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When I was still going to college, I spent a week in London on my own. I crashed in a cousin's flat and basically found my way to anywhere the Underground would take me. While there, I happily soaked in all the minor cultural differences. One of which was coin.
In England, there are no one pound notes (any more), just heavy little quid coins. ( Saying "quid" is like saying "buck" for a US dollar, it amuses me. ) I found having coins of real value quite useful. A pocket full of unruly bills is a mystery, but coins of distinct sizes can be readily produced from pocket for any trivial transaction. I left the UK determined to make better use of the US minted dollar, the SueB at the time.
In an historical quirk, they stopped making Susan B. Anthony dollars as soon as I returned home. Nearly twenty years later, the Sacajawea "golden dollar" was introduced. I have about 50 Sac bucks to hand. I used to give them to people as change and sometimes offer them to bewildered merchants. I'd take any spares the bank had, which were paltry at best. My personal dollar coin campaign, obviously, failed miserably.
This week a new US dollar coin is introduced, cunningly coinciding with President's day. This is new US currency, it should be readily available... Well, no, the banks haven't "ordered" any. They feel there's no demand. Indeed, with the whole multi president thing, it does feel more like a Franklin mint than a US mint offering.
I want dollar coins, but can't get them. If things carry on as they normally do, there is no doubt these coins will also fail. So, how to get America to use a dollar coin?
No one asked me if I wanted a face lift on all my other US currency, an option was not offered. Yet, all the dead patriots on my bills now look like bobble heads. The US, once the international hold out for monochrome money has started to shade it, well, whatever color that is. We don't get a vote on nature of legal tender, we just hope the Euro doesn't keep kicking it's ass.
The US would save money using coins compared to dollar bills. So... stop making the bills. You want to whine about all the machines and systems that currently take bills? Stop making new bills and sit back in wonder at how fast those machines will start taking coin.
In England, there are no one pound notes (any more), just heavy little quid coins. ( Saying "quid" is like saying "buck" for a US dollar, it amuses me. ) I found having coins of real value quite useful. A pocket full of unruly bills is a mystery, but coins of distinct sizes can be readily produced from pocket for any trivial transaction. I left the UK determined to make better use of the US minted dollar, the SueB at the time.
In an historical quirk, they stopped making Susan B. Anthony dollars as soon as I returned home. Nearly twenty years later, the Sacajawea "golden dollar" was introduced. I have about 50 Sac bucks to hand. I used to give them to people as change and sometimes offer them to bewildered merchants. I'd take any spares the bank had, which were paltry at best. My personal dollar coin campaign, obviously, failed miserably.
This week a new US dollar coin is introduced, cunningly coinciding with President's day. This is new US currency, it should be readily available... Well, no, the banks haven't "ordered" any. They feel there's no demand. Indeed, with the whole multi president thing, it does feel more like a Franklin mint than a US mint offering.
I want dollar coins, but can't get them. If things carry on as they normally do, there is no doubt these coins will also fail. So, how to get America to use a dollar coin?
No one asked me if I wanted a face lift on all my other US currency, an option was not offered. Yet, all the dead patriots on my bills now look like bobble heads. The US, once the international hold out for monochrome money has started to shade it, well, whatever color that is. We don't get a vote on nature of legal tender, we just hope the Euro doesn't keep kicking it's ass.
The US would save money using coins compared to dollar bills. So... stop making the bills. You want to whine about all the machines and systems that currently take bills? Stop making new bills and sit back in wonder at how fast those machines will start taking coin.
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I ain't that old. :p