DPChallenge: A Digital Photography Contest You are not logged in. (log in or register
 

DPChallenge Forums >> General Discussion >> US Dollar coins
Pages:  
Showing posts 1 - 25 of 54, (reverse)
AuthorThread
04/10/2008 08:47:23 PM · #1
One of the teachers here is showing some American coins to her class. She has three or four $1 coins of various sizes and colours.
According to wikipedia, the dollar coin is still not so popularly used in America, though it is produced. (I guess if they phased out the dollar it would be different ;-)
So, my question to you in the US - how often do you use dollar coins?
04/10/2008 08:50:51 PM · #2
Very, very rarely. The only time I get dollar coins is when I buy train/subway tickets. They are a pain to pay with and I usually end up leaving them as a tip at a restaurant because for regular purchases they are just inconvenient, and even sometimes considered obnoxious.

Lee
04/10/2008 08:51:29 PM · #3
Never. Too easy to mistake it for a quarter.

04/10/2008 08:51:40 PM · #4
The only thing I've ever done with either Susan B. Anthony dollar coins or Sacajawea dollar coins is to put a few of them in the jewelry box and save 'em for later. Why? I have no idea. Maybe they'll mean something more to my kids someday.
04/10/2008 08:51:45 PM · #5
I never use them. They are just about the same size as the American quarter, so you can easily make a mistake. I'd rather have a $20 dollar bill than 20 dollar coins to carry around also. They are more popular with collectors.
04/10/2008 08:56:35 PM · #6
In Australia our smallest note is the $5.00. We have $1 and $2 coins. Didn't like it at first but you get used to them. Our smallest coin is a 5cent piece

So do you still have $1.00 notes?

Message edited by author 2008-04-10 20:56:53.
04/10/2008 09:00:35 PM · #7
We still have $1 notes and the dollar coins are hard to come by. You usually need to get the dollar coins from the bank or Post office, very few places give them as change. I would like to see the US currancy more like that of the Euro, seemed much more intuitive when I was in Ireland than our currancy system.
04/10/2008 09:00:38 PM · #8
...We have Dollar coins in the U.S. ?

Hope that answers your questions.
04/10/2008 09:01:21 PM · #9
Originally posted by knowvak:

...We have Dollar coins in the U.S. ?

Hope that answers your questions.


lol, pretty much sums it up.
04/10/2008 09:17:13 PM · #10
Use them a lot in the new electronic ticket printing parking meters. Easier keeping 4 coins in my pocket than 16 quarters. Try to keep the Susan B. Anthony coins. The three golden colored ones (make that 4 now), they're all the same size. The giant dollar coins are no longer minted. There's the 50c Kennedy half-dollar that you can get in a proof set though.

Message edited by author 2008-04-10 21:25:22.
04/10/2008 09:18:03 PM · #11
I love them! We own a coffee shop and I always trade out my personal cash for any dollar coins that show up in the retail cash drawer.

As far as why???? I was in the Navy for 12 years and I think using dollar coins reminds me of being in Europe. I loved all of the various coins from different countries. I still have several large jars of 1980's European coins.

JD
04/10/2008 09:19:11 PM · #12
When I went to NC, there where literally millions of 2 dollar bills everywhere. Then I came back to AZ and people kept checking them out to see if it was real money or not.
04/10/2008 09:20:48 PM · #13
Dollar coins are a novelty item. They have no purpose except for 'collectors.'
04/10/2008 09:31:00 PM · #14
Here in New England the coins are becoming more common especially as change from vending machines that take larger bills like $5, $10 & $20
04/10/2008 09:32:56 PM · #15
If they came my way in normal quantities, I would use them. If the U.S. treasury wants them to replace dollar bills, then they will have to do like the U.K. did when they brought out the £1 coin, and just get rid of the paper version.
04/10/2008 09:35:13 PM · #16
Originally posted by dwterry:

Never. Too easy to mistake it for a quarter.


Huh? I agree if you're talking about the older Susan B. Anthony dollars, but not the new ones! With the smooth edge the new golden dollar coins feel quite different from a quarter, even if you're in a dark room and can't see the golden color.

I use them quite frequently. All the vending machines at my office take them (many others do as well, I've found), and our change machine will dispense them if used to break a $5 or $10 bill -- something I do pretty regularly. I therefore use them often in my normal course of business, so I've become quite accustomed to handling them. They're common enough that most cashiers don't bat an eye when receiving them. That said, they are by no means the "default" dollar used anywhere. They're often dispensed as change from post office/subway/train station vending machines, but human cashiers and bank tellers will typically give you paper dollars unless you ask otherwise. That said, it does happen, and I've even been known to give them as change myself at my part-time job.

~Terry
04/10/2008 09:37:29 PM · #17
i agree that the US should phase out the paper dollar/2 dollar and use coins...
using the coins after being them in Canada was so much easier
04/10/2008 09:39:16 PM · #18
we use $1 and $2 coins alot here. I never knew America even had $1 coins
04/10/2008 09:46:23 PM · #19
timfythetoo's alter ego 'The Tooth Fairy' leaves them for my kids....
04/10/2008 09:50:24 PM · #20
Originally posted by Tranquil:

Very, very rarely. The only time I get dollar coins is when I buy train/subway tickets. ...


yep
04/10/2008 09:56:23 PM · #21
Originally posted by Pug-H:

One of the teachers here is showing some American coins to her class. She has three or four $1 coins of various sizes and colours.
According to wikipedia, the dollar coin is still not so popularly used in America, though it is produced. (I guess if they phased out the dollar it would be different ;-)
So, my question to you in the US - how often do you use dollar coins?


They're great for playing the slots in Vegas!
04/10/2008 09:58:42 PM · #22
Yes the US does have in circulation One-Dollar coins. The last two $1 coins to be minted for circulation were the Susan B. Anthony and Sacajawea respectively. The US Mint does produce commutative $1 coins but do not put them in circulation, they are mostly targeted as a means of review from collectors. I don't know why the US will not go to the $1 coin because it cost less money to produce over time than the $1 bill.

It cost the mint 8 cents to produce a $1 coin compared to 3.8 cents to produce a $1 bill. However a coin life span is estimated to be 25 years while the $1 bill needing to be replace every year on the average. To me it makes more cents sense to produce the coin.

I think the Susan B. Anthony dollar coin was one of the biggest blunders the US Treasury ever made when it comes to designing a coin. It's size being so close to the quarter made it very confusing to people and vending machines. Since I have mentioned vending machines, I watch a program on the Discovery channel about how much it would cost vender's if the US did a way with the $bill and went with coins. So I suspect that is one of the reasons the transition from paper to coins has not came about.

ETA: But my personal opinion is that the US is not concerned with making any significant changes between the bill and the coin. I feel that all paper money and coins will be going away shortly, even checks. Debit cards will be taking there place. Already most places will not take a bill larger than the $20 bill. So most of the time (everyday purchases) your already limited to the $1, $5, $10, and $20 bill; $50 and $100 - most businesses don't want to take.


Message edited by author 2008-04-10 22:05:47.
04/10/2008 10:00:38 PM · #23
Originally posted by L1:

The only thing I've ever done with either Susan B. Anthony dollar coins or Sacajawea dollar coins is to put a few of them in the jewelry box and save 'em for later. Why? I have no idea. Maybe they'll mean something more to my kids someday.


It's better for you to spend them. It's better for the Central Bank/US Govt. if you keep them (seignorage).
04/10/2008 10:13:26 PM · #24
As previously stated, it seems that you will most often see or use the dollar coins in vending machines, such as the subway, buying stamps etc. at the post office, and so forth. When I used to work as a teller at the bank, the only time people specifically requested the dollar coins, was when a new presidential dollar coin was released (so basically the collectors). I personally don't ever use them, but can see how they could be very convienent for people who used vending machines a lot (it is a huge pain in the you know what trying to get a vending machine to take your crumpley (if that is a word) old dollar bill). I know from working at the bank that they would someday like to phase out the one dollar bill and replace it with the coin, as well as completely phase out the penny. Whether or not that will ever happen is another story. =)
04/10/2008 10:24:00 PM · #25
Originally posted by Pug-H:


So, my question to you in the US - how often do you use dollar coins?


Never. The first ones to come out that were gold colored came out in the
'80s. They had a slight octogon shape, but otherwise were just about the size of a quarter. I tried to use 2 of them to pay for a breakfast biscuit and drink, costing 1.80 back then. The cashier simply refused to take them. Initially she said; "That'll be more than .50 cents". I persisted and finally the manager showed up and saw they were dollar coins and were legal tender, but still refused to take them as payment. IMO they are a waste of time and money because they'll never be used in general circulation. The Sacajawea dollar coins that came out about 10-15 years ago are made so poorly that they lose all of their gold color in just a few weeks of circulation. The Susan B Anthony dollars like I tried to use held up much better. The US mint would be better served trying to find a replacement for our penny, or.... eliminate them entirely. Metalic dollars in the US are ridiculous.
Pages:  
Current Server Time: 03/28/2024 11:04:29 AM

Please log in or register to post to the forums.


Home - Challenges - Community - League - Photos - Cameras - Lenses - Learn - Prints! - Help - Terms of Use - Privacy - Top ^
DPChallenge, and website content and design, Copyright © 2001-2024 Challenging Technologies, LLC.
All digital photo copyrights belong to the photographers and may not be used without permission.
Current Server Time: 03/28/2024 11:04:29 AM EDT.