coins replacing paoer

Something I read in one of the posts,because of my advanced age I can't remember which one, started me thinking about the success of Canada replacing low denomination paper money with coins.Although there was some initial resistance we have now reached the stage where if you present an old $1.00 bill to a cashier in their teens or early twenties they won't know what to do with it because they have never seen a circulating paper dollar and in most cases aren't even aware that they ever existed.

When you consider the difference in life span between a coin and a paper bill the wole thing seems like a really good idea.

As a little aside, the Canadian circulating one dollar coin was originally intended to feature the old design of the voyageur and his native guide in a canoe found on most silver dollars since its introduction in 1935.The problem was that the dies were lost in transit from Ottawa to the mint in Winnipeg where most circulating coins are struck. As a security measure the mint went to the back up design featuring the swimming Loon.Thus the common name for the coin "loonie".The loonie was introduced in 1986 followed 10 years later by a 2 dollar coin featuring polar bears. It was hard to turn polar bear into something so the coin became known as the "toonie". I have heard rumours of a 5 dollar coin but nothing definite.

As I've said before I'm sure most exprienced collectors are aware of all this but it may be of some interest to casual collectors.

Bill

 

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Sorry I had a little lapse there. The Loon dollar was introduced in 1987

 

Yes, I agree that coins are a better idea. Of course, when inflation is the rule politicians like the convenience of paper money which can be printed to reflect declining values.

I like the idea of going back to solid coin based money. Fiat money is what caused the great depression. No inflation is possible when money is precious metal coin. The worst politicians can do is to debase the metals, for which markets can adjust.

 

Well the US considers removing the $1 bill each year, and each year it fails. One thing about the democracy in this country, people get to decide on what they want. Now I know that cmbdii will have ample to say on this subject, but the fact remains the same. Average people do not wish to carry coins when they can carry paper. As early as the Morgan dollar series, these large silver coins were not well used. People used the smaller denominations as they were easier to carry. Just picture carrying 20 ounces of coin around in your pocket. Would be a bit much.

 

Our own silver dollars were meant to be circulating coins, but just like yours, were seldom used that way.Now that small denomination paper is no longer in ciculation carrying 2 or 3 coins instead of 2 or 3 peices of paper is not seen as a problem. As I said most young people are not even aware that one dollar bills ever existed. I guess it's just what you are used to.

Bill

 

Well I for one would love to see a dollar coin that would circulate. But people are people. It is a given in this country to jump to extremes. When the suggestion of eliminating the $1 bill comes up, everyone claims they will be carrying around 20 or 30 coins. Everyone knows better, but this is the logic used. Americans are used to excess. As a whole, we are spoiled people. If we were to follow suit, and just eliminate the dollar bill, people would adjust just fine. If you read the early articles on the small cent, many people complained. Most were the same people who complained about how large the cent was to begin with. It is just easier to complain than anything else.

 

You make a good point. Realistically if the 2 dolar bill still circulates the most you would have to crry would be one coin.I seem to recall though that there is some kind of superstition or stigma attached to the $2 bill.It was the same here when they circulated, the only time I saw a lot of $2's was when I worked at the race track.

 

Our $2 bill is a scarse in circulation as the half dollar coin. Most young people have never seen one. As part of our coins in classroom, we take modern items such as these to show the kids. I don't know why these two items don't get the recognition they deserve. The half dollar was a highly popular coin at one time. The two dollar note circulated widely also for some time, and then just disappeared. Now I have heard that the BEP will give our two dollar note a face lift, but cannot confirm that. It would be nice.

 

As recently as when I was a college freshman between WWII and Korea everyone carried a four-bit piece or three. Seems like they started disappearing around the time the Franklins were replaced by Kennedys, just before all circulating silver disappeared.

 

Our form of government is not democracy. There is no referendum, only elections every two years. The Constitution doesn't mention the word "democracy" anywhere.

When we had gold coins, nobody had to carry around 20 ounces of metal unless they wanted to. There were banks on which checks could be drawn, just as there are today. There were bearer bonds issued privately as well as federally issued gold certificates.

What you get with precious metal coinage is stability. When gold coin was the basis of our economy, prices remained stable for so long that advertisements painted on the sides of buildings would have prices posted which would remain in effect for decades.

You can have both paper money and precious metal coinage, as we had for a long time. As long as the paper is redeemable in gold and silver coin, it's stable currency. When it's backed by nothing, politicians can rob the citizens of our wealth by simply printing themselves more money to waste, which they do every year.

Precious metal coinage is portable property. It's the ultimate bearer instrument because it belongs, not to any government or cartle of private banks like the fed, but to the bearer. It's for taking your wealth with you when you cross a border. That wealth is in a form which is liquid, and doesn't have to be exchanged as paper money does.

 

Collect coins, spend paper (but sometimes collect a note or two). And (starting a sentence with and), my 7 year old daughter had never seen a 2 dollar bill until i showed her one. She wanted to spend it. I told her that i was keeping it with the four dollar bill, she believed me. BTW, she spends her Sacs too.

 

American

Loonies & Twonies would be a great idea.
I mean, where else but Canada can you go out and have a good time with only a few coins in ones pocket?

 

When I travel to Canada, I always thought the loonies and $2 bills were quite handy -- beats carrying tons of ones all the time (getting up to 4 ones for change seems wasteful). When the Sac dollar came out, I was hopeful --- but it did not fare much better than the SBA dollar. The Sac dollar is doomed to fail unless the $1 bills are eliminated, like in Canada. It would also help if the metal on the Sac dollars did not turn a dingy brown/black color after only a few weeks! The loonies seem to hold their color better.....

 

Hi rbm86,
Welcome to COINTALK.

 

I make a point of getting Sacs when I go to the bank. I still get a little kick out of spending them. I find they circulate somewhat in NYC, especially at the Port Authority Bus Terminal. The coffee shops and news stands often give them as change.

I think a two dollar coin would be great. Five dollar coin even better!

As far as the two dollar note, god only knows why folks don't circulate it? Why the two? Why not the five? Who makes these rules?

 

Hi DrStrangelove,
I couldn't agree with you more.
I wish all those issues would circulate, especially the $2 note.
I, like many others, believe that the fact that there is no slot for them in a cash register machine, is the main reason.
If you give one to a clerk, they have to lift up the tray, and put it underneath.
I don't think it has so much to do with the theory that the public wouldn't use them, if given the oportunity, it's just that they are never given to us to use.

 

this is a great topic

a couple of years ago, I bought a snowcone from a Niagra Falls (Canadian side) vendor. When I payed with a canadian paper money bill the two guys looked at each other and began to laugh.

 

It's funny, some people are like allergic to anything new. When I showed my mother the new gold dollar a few years ago, she showed no interest in it. I gave her a roll of 25. She gave it back to me a few days later saying "Here you take these, they are too heavy for my purse."

Only very recently, when I told her that NYC's parking meters take gold dollars, her face lit up, "Really?" She now keeps them in the car. (I still have to get them from the bank for her, though.)

I think it's up to people like us to help spread new (and old!) ideas about coins and currency.

 

Exactly so, that's why i'm going to have a bash at circulating a £5 coin... legal tender but will anyone take one

Well it's got to be worth a try.