We have a tradition in this
country of doing some dumb things. Naturally,
our government, which represents us, is one
of the chief offenders. Take for example the
case of the dollar. In its wisdom, the government,
more specifically the Treasury Department
that acts as a result of laws passed by Congress,
decided in 1971 to order the Mint to design
and issue the Eisenhower dollar coins. These
coins, which were made for collectors in proof
and mint condition in 40% silver, were a copper-nickel
clad composition for circulation. Other than
Los Vegas and Atlantic City, where they were
used for slot machines, they did not circulate.
Most people outside of numismatics think they
are rarities because they have not seen them.
The Eisenhower coins lasted until 1978 when
they were replaced by an even worse idea,
the Susan B. Anthony dollar. Now, don't get
me wrong. I like S.B.A. as much as the next
guy or gal, but to make a coin the size of
a quarter with the value of a dollar made
no sense. Of course they didn't circulate;
they only caused confusion. They were used
in the vending machine industry and for some
toll roads. The 1979 and 1980 mintages were
enough to last until 1999. Then, when the
supply was depleted, even more were made.
So three years worth of regular circulation
coins lasted for over twenty years. At this
point someone should have realized that dollar
coins were a mistake.
What was the
government's answer? Let's make Sacagawea
dollars instead. So, from 2000 on, millions
of golden colored Sacagawea dollars were and
are being minted. To make matters worse, our
government, in its wisdom, decided to mint
the Presidential dollar series. Now, please
don't get me wrong, I don't have anything
against dead presidents or Native Americans,
but let's be real. These coins do not circulate.
To make matters even worse, for every four
dead presidents, one Sacagawea must be minted.
Political correctness sometimes gets in the
way of good sense. Oh, yes, I read that in
South America the Sacagaweas are popular especially
in Ecuador or is it Colombia? And I also read
that over a billion dollar coins, both presidential
and Sacagaweas are in storage. Why? Because
they don't circulate.
So, what is
the answer? It's obvious. Stop making them!
I know there was a law passed, but it can
be changed. We can mint enough for collectors
without bothering the general public. After
all, what happened in 1981? SBA's were issued
only in mint and proof sets. Well if that's
not enough of an answer, and you want to really
change things so people will use the stored
dollar coins, stop printing dollar bills and
make more two-dollar bills. Make the nice
ones with the signing of the Declaration of
Independence on it. What will happen then?
People will carry a few dollar coins in their
pockets and some two-dollar bills in their
wallets. The dollar coins, presidents, Sacagaweas,
SBA's, and even the old Ikes will circulate.
And over a billion dollars will get out of
storage and into the markets where it belongs.
By the way, a dollar bill has a life expectancy
of about one year in circulation. A dollar
coin is expected to last for thirty years.
This is a good change, and one that needs
to be made. So what will happen? Probably
nothing. As I said earlier, we have a tradition
of being dumb.
By the way, a dollar bill has
a life expectancy of about one year in circulation.
A dollar coin is expected to last for thirty
years. This is a good change, and one that
needs to be made. So what will happen? Probably
nothing. As I said earlier, we have a tradition
of being dumb.
