So I remember hearing a while back (2 years or so) of the govt trying to bring a $2 coin into circulation. Anyone heard anything on this recently?
I never heard of that and with the current problems with the dollar coins not being used, don't see much future in it.
I agree, our government is too incompetent to due the simple steps 40 other governments have taken over the years to get a dollar coin to circulate, so I doubt they would be any more successful with a $2 one.
Well the Canadians have their Loonies and Toonies... but in the U.S. there's just Looney Tunes, eh Doc?
They can also barely get people to use the two dollar note as well, people just hold onto them. I don't see anything like this going further than just talk. With vending machine prices going up though, one would think $1 coins would be more popular. I'd rather carry around 2 or 3 dollar coins than say, a pocket full of quarters or other loose change to use in vending machines. Oh well!
I agree, but don't feel sorry for the vending machine industry. They are the ones who sabotaged the SBA. Between them lobbying for a reeded round coin, and the cotton producers lobbying against the repeal of the dollar bill, the SBA coin, which should have been a huge success, was a total failure. Nothing has changed since, except the design of the dollar coin, (yet without repealing the $1 bill is still a failure. I just cannot fathom why we do not repeal $1 and $2 notes, issue coins instead, and be done with it. Save billions of dollars, people would be peeved for about 6 months and get over it. Our politicians have the spine of an amoeba, and treat us like little children. While they are at it, eliminate the cent, make the 5 cent piece identical to current cents and revalue all current cents to 5 cents. One fell swoop every money losing aspect of our coins and currency are solved.
Oh, don't get me wrong, I don't feel sorry for them one bit. I'd imagine most of them don't want to accept dollar coins because it would force them to upgrade older vending machines to accept them, making them lose money by keeping up with the times and upgrade costs even though the prices they ask for are ridiculous. We all know they get their candy and drinks from Costco or Sam's only to turn a 100% profit or close to it. I can buy a box of Snickers from Costco and it comes to about 45-50 cents per candy bar. Most vending machines I've come across now charge 95 cents to a $1, more in tourist attraction type areas.
Excellent idea! Canada has had very good luck with eleminating their $1 bill and using $1 and $2 coins.
The only reason the dollar coins aren't used is because the paper dollar is still produced. Eliminate the paper dollar and the dollar coin will then get used. Choices should be made available for everything except money. Otherwise, one of the two choices will never get used.
And then the little children promptly re-elect them. What does that say about our spines? How many 30+ year old vending machines do you see out there? And if they are older than that how likely is it that they haven't had their coin mechanism replaced in the past 30 years? If the machine or coin mechanism is less than 30 years old it can already accept the dollar coin, so there is no upgrade cost. That's 100% gross, less 7% for sales tax, less transportation costs traveling the machine route, less potentially business loan costs for the machines, less a percentage paid to the location owner for use of the space, less 15% self employment tax, less maintenance costs and vandalism costs, and potential loss of all the cash because someone broke into the machine.
I see one that appears to be from the 80's at my current employer, doesn't accept dollar coins. My last employer, I swear the coke machine they had in the vending area had to be 30+ years or older. You can tell they added the paper dollar currency to it but it still didn't accept dollar coins. From my interaction with them before, most of these guys know how to fix the existing coin mechanisms or replace with parts from their other machines not in use, most don't want to replace the whole coin mechanism thing outright to accept dollar coins. Not from my experience though. Most candy and soft drinks didn't start reaching the dollar until the past 10 or so years. Most add the paper coin mechanism, leaving the older one intact that accepts just quarters or lower. Makes sense most machines now should accept dollar coins, since the prices of goods in such machines are a dollar or more nowadays. True I didn't account for taxes but they're still making you pay a premium nonetheless. Not all are self employed independent vendors, that would be an assumption. The ones that take care of the machines at my current employer are handled by Accent, which to my knowledge a huge vending company. Also, my example of Costco/Sams Club costs is a poor comparison, I'm sure vendors that stock vending machines actually pay less from the amount of bulk products they buy compared to such member only retail outlets.
Initially I assumed this was a troll thread, but to address the coin... $2 coin won't happen. $2 bills are basically a novelty currency. Vending machines accept bills, and will eventually accept tap/flash passes on CC/DC, if they don't already.
Very true about electronic acceptance will grow. I believe half of this reason is Americans accepting electronic money more, but the other half is still due to the incompetence of our politicians, (and by default yes us Conder), of being unable to supply the marketplace with needed mediums of exchange. Almost all of our coins are worth less than the five cent pieces that were put into these machines when they were first invented.
Actually, I believe that once a dollar coin is the only alternative to a $1 method of change, then a $2 coin will make more sense than folks are willing to believe. I mean, for a 50 cent purchase with a five dollar bill, would you rather get 4 one dollar coins in change or 2 two dollar coins?
You are correct, but why not make all changes at once, like pulling off a bandaid quickly versus slowly? A $2 coin would have less purchasing power than a quarter did in the 50's. Why stop at just a $1 coin, when even today $1 will not buy you a snickers bar of a can of coke in most places? Do you really think inflation will get BETTER in the future? A $1 coin was a good idea in 1979 if they wouldn't have screwed it up, but its too late for that, today we need both a $1 and a $2 coin. I would be ok with getting back in change, (assuming you can ever buy anything for less than $1), two $2 coins. Most likely, even only buying a candy bar and a drink, the most you would ever get back in change for a $5 would be one $2 coin.
To the point of making the change quickly, I suggest we eliminate the $1, $2 and $5 paper notes and replace them with the current assortment of $1 coins and add a $2.5 coin rather than a $2 coin. There hasn't been any resistance to using quarters as the primary coin below the dollar bill. A $2.5 coin as the primary coin below the new lowest denomination paper note at $10 should be...comfortable. Eliminate the cent and nickel and the same 4 slots in the registers work. Then round all taxes to the nearest dime. The bill slots would then be capable of holding all existing currency, $10, $20, $50 and $100. If there were an outcry, then use $2 coins instead of $2.50.
Until legislation gets passed eliminating the one dollar bill, we have no idea what is being planned or what will be enacted. It's quite possible that a two dollar coin is in the works or will be included in the legislation. Who knows.
+1 I've not heard of any legislation for the $2 coin. The absence of smallest denomination notes and the use of €1 and €2 coins has been a success in Europe, and I support the adoption of the same here in the States. :thumb:
I'd like to see a $2 coin that complements the Sacagawea/Native American $1 coin and has a turkey on the reverse. We need a US circulating coin with a turkey on it.
