Coins...

Have you ever really thought about coins and bills? There has been some commercials on lately about the new "recyclable" $1 coin. I have some Susan B. Anthony $1 coins, and I have an Eisenhower dollar, and I even remember the failed attempt at the Sacagawea coin, so what is this new coin?

First, I started with the recyclable statement. Yes, they're recyclable: When removed from circulation, they will be melted and the metal will be reused to create new coins. They're also sustainable, with a life expectancy of 25 years. But so are the Susan B. Anthony and Sacagawea. Further research revealed they are considered "better" for the environment than the $1 bill. According to the Federal Reserve, the $1 bill changes hands for only 21 months before it becomes so tattered and dirty that it's removed from circulation and shredded. Most of the old bills end up in landfills.

So the logical question is to stop using the $1 bill and start using the coin, right?

Multiple Government Accountability Office (those awesome Government accountants) studies have concluded that Americans, green-minded or not, won't embrace the $1 coin until we get rid of the $1 bill. "Other countries, such as Australia, Canada, Japan and many European countries, have successfully introduced a similar denomination coin but only by phasing out the note of the same value,'' said a 2002 GAO report.

It really doesn't make a lot of sense unless you think in terms of savings. My conspiracy theory suggests that it's the government's way of getting American's to save money! Reduced money in the market, makes demand increase, making the value of the dollar increase. Simple economics... How much would this impact?

Well...a few years ago they introduced the state quarter program. The US Mint estimated in April 2006 that 140 million collectors had saved the US State Quarters. That's $.25 x 50 x 140 million, or almost 2 billion dollars in savings. Just think what 140 million collectors of 43 (42 presidents, but they are releasing 2 Cleveland coins since he had non-sequential terms) $1 dollar presidential coins would save. To help you with math, it's over 6 billion dollars. It's not a lot in the scheme of the entirement government, but it's something...

Interesting coin websites:
http://www.pennies.org/
http://www.usmint.gov/
http://www.coinfacts.com/