joyfulguy,

Like someone told you on that other thread, the US does have a dollar coin. It just never really caught on so not a lot of people use it. It's lack of use is probably because it was too similar in size to the quarter, and maybe because people just don't like carrying around coins.

Okay... that was me - - here's my cut-and-paste...

Hey OJ!

I know of your 'Loonies' and your 'Twonies'... and the USA DOES have a dollar coin.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacagawea_dollar

It has been around for 6 years, but no one wants to use them!

Here is a link that might be useful: Sacagawea dollar

Another reason it hasn't caught on in the US is that it messes up cash registers.

Another reason it hasn't caught on in the US is that it messes up cash registers.

Do you mean because there isn't a spot for the dollar coins?
We had the same problem in Canada. I think you could buy little adapter dishes that would change the area where the dollar bills would go to a coin dish. But that doesn't really help during the transition phase when both bills and coins are being used.

"Another reason it hasn't caught on in the US is that it messes up cash registers."
So then we retool the registers.... no big deal!

So then we retool the registers.... no big deal!

It is a big deal to the thousands (maybe millions) of cash registers out there-- not to mention cash register users, who all too often seem to have trouble with the device as it is, nevermind having two pieces of currency that have the same value.

Young cashier gave me two one dollar us coins as change for a purchase. Thoughts were to hand them back and get paper dollars, but I kept them.

I never spent them as dollars yet they disappeared. I suspect I lost 75¢ on each one.

You already have a dollar slot... it cannot possibly be a big deal to change it for coin use!

There is no way the dollar slot could easily be turned in a coin section instead...I mean pysically it could be easy, but not in practice. That would mean paper dollars would no longer be accpeted, and I would guess that the dollar bill is probably the most used denomination in cash registers. There is no way they could just do away with it over night and replace it with the coin section.

Bottomline, even if there was a space for it, people just didn't like the coins.

The $2 dollar bill never really caught on either. I still prefer the paper dollar to the coin...I hate all coins. And, I bet we're close to just doing away with the penny altogether.

I think with the credit card/debit machines and automatic withdrawals, etc.. people are leaning more towards using physical money less. That may be one of the reasons the coin dollar never caught on. Nowadys, people can go weeks without having to pay for something with hard money, either paper or coin version. Bringing more/new types of physical money into the economy as this time seems almost like a waste when we'll probably just be buying everything with our fingerprints within a few decades.

You already have a dollar slot... it cannot possibly be a big deal to change it for coin use!
The problem is during the transition phase where both bills and coins are being used. It is more of an inconvenience than a problem though. We survived the transition in Canada twice! Once for the one dollar coins and then again for the two dollar coins.

The dollar coin never caught on because some people are sooo resistant to change.

I think that the dollar bill should cease to exist (costs to much to make & replace anyways.. coins are much more durable). Then everyone HAS to get used to it... and people WILL adapt!

"Nowadys, people can go weeks without having to pay for something with hard money, either paper or coin version. "
BTW - I don't have ATM or debit cards...

Oddly enough, western pa, I don't personally ever go to the ATM and I have never used a debit card either...just my good old credit card and checks. Heck, I had to use a check to pay my sons $1.80 milk bill for school --they don't like cash! Then again, I also don't own a coin purse either. I hardly ever use cash, especially coins. My husband refuses to carry any coins. I don't often find a need for coins(accept maybe for a child wanting a gum ball).

I really think that using cash (either coins or paper bills) will become a thing of the future, or at least will never be as popular as it once was. I would guess the wave of the future is not to bring more physical money types into circulation, but less. Granted, people are resistant to change, and that has a lot to do with personal usage. But, that's not to say, it's still a good idea. I admit, I don't know all the costs entailed with making money, but changing every machine that accepts dollars to only accept coin dollars could be very expensive. And, since I'm just not sure we will be buying our Pepsi's from a machine using any kind of 'dollar' in the next ten years, I'm not sure it's worth the expense to adapt everything for it now especially if people are reistant to it.

What ever did happen to the $2 bill? I would bet their circulation would go up if dollar coin usage was mandatory and paper ones went out of circulation..would sort of defeat the whole purpose.

As I understand it, one of the big things driving the change to dollar coins in Canada was the vending machine industry. As things in vending machines got more pricey, it became more of a chore to pay for them. Imagine having to pay for a $3.75 sandwich with quarters.

It meant that a lot of vending machines had to be retooled, but I gather it was worth it to prevent the sales that were lost when people didn't have the 15 quarters in their pocket to purchase something.

There is a rumour about that the Canadians did survive the change-over.

Think perhaps it may be true?

They survived the changeover to metric measures, as well.

The system used by most of the world.

I remember when I first heard of the metric system, in possibly Grade 6 (which was called differently - Senior Third Class - in those days) I thought, "What a smart system - if you want to go bigger, you multiply by ten ... or smaller, divide by ten!".

How many inches in a foot? Feet in a yard? Yards in a rod?

Which, dividing by ten, is precisely the system that we North Americans use regarding money.

But _ I still can't get over people using a credit card to buy TWO BUCKS WORTH OF STUFF!!

Just call me a dinosaur, I guess.

ole joyful

But, all our vending machines and the like (at least in my area of the US) take dollar bills, so there's really no need for a coined dollar where I'm at. The only thing that I can think of that requires coins are gum ball machines and some parking meters. Although, I hear that even the parking meter industry is moving away from coin usage.

And, yes I used a credit card to pay for my kids $3.** happymeal at McDonald's the other day. My friend owns a fast food rest. and actually said they prefer the credit card usage. Plus, you don't have to sign for it, and it goes so much quicker than cash. Try it, you might like it. And as an added bonus, I don't feel like I have to wash my hands before I try the fries- LOL

How many of you Americans have a half dollar in your pocket? Think about what happened to them. They went the way the dollar coin will go. If I happen to get change and the clerk gives me a half dollar I immediately hand it back for two quarters. My pants pockets last much longer this way.

Our dollar coin is somewhat larger than a quarter - and gold colour (O.K. - brass colour, if you want to be persnickety).

Amd the Two Dollar one is a silver-coloured ring on the outside, with a gold/(brass) coloured centre.

Up here, if you want to discuss something as *really* fake - it has to be, " ... as phony as a three-dollar bill ...." - which is, of course, a carry-over from the days when we hade $1.00 and $2.00 paper bills.

Enjoy your weekend, everyone.

ole joyful

I know a guy who once bought lunch in the cafeteria in his office building and the bill was exactly $3.50.

So he paid for it with a $2 bill, a $1 coin, and a 50-cent coin. He told me that the cashier looked at him like she was about to punch him, then broke out laughing.

That's the funniest story I've heard in a while! LOL

If the govt really wants us to use dollar coins,they should stop printing paper dollar bills. Just my $.02 LOL

I don't carry loose change in my pocket - I have a zipperd plastic purse that'll carry a good bit of change.

Actually, the pants are somewhat aged, and the othe day my knife slid down the leg and out the bottom.

A hole had appeared, large enough to let the knife go free.

I left the change purse, for it was smooth and larger.

But the next day, the hole was larger, and I feared that I'd lose the change purse ...

... so moved it to another pocket.

And, Drat!

Wouldn't you know that those are the pants that never had even one, let alone a pair of pockets in the seat, in the first place?

Got the needle and thread out that night and sewed up the hole - it was a double seam, with the loose ends of the first seam tucked back inside the second. Stronger, and less wear and tear, that way, I think.

Hey - why am I telling this story on myself?

Here I was telling about how much more durable the coins were, that they'd almost never wear out, etc. ...

... and then Don claimed that, though they might not wear out quickly - they were tough on his pockets.

And here I am proving his point.

But - the pants are rather aged (sort of like their owner), so one can't really expect the pockets to last forever unscathed.

Have a lovely week, everyone.

ole joyful

I'm just trying to picture what your change purse looks like! I've never seen a man's coin purse. My brother had this like plastic thing you squeeze open thing when he was a kid, but he never carried it anywhere, and I haven't seen one in years. What does one look like? Does everyone carry one there?

carla - who doesn't look her 35 years,

My coin purse, the second that I've had, is green plasticized fabric (fabric on the inside), about 5" wide and about 3" high, with a metal zipper all the way along the top. Quite sturdy.

Right now it contains a Toonie, four quarters, eight dimes, five nickels and 13 pennies.

Plus - one U.S. penny.

Canadian banks won't give us exchange on U.S. coin, so I used to save U.S. change that I got - and could collect from others - to take with me on visits to the U.S.

That was when a Canadian dollar would buy about 70 cents U.S. - but recently, when it'll buy about 90 cents U.S., the premium has decreased somewhat.

The earlier purse was much lighter, blue nylon fabric whose seams frayed after substantial use, with a nylon zipper that grew old and tired after while - found it hard to keep its mouth shut. I keep my store of U.S. change in it, now.

Hope you have a great weekend.

ole joyful