Getting the Public to Use Half Dollars and Dollars

Using halves will confuse people since they are bigger than dollar coins.

Dump the half. Use only dollar coins and quarters.

-Fred Shecter


"DyzeeGF3" wrote in message . net...
"Bob Peterson" wrote in message
...
how about we just eliminate the half altogether since it is almost totally
unused in commerce except by some casinos.



I'm in the middle of drafting a proposition to eliminate all coin
denominations less than a quarter at the movie theatre I work at. This
would entail altering the prices such that the final price with tax rounds
to a multiple of a quarter. Included in the draft would be a suggestion for
using a half dollar in all registers as a denomination of regular
transactions requiring exactly 50 cents in change.

I will post the draft once I have finished revising it, and ask for input
before I present it. I should have the draft posted within a week or two.

Eric

On Mon, "A.E. Gelat" wrote:

If a coin is eliminated, why would it be minted for collectors only? I
thought coins were for payment, then for collecting.

Who started the rumor that coins were for "payment"?
There are no "rules", coins are primarily for making change
for larger denominations, then when vending machines came
out, coins gained utility.
Numismatics is the study of all uses of money, and making
money more useful and making it last longer.
But numismatic issues may not affect the use of certain
denominations, if merchants do not request coins the Federal
Reserve Bank has to just let them lay in storage.

If it does not
circulate, (like the 50-cent) then why mint it for collectors?
Tony

The mint originally minted coins essentially for free,
sometimes exchanging raw metal for about the same value
struck coins, and sometimes would strike coins on metal
provided.
Then in post-WWII, congress mandated a lot of the
government departments should make every effort to
show a profit if possible, that is when fees at federal parks
and the US Patent and Trademark Office, the Mint, and
other departments were raised enough to at least break even,

Patent application fees were $65 before about 1980,
now they are $700 or more just for the application, and
then there are claims fees, issue fees, maintenance fees,
in addition to attorney fees.
The Mint then began making jewelry and raised
prices on proof sets and began offering even circulation
coins at a premium.

The BEP does not make a profit on US Currency,
but it may make money printing for other countries.
The Federal Reserve Bank turns over all the
excess revenue to the Treasury every year.

So the mint can produce just about anything it
can sell, as long as it shows a "profit".
This is good as long as it doesn't impact coin
dealers and jewelers in a major way, but socialist
influence may try to increase the "profit".

Government is not supposed to be in competition
with private enterprise, but some departments (mint)
seem to me to be in direct competition with coin dealers.

And this is part of what the talk about the SAC and
the cent is about, the government not losing money or
even making a profit.

A great deal of money is made by printing money,
but it doesn't show up directly on the books, it is lumped
in with the excess revenue of the Federal Reserve Bank.
The FRB pays the BEP exactly what it costs to print
money, but the FRB has to pay the mint face value for
coins. This gives mint management and supporters
in and out of government an incentive to find ways
for the mint to make more "profit".
But how much is enough? And who pays that
"profit" to the mint? The answer is easy, the public
always pays, and pays, and pays.

There is very little for anyone to complain about,
the views expressed here in favor of stopping cent or
paper dollar production are in the great minority, the
public pays for any losses by the government, and pays
for any profit by the government.

So talk of changing a working money system that is
doing everything it was designed to do is futile, congress
isn't going to do anything without good reason, and there
is no reason to stop printing dollar bills, and no reason
to pass rounding legislation, and no reason to stop
production of the cent, at this time.

If the time comes that there is a reason to take any
action, the congress will take whatever action is needed.

Joe Fischer

On Mon, "A.E. Gelat" wrote:

Most people arguing against a dollar coin keep mentioning the size.
I say that if the paper diollar is to dropped, it MUST be replaced by a
coin the size of a nickel, with a milled edge, and preferably golden in
color. That is the only way to make people use it.
Tony

Hey, nobody is arguing against a dollar coin, the coin
is needed, it was produced in 1999 and changed in 2000, and
plenty are available to the toll box and vending industry,
and any other entity that has a legitimate need for them
in quantity.

I can get all I want by just buying one stamp with
a $20 bill, and so can anybody else.

There is _NO_ need for the general public to be
able to get dollar coins, if there was a need the public
would be asking banks to stock them.

Everything is ok, there are more than enough
dollar coins, and if the FRB runs out, the mint will
strike more.

Joe Fischer

On Mon, "DyzeeGF3" wrote:

I disagree. I still don't understand why our money does not follow size
order according to denomination. Shouldn't the penny be the smallest coin,
and the dime larger than the nickel?

Oh, sure, if they all were made of an alloy that is
mostly copper. Whoops.

Joe Fischer

Denominations above $100 were last produced in 1945; however, it wasn't
until 1969 that the Treasury Department directed the Fed Res Banks to
cull'em outa circulation.

Jay in Garrison, TX
reply, if ya' wanna, to


snipped alot

On 17 Nov 2003 14:09:28 GMT, haw (Jerry Dennis)
wrote:

I, again, offer that all of us should keep a roll or two of Sacs in our cars
for situations as I've just described. When banks are closed we could be their
only salvation,

I would be happy to do just that ... except that I can't find any for
face value.

"Fred Shecter" wrote in message
om...
No.

The GD works in vending machines and the half does not. Any change to
the size or material
of the dollar will cause problems and lead to all of the people who
have finally learned
to use dollar coins in machines abandoning them.

Halves are a pain. They do indeed only weigh exactly what two quarters
would weigh, but
they do not work in machines. They will also take up the slot in the
cash register that
the dollar coin should occupy.

If you want people to use dollar coins, there are two ways to get it
to happen:

1) Get the government to stop printing rag-dollars.

2) If you can't wait for #1, then make all of your purchases with
dollar coins. ALL. buy
them by the box and spend them singly or in rolls. Hell, ask stores if
they need "ones"
and buy a $100 bill from under the cash register drawer. I have a few
cashiers who ask me

most store managers would fire any cashier that bought $1 coins in the
manner you are suggesting. as well they should.

for them since they know I have change and they always need change
(and they have overcome
'fear' of dollar coins).

-Fred Shecter


(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."

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.

Yeah Fred, I sometimes get people saying "Oh, are these dollars?" when I spend
halves, and I have to say "No. No. Those are half dollars" I too, think it
might be confusing to some people if we started to circulate halves. At least
for a while. The size does make it seem like they are dollars.

Tom

"Joe Fischer" wrote in message
...
On Mon, "A.E. Gelat" wrote:

If a coin is eliminated, why would it be minted for collectors only? I
thought coins were for payment, then for collecting.

Who started the rumor that coins were for "payment"?
There are no "rules", coins are primarily for making change
for larger denominations, then when vending machines came
out, coins gained utility.
Numismatics is the study of all uses of money, and making
money more useful and making it last longer.
But numismatic issues may not affect the use of certain
denominations, if merchants do not request coins the Federal
Reserve Bank has to just let them lay in storage.

If it does not
circulate, (like the 50-cent) then why mint it for collectors?
Tony

The mint originally minted coins essentially for free,
sometimes exchanging raw metal for about the same value
struck coins, and sometimes would strike coins on metal
provided.
Then in post-WWII, congress mandated a lot of the
government departments should make every effort to
show a profit if possible, that is when fees at federal parks
and the US Patent and Trademark Office, the Mint, and
other departments were raised enough to at least break even,

Patent application fees were $65 before about 1980,
now they are $700 or more just for the application, and
then there are claims fees, issue fees, maintenance fees,
in addition to attorney fees.
The Mint then began making jewelry and raised
prices on proof sets and began offering even circulation
coins at a premium.

The BEP does not make a profit on US Currency,
but it may make money printing for other countries.
The Federal Reserve Bank turns over all the
excess revenue to the Treasury every year.

So the mint can produce just about anything it
can sell, as long as it shows a "profit".
This is good as long as it doesn't impact coin
dealers and jewelers in a major way, but socialist
influence may try to increase the "profit".

Government is not supposed to be in competition
with private enterprise, but some departments (mint)
seem to me to be in direct competition with coin dealers.

And this is part of what the talk about the SAC and
the cent is about, the government not losing money or
even making a profit.

A great deal of money is made by printing money,
but it doesn't show up directly on the books, it is lumped
in with the excess revenue of the Federal Reserve Bank.
The FRB pays the BEP exactly what it costs to print
money, but the FRB has to pay the mint face value for
coins. This gives mint management and supporters
in and out of government an incentive to find ways
for the mint to make more "profit".
But how much is enough? And who pays that
"profit" to the mint? The answer is easy, the public
always pays, and pays, and pays.

There is very little for anyone to complain about,
the views expressed here in favor of stopping cent or
paper dollar production are in the great minority, the
public pays for any losses by the government, and pays
for any profit by the government.

So talk of changing a working money system that is
doing everything it was designed to do is futile, congress
isn't going to do anything without good reason, and there
is no reason to stop printing dollar bills, and no reason
to pass rounding legislation, and no reason to stop
production of the cent, at this time.


Excuse me if the details are not exact, but I remember that
a dollar bill lasts only 18 months, but a coin can last for thirty
or more years. That is reason enough to drop the dollar bill,
or even the two-dollar bill.

Tony


If the time comes that there is a reason to take any
action, the congress will take whatever action is needed.

Joe Fischer

"Joe Fischer" wrote in message
...
On Mon, "A.E. Gelat" wrote:

Most people arguing against a dollar coin keep mentioning the size.
I say that if the paper diollar is to dropped, it MUST be replaced by a
coin the size of a nickel, with a milled edge, and preferably golden in
color. That is the only way to make people use it.
Tony

Hey, nobody is arguing against a dollar coin, the coin
is needed, it was produced in 1999 and changed in 2000, and
plenty are available to the toll box and vending industry,
and any other entity that has a legitimate need for them
in quantity.

Joe, the problem is not aavailability, it is the weight. People do
not want to carry a heavy dillar coin, but a nickel-sized ne will
be handier.

Tiny

I can get all I want by just buying one stamp with
a $20 bill, and so can anybody else.

There is _NO_ need for the general public to be
able to get dollar coins, if there was a need the public
would be asking banks to stock them.

Everything is ok, there are more than enough
dollar coins, and if the FRB runs out, the mint will
strike more.

Joe Fischer