes a lot of coins and other than start up costs, smelting is cheap. Last time in canada $1,$2,$5 coins were in common circulation.

[disgustedcitizen]

02:13 PM on 06/29/2011

Ok, if you insist, I will take the billion $1 coins. I'll have to move some stuff around but I think I can fit them in the basement.

[Benjamin Rosenfeld]

01:10 PM on 06/29/2011

Yeah, give me 250,000 of them and I'll send the IRS $200k with my next tax return. That sounds fair. I'll even be willing to give them back 85% if they give me 1 million.