Getting the Public to Use Half Dollars and Dollars

Joe, do you hear the thunder of thousands of people rushing to banks to get
all the cents they can? It is a nice and legal way to get rich quick. I
hope your idea catches on, but can the mint make enough of them to meet the
demand? Even more than that, it may cause terrific inflation, and the
authorities may be after you for sabotaging the economy. I am not going to
hold my breath until this happens, so please lent me know when it does.

Tony

"Joe Fischer" wrote in message
...
"A.E. Gelat" wrote:

I have proposed several times a nickel-sized dollar coin. ALL vending
machines accept a nickel, but the dollar coin would be heavier, I assume,
and not be confused with the nickel.

I have proposed several times the congress should have
declared the cent to be the new dollar coin and be worth a dollar,
that would have saved the government minting new dollar coins,
and everybody, the government, Federal Reserve Bank, Banks
and the public would have benefited alike.

This should have satisfied the proponents of eliminating
the cent, and those worrying about the cost of printing dollar
bills, but not one person here thought it was a good idea.
I guess they think the government or the mint should
be the ones to profit from the creation or change of money.

It still is a good idea, even if I do have 50,000 pennies. :-)

Joe Fischer

"A.E. Gelat" wrote:

Joe, do you hear the thunder of thousands of people rushing to banks to get
all the cents they can? It is a nice and legal way to get rich quick. I
hope your idea catches on, but can the mint make enough of them to meet the
demand?

No, no, the idea is that the mint would NOT mint any more
cents, and they would not have to ever mint any more dollar coins
either, and the BEP would not have to print any more $1 bills.
Nobody would lose money, if they would be worth a dollar,
they would cost a dollar, and they already have the word "one"
on them.

Even more than that, it may cause terrific inflation, and the
authorities may be after you for sabotaging the economy. I am not going to
hold my breath until this happens, so please lent me know when it does.
Tony

All of my pennies cost me more than one cent, some
cost me more than one dollar, and I still think it was a good
idea, it would not only save the government and the taxpayers
money by not having to mint cents, dollar coins or print dollar
bills, but would actually give the government more profit
than they make minting coins and printing dollar bills.

Having money no longer causes inflation, a shortage
of product that is in demand causes inflation.

But the mint likes to make money, that is their business.

Joe Fischer

"Bill Krummel" wrote in
:


"Anka Z" wrote in message
m...
Billy wrote:


I readily admit that I haven't read every post in this thread, but if
I could interject just one comment...

I'd rather carry a wad of dollar bills (filthy, bacteria-infested
rags as they are) in my purse than an equal (total) amount of coins.
Believe it or not, those halves and dollar coins are heavy! It's bad
enough carrying a few dollars' worth of quarters. Don't you guys
have a problem with this... all that heavy change banging around in
your pants pockets, weighing you down?


Anka ---- trying to avoid a dowager's hump

Hi Anka. I, too, have not followed this thread closely, but I will
give my personal answer to your point. I have carried as many as 19
sacs in my pocket at one time and did not notice the bulk or weight.
I normally wear a work pants made of heavier material, though, and I
think suit pants would be much different. However, 19 sacs is a
little extreme. I don't recall the circumstance for carrying 19, but
I do know I seldom carry more than five one dollar bills in my
billfold, generally just two or three. So, I think normally I would
only carry 1-5 dollar coins at a time.

I do think there are different feelings about the dollar coin, based
on gender. I know that, for small purchases, I would rather pull a
coin or two or three out of my pants pocket than pull my wallet out of
my back pocket. My wallet seems to get hung up a lot and I take two or
three attempts to just get it out. I also wish the local car wash
took dollar coins. As it is now, I have to take $4-6 worth of
quarters and stack them on a ledge and put in, one coin at a time, how
much I think I will use, then add more later if I did not guess right.
To be able to use a dollar coin at the car wash would be much more
convenient. And at the laundromat too, although I seldom use the
laundromat.

Anyway, while I am pro dollar coin and anti dollar bill, I don't have
any real fire to try to sell the notion to anyone. I do think;

1. Taxpayers would save money if a dollar coin was made instead of,
not in addition to, the $1 bill. I think it figures to over a half
billion a year in savings.

I just read in the local paper last week that the EPA had spent, just
a few miles from where I live, $130,000 to replace lead contaminated
dirt from a guys yard, when the guy could have been bought out for
$60,000. Further, the dirt replacement left the guy with drainage
problems that caused rain water to flood under his house, with ensuing
serious mold problems. That's our government, often. Given that, why
should we be concerned over a way the gov't. can be 0.6 billion more
efficient. I think we should make noise everytime the gov't is
inefficient and demand efficiency from our gov't., all the time.

2. Cash transactions would be quicker with a dollar coin as opposed
to a dollar bill. Not much per transaction, but some. I used the
dollar coin as default for about a year in my store, and counting the
dollar coin and setting up the drawer for the next day was always much
faster for me as a businessman. But, I still had the slow process of
arranging, counting, and clipping the one dollar bills that
accumulated and were deposited every night, so I actually spent more
time on my drawers during that year we used the dollar coin.

Actually, here's a more likely scenario. With the switch from bill to
coin for the $1, it will be considered 'change' just like the rest of the
coins. With the exception of people who pay with exact change, most
people will break a five, dump all of the change in their pocket, dump
all of their change in a jar, dump their change jar at the bank (or
coinstar) to get real spending money, in the form of $5, $10, $20, and/or
$50 bills. Since this circulation pattern isn't acceptable for the one
cent coin, why should we push for a new coin to follow this pattern???

I guess this actually supports your argument, as tellers/cashiers are
less likely to have to count multiple ones in many transactions...


Also, with the relegation of the dollar to pocket change, inflation is
likely to spike as the $0.99 breakpoint is replaced by $4.99!


3. As long as vending machines, laundromat washers, etc. are not set
up to use dollar coins, one of the better advantages to using dollar
coins just isn't there, whether the coin is available or not.

4. If the dollar bill was dropped and a dollar coin was the only $
unit available, within a short period of time, everyone would adjust
and life would go on. For those inconvenienced from carrying coins,
the inconvenience would still be there, whether we are talking cents,
quarters, or dollars. For those who use coins and find it convenient
to do so, I think the change would be a pleasant surprise, even if
they are currently against the idea of a dollar coin instead of paper.

That's what I think. Bill


Andrew W Applegarth

"DyzeeGF3" wrote in
t:

Same with dollar coins...I don't see why anyone should ever have over
4 of them in their pockets (assuming they are circulated in all
transactions, and you are not someone who carries them around in an
attempt to get others to do just that). If you have 4 in your pocket,
you can pay for all transactions $4 and under. Anything between $4.01
and $4.99 will not give you any dollar coins in change. If the
payment is $7, then use a $5 bills and 2 dollar coins...if payment is
$12 and you only have a $20 bill...use the 20 and 2 dollar coins so
you get a 10 back. Not that difficult.

One problem with this 'simple' explanation is that I don't limit my use
of money to the grocery store. When I get an order delivered, I usually
write check or use my credit card for the exact amount, so I like to have
some ones on hand for a tip. (I sometimes order lunch at my desk at work,
so I can't just leave the stack by the door in the house.) And then I
might want to hit the vending machines, so I need to keep a couple of ones
for that. Heck, if I'm in the middle of a big coding project, I might go
through several bottles of soda in a single afternoon. So, now I have six
GDs in my pocket, and I don't dare spend any of them at the store. So,
with the four I got in change at the store, I'm up to ten. Now if I have
to pay any tolls or use any other sort of coin operated machines as part of
my work day, I better have dollars for those as well. Wow, my pocket sure
gets heavy despite your promise that I will never carry more than four...

And yes, I do try to keep around ten ones on me for such occassions. I
sort them from best to worst, so I can easily keep the good ones for
vending machines and dump the unusable ones in regular commerce.

- Andrew W Applegarth



"note.boy" wrote in message
...
If a purchase is over £5 then a combination of notes and coins may be
used to pay, if the buyer has any £1 coins, reducing the amount that
the buyer has to carry.

If the purchase is under £5 and the buyer has enough £1 coins then he
will use those to pay, again reducing the amount to carry.

It's not rocket science to reduce the number of, fairly heavy, £1
coins you have to carry around.

If someone pockets rip under the weight of £1 coins they are carrying
then I would suggest that the number of £1 coins they are carrying is
higher than their IQ. :-) Billy


Anka Z wrote:

Billy wrote:

"In the UK £1 coins are used by the majority of the population on a
daily
basis, it will be no different in the USA if the $1 note gets the
heave
ho, the $1 coin will take its place, with a bit of fuss of course
as it
is the USA public who seem to very much against change in the
notes/coins if posts here are anything to go by.

I suspect that the views of the general public in the USA will be
different from the coin collectors posting here as a collector's
view will be different from the majority of non collectors."

I readily admit that I haven't read every post in this thread, but
if I could interject just one comment...

I'd rather carry a wad of dollar bills (filthy, bacteria-infested
rags as they are) in my purse than an equal (total) amount of
coins. Believe it or not, those halves and dollar coins are heavy!
It's bad enough carrying a few dollars' worth of quarters. Don't
you guys have a problem with this... all that heavy change banging
around in your pants pockets, weighing you down?

Anka ---- trying to avoid a dowager's hump

ulsion (Phil DeMayo) wrote in
:

Paul Anderson responded:

A.E. Gelat
wrote:

If there were no one dollar bills, I would not carry the current
dollar coins, because they are too bulky. I would carry the twos
and higher denominations, and hope to get change in quarters.

That makes no sense. You say you don't like dollar coins because of
their weight and you would prefer using four quarters instead. Four
quarters are considerably heavier than a dollar coin.

Of course it makes no sense. The whole "they're heavier" argument is
ridiculous. 3 Sacs weigh almost exactly the same as 4 quarters....yet
replace 12 quarters.

I agree the point was poorly presented, but perhaps the choice to not
use GDs (which are heavier than FRNs) was a protest/boycott of the
attempt to force him to use a less desirable form of the $1.


Three GDs only replace 12 quarters in a vending machine example. In
the rest of commerce, they replace three very light dollar bills. You
will still get the same number of quarters in change at the market,
whether you use GDs or FRNs. So, Three GDs will supplement the three
quarters you were going to get anyway...

- Andrew W Applegarth



++++++++++
Phil DeMayo - always here for my fellow Stooge
When bidding online always sit on your helmet
Just say NO to counterfeits

On Wed, Andrew W Applegarth wrote:

(Phil DeMayo) wrote
Of course it makes no sense. The whole "they're heavier" argument is
ridiculous. 3 Sacs weigh almost exactly the same as 4 quarters....yet
replace 12 quarters.

I agree the point was poorly presented, but perhaps the choice to not
use GDs (which are heavier than FRNs) was a protest/boycott of the
attempt to force him to use a less desirable form of the $1.

I can think of situations where not wanting to have to carry
3 or 4 GDs "change" might actually encourage not making a purchase,
which is the exact opposite of what money is for.

Three GDs only replace 12 quarters in a vending machine example. In
the rest of commerce, they replace three very light dollar bills. You
will still get the same number of quarters in change at the market,
whether you use GDs or FRNs. So, Three GDs will supplement the three
quarters you were going to get anyway...
- Andrew W Applegarth

And three brown oxidized "Golden Dollars" might be
useless for cases where a vending machine purchase might
require one quarter, or two quarters, or three quarters, or
even four quarters if the machine only takes quarters.

That means that I would have to carry the 12 quarters
plus any number of "Golden Dollars" I receive, just so I
have change for the existing vending machines I might use.

There is NO argument at all for eliminating the paper
dollar, the "Golden Dollar" does NOT have the utility of
four quarters, and the crazy estimated yearly cost of 500
million dollars to replace one dollar bills is obviously a
big fat lie because at 4 cents each, that would mean each
man woman and child in the United States wears out 50
paper dollars every year, and that is an absurdity.
I spend more money than the average person,
I make more cash purchases than the average person,
and there is no way I wear out 50 paper dollars per year.

Frankly, I don't even understand the amount of
effort being put into the argument for eliminating the
one dollar bill, it would accomplish nothing good,
and would mean more coins to drop or lug around,
because if you don't carry them you can't spend them,
and even though you might have your wallet with you,
the only "Golden Dollars" you have are at home or
in the car.

And those that would impose their will on me are
not able to say I don't like using "Golden Dollars",
because I go out of my way to get about 20 every
week, look at them, then spend them.

Joe Fischer

Ami,
I have been using half dollars for change at our farm stand. No one
has refused it. Most seem shocked to see one.
Dollars I get from customers.
I have , unfortunaely run my bank out of halves tho.
Doris

Australian Milk Producers Association
http://www.geocities.com/ampa_ltd/
Welcome to "Balcowa"!
http://www.geocities.com/balcs9/index.htm

In article , Bruce Remick
wrote:

With inflation, there's less and less need to leave the house with
coins in your pocket anymore. Nothing to spend it on. Vending
machines don't take pennies, nickels, or dimes. What good are they
to carry? Accept whatever you get in change, dump it in a jar at
home, ditto the next day.

BINGO!!!

This is exactly why we should eliminate the small-denomination coins,
like the penny, and eliminate the dollar bill! Inflation has made
coins worth so little that it discourages their use. You have proven
the point.

But I still don't understand why you hassle yourself with collecting
large amounts of coins in a jar, having then to "cash them in" at the
bank or (heaven forbid) the Coinstar machine, rather than just spending
them as you receive them.

Paul

--
Paul Anderson
OpenVMS Engineering
Hewlett-Packard Company

I save my UK coppers in a one gallon whisky bottle, no I didn't drink
it :-), and exchange them at the bank come summer holiday time, the
total is usually around £30 to £40. Billy


Paul Anderson wrote:

In article , Bruce Remick
wrote:

With inflation, there's less and less need to leave the house with
coins in your pocket anymore. Nothing to spend it on. Vending
machines don't take pennies, nickels, or dimes. What good are they
to carry? Accept whatever you get in change, dump it in a jar at
home, ditto the next day.

BINGO!!!

This is exactly why we should eliminate the small-denomination coins,
like the penny, and eliminate the dollar bill! Inflation has made
coins worth so little that it discourages their use. You have proven
the point.

But I still don't understand why you hassle yourself with collecting
large amounts of coins in a jar, having then to "cash them in" at the
bank or (heaven forbid) the Coinstar machine, rather than just spending
them as you receive them.

Paul

--
Paul Anderson
OpenVMS Engineering
Hewlett-Packard Company

(Ami .) wrote in message ...
What are your ideas on getting the public to widely use half dollar and
dollar coins in everyday transactions?

I think the following would work:

1. End production of Kennedy halves in 2004. The last year should have a
special date, 1964-2004. Starting in 2005, the half dollar would have a
portrait of Martin Luther King on the obverse. The words "United States
of America" would be in big letters above the portrait. The word
"Liberty" would be in smaller letters positioned on the obverse. On the
reverse, there would be the rendering of the Liberty Bell that was on
the reverse of the Franklin halves. Above the Liberty Bell would be the
words "Let Freedom Ring."

how about we just end production of halves for circulation and have
one year commemorative programs to honor every PC person or cause you
could desire. start with MLK if you want, move on to superman, who
cares?

no one is going to use halves in normal commerce no matter what so you
might as well drop the coin and make a few bux off selling a new half
dollar coin to collectors every year.

maybe they could have an online poll at the mint website each year to
select the next years honoree. mickey mouse would be my first choice.



2. Starting in 2005, remove the portrait of Sacagawea from the dollar
coin. Replace it with a portrait of John F. Kennedy. The design of the
Kennedy dollar coin would have a new portrait. The reverse would remain
the same as the current Kennedy half.

We would then have MLK Halves and Kennedy Golden Dollars.

we need a law prohibiting the presence of any politician on us coins
or currency for at least 100 years after their death, and at least 50
years after the death of anyone esle we might choose to put on a coin
or note.