Getting the Public to Use Half Dollars and Dollars

"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.

If they seriously wanted to get ppl. to use dollar coins they would have to
get the makers of all machines that take change to accept dollar coins. Most
soft drink vending machines and car washes cost well over a dollar now so it
would make it more convienient and efficient to carry just a couple of coins
around instead of 2 bucks worth of quarters wearing a hole in your pocket.
Maybe just stop making quarters and replace them with a dollar coin exactly
the same size as a quarter--they could just up and say all quarters are
worth a dollar until they destroy most of them. No need to change all the
machines over that way and the confusion would only last for a few days.
Heck if they priced things so that when tax is included you end up with nice
round figures you wouldn't need all that extraneous coinage hogging up jars,
cans and piggy banks.
I saw a news cast where some landfill in NJ counted up change thrown away in
just one day--$8000.00!!
People would be less inclined to lose track of change when it's worth more.

A.E. Gelat wrote:



Bruce, you see my point, but you do not grasp it. 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 is the point. I believe many people will
do the same.

Tony


Actually, Tony, you seem to be in the minority with that opinion, at
least among those playing in this thread. Are you saying that, in a
world where the dollar bill has been discontinued, you would refuse the
dollar coin as it exists today in change and request quarters instead?
One dollar coin is more bulky than four quarters? Put 8 quarters in
one hand and 2 Sac's in the other. Which weighs more? I would also
doubt that you could consistantly pull out the Sac's among the quarters
in a pocketful of change without looking. Anyway, you're perfectly
welcome to use those coins you enjoy, without the heavy lifting.

Bruce

After reading all the input on this thread this evening, I sense that
many are
numismatic slanted, as if coinage is minted for collectors. Ninety
percent of the people do not care about numismatics, they just want a
useful a coin.

I think it goes beyond usefulness. The Susan B. Anthony dollar is a
useful coin, but the public rejected it because of its design.

From my own experience, the novelty for the Sac has worn off, and
people would use and accept them if they received them in their daily
transactions.

I would agree that the novelty has worn off for most people, but there
are still plenty of people who think it's a special coin.

This past weekend, I paid for a pizza at Pizza Hut using a combination
of paper money and Sac dollars. It was a little experiment on my part
because I wanted to see which drawer of the register the clerk would use
for the Sacagawea dollars.

Well, the cashier put the paper money in the traditional trays, but I
watched him "palm" the two Sacs I had given him. He closed the register
and kept his hand tightly closed around the Sacs.

I don't know if I'd keep Kennedy going on some other denomination. 50
years is long enough for him.

I think there would be a huge outcry if Kennedy is removed from U.S.
coinage. The American public has a fascination with the Kennedy family.
They are almost like America's version of a royal family.

Even the new governor of California, a Republican, was sworn into office
using a 192-year Kennedy family Bible.

If a coin is eliminated, why would it be minted for collectors only?
I thought coins were for payment, then for collecting. If it does not
circulate, (like the 50-cent) then why mint it for collectors?

Hasn't the U.S Mint minted Kennedy halves and Sac dollars only for
collectors for the last two or so years?

I think just about all of the circulating Sacs are from the great
Wal-Mart rush of 2000...

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.

A nickel sized dollar coin in the U.S. would be rejected by the public
faster than you can say "Susan B. Anthony!"

"Ami ." wrote:

After reading all the input on this thread this evening, I sense that
many are
numismatic slanted, as if coinage is minted for collectors. Ninety
percent of the people do not care about numismatics, they just want a
useful a coin.

I think it goes beyond usefulness. The Susan B. Anthony dollar is a
useful coin, but the public rejected it because of its design.

Why does everyone put the blame on 'the public' for the SBA's rejection?

This past week I had an interesting conversation with two (unsupervised)
tellers at a drive-thru bank branch. I used the walk-up door and got
ten rolls of nickels and ten rolls of cents. They've seen a lot of me
over the past six months because it's in the low-income side of town.
I've gotten better percentages of wheat cents and older nickels there.
;-)

So have you heard about the new $20 not being accepted by U-Scan?
"Yes. It figures. They spend so much money changing these designs all
the time and then no one is ready to keep up."
Well, they claim it reduces counterfeiting.
"But people are already counterfeiting them!"
And being caught, so it must work!
"Yeah."
It just seems a shame that the gov. spends millions of dollars
marketing the new $20, NFL placements, etc, and then U-Scan isn't ready
for it. Like the millions they spent on the Golden Dollar.
(Second teller whirls to face us and chimes in)
"I hate those."
Pardon me?
"Yes, we both do."
You know, I've never understood why they kept both the $1 bill and the
coin. I hate trying to flatten a bill out for the vending machine.
"The coin is worse. It's the same size as a quarter."
"Yes, I'd like them to get rid of all coins. Coins are a pain to deal
with and I don't like handling them."
Well the brass buck was supposed to be an improvement over the SBA,
less easily mistaken.
"They are both awful. The SBA was worse, but they are both awful. They
are the same size as a quarter. I make mistakes with them all the time.
We don't give them out. We don't want any back. I always mistake them
for quarters."
((Bear in mind what these two ladies do for a living and read this!!))
Well, some people think that in 15 years we will have a cashless
society, everyone will use a card.
"Ha! I WISH! It should already have happened!"
You would not worry about the balances being correctly transferred to one?
"The only thing I hate is when you have one of those gift cards and the
store tries to tell you that there is no balance on it and you know
there is."
"Yes, I hassled over $10 at the movie theatre because they didn't want
to take the gift card. I just got it and they tried to tell me it was empty."
Well, you guys take care.
"Sure. Bring that cute little boy of yours next time."

I was just floored by the absolute negativity they expressed over any
dollar coin. I didn't even try to talk to them about the 2004 nickel.
;-) They have jobs turning instruments into cash, bills and coins, but
look forward to a cashless society, then tell me what a pain 'cash
cards' are for them as consumers.

I just don't get it, I guess.

Alan
'has a 1942-D that was mistaken for a quarter, too'

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

But nickels are bigger than dimes, and no one is confused by that size
difference. Everyone knows that a nickel is 5 cents and a dime is 10
cents.

Why would someone not understand that a dollar coin is 100 cents and a
half dollar coin is 50 cents despite the fact that the half is the
bigger coin?

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.

My bank trades rolls of dollar coins for face value, 25 coins for 25
paper dollars. They mix the rolls so you sometimes get 19 Sacs with 2000
dates and 6 Susan B. Anthony dollars with 1979 dates in one roll.