Could the One Dollar Coin Ever Gain Acceptance?
Most likely, you imagine a paper dollar if you think about a dollar. A dollar, like all paper money, fits in your pocket with other dollars without being cumbersome. What if we didn’t have paper currency? What if there was a one dollar coin instead of the paper dollar? How do you think people will like the one dollar coin? The public has not accepted it in the past. In truth, most people prefer paper money and view a one dollar coin as more of a collectible than something to spend.
The Silver Dollar
Although the one dollar coin is very attractive looking, this is perhaps its sole attractive feature. There have been various versions of the dollar coin in the past. There was the silver dollar, which has been around for a long time. Now coveted by coin collectors or melted down for their silver content, the silver dollar coin has become more rare. When you do find a silver one dollar coin, it’s almost as if you’ve found a treasure. You can either save it as part of your collection or you can spend it, as it is worth the same as your one dollar paper notes.
The Sacagawea Dollar
More recently, they have released a gold colored one dollar coin. This coin is called the Sacagawea dollar, named after the famous Native American woman printed on it. This one dollar coin quickly fizzled out, just like the silver dollar, and today it’s very rare to see one in circulation. The Sacagawea, too, is most likely in the hands of collectors. Most likely this coin failed to catch on for the same reason the silver dollar never became popular. It is too huge and does not even fold the way paper currency does. So, will the one dollar coin ever catch on? Maybe, but the government may be going about it the wrong way.
The Presidential Dollar
In 2005, President Bush signed the Presidential $1 Coin Act authorizing the United States Mint to strike $1 coins honoring America’s Presidents in the order in which they served. This coin is similar to the Sacagawea Dollar in size and color. These dollar coins began circulation in 2007 with the George Washington coin. The Presidential coins are seldom seen in circulation for many of the reasons that the Sacagawea Dollar wasn’t accepted by the general public.
Europeans Have It Right
In Europe, when they begin to circulate a coin, such as the one dollar coin, they will remove the paper currency so that people don’t have a choice. If the United States government wants people to use the one dollar coin, they are going to have to stop giving people a choice. People will want less cumbersome money, a dollar which they can fold, while leaving dollar coins to collectors.
