Yet another bill has been introduced in Congress seeking to address issues related to $1 coins. This is the seventh such bill that has been introduced in less than a three month time span.
The first five bills sought to abolish the Presidential $1 Coin program or limit the production of $1 coins through various methods. (See previous coverage of the bills here and here.) The sixth bill instead sought to improve the circulation of $1 coins with the purpose of fully transitioning from $1 bills to $1 coins. (See the previous article here.)
The seventh bill was introduced on September 23, 2011 by Sen. Scott Brown and Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts. The bill S. 1624 The Currency Efficiency Act of 2011 once again views the problem as the continued production of $1 coins rather than $1 bills. However, it should be noted that the two Senators who introduced the bill are from Massachusetts, where Crane & Co. is located. This company is the sole manufacturer of the cotton-based paper products used in the production of U.S. currency.
On the other hand, the Representative who introduced the bill seeking to transition from $1 bills to $1 coins hails from Arizona. The state is responsible for about 60% domestic copper mining production. The composition of the current $1 coins is 88.5% copper.
Specifically, S. 1624 would suspend the production of Presidential $1 coins during any period which the Secretary of the Treasury determines that the surplus supply exceeds the reasonable circulation needs for one year. Additionally, there would be a specific restriction on the overproduction of $1 coins, which could not be minted or issued during any period when the number of $1 coins issued by not in circulation is more than 10 percent of the number of $1 coins in circulation. The bill provides that the issuance of the First Spouse Gold Coins would not be affected by changes in the issuance of Presidential $1 Coins.
Two final provisions of the bill remove the requirement for Federal Reserve Banks to make unmixed quantities of newly issued Presidential $1 coins available during an introductory period, and require the Federal Reserve System to determine an appropriate inventory level for $1 coins and adjust inventories to this level though methods which minimize storage expenditures.
This is ridiculous. Instead of looking for something that is cheaper in the long run, politicians try to opt for something that makes them money personally. I can’t wait until the coins replace the bills. Maybe cnn or someone like that should run a story on how good the coins are for saving money maybe then people would get on board. I have never had a problem with spending them or anyone taking them. This is just politicians trying to keep getting paid by lobbyists.
The dollar coin should last for decades. The paper dollar has a very short life. It would make financial sense to do away with the paper dollar. So our government will do the opposite of something economical.
Amen Sean! I couldn’t have said it better myself. It’s time to ditch the dollar bill and start using dollar coins. Dollar bills should be taken out of circulation by force if necessary. 🙂
Good post Michael, and thanks for bringing attention to the practices of Crane & Co. I see the passing of Senator Kennedy has not weakened their ability to lobby Congress, unfortunately. I am sure that this bill was introduced to counter the recent bill from Arizona suggesting an end to the $1 bill.
I do think it’s worth noting that S. 1624 seems to be more “refined” than some of the other anti-$1 coin bill, given that it provisions for the continuation of the First Spouse program and the limited production of $1 coins, probably for collectors. It strikes me perhaps that we’re getting closer to having one of these bills taken up and actioned by Congress.
We’ll just have to wait and see I guess.
Maybe the Government or Treasury thinks that a $1 will buy something. At todays prices, the $1 coin does not carry much punch. In the 1900’s, a silver dollar was a days wage and would buy a basket of groceries. The only way I could see coins replace paper currency is to make a higher value coin. A five, ten, twenty or fifty dollar coin would be used by the public. But I guess this makes too much sense. Who wants to carry around a pocket full of one doller coins?
Isn’t it enough that they can still make $2,$5,$10,$20,$50,$100 dollar bills that Brown and Kerry have issues with that. Here we go again lobby time. Instead of doing the right thing for the country the politicians want to stop producing a $1 coin they started.
The coins are bad for the environment. They cause a bigger carbon footprint because of the extra fuel required to carry around their much greater weight compared to paper dollars.
Significantly less change would have to be made if the three denominations 2, 5 and 10 were replaced by the two denominations 3 and 7. It much more closely approximates the natural logarithmic progression which is the theoretical ideal for minimizing the need for change.
anwer to the riddle is:
Federal Reserve Bank (100% member bank owned) gets profit from dollar BILLS.
US Mint, US Government gets profit from dollar COINS.
Now why can’t we transition from bills to coins?
Ray-
Regarding the bigger carbon footprint, I am not sure that is the case. I have only seen one analysis, but it suggests that despite the weight, $1 coins still have a smaller footprint than $1 bills.
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2011/08/ask-pablo-us-one-dollar-coins.php
If you have seen any other analysis, please feel free to post a link.
MARK MY WORDS, If they… I mean WHEN they quit producing the paper dollar bill, only to produce coin dollar bills… They will soon get rid of our penny just as well. But what is a penny anyway you ask? Can’t buy anything with it, besides it costs 2 cents to produce a penny. Well let me tell you a little (big) something. Our 5 dollar bill will soon have the value of a 1 dollar bill. People will learn to think of the 1 dollar coin as we do the quarter today, except there will be 5 instead of 4 to make a doll– Um, I mean 5 dollars. 100 nickels (As in pennies) makes a 5 dollar bill. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I myself don’t want my $50,000 savings to be worth that of $10,000 over night. And that’s the scoop. We the people will be short changed. (literally) So anyone who thinks getting rid of our paper dollar bill is a good thing, is in my mind, crazy!!! Unless you are the government of course, which only thinks of themselves in a time of crises, and will do anything they can to save themselves, NOT US.
Your savings is already worth $10,000.
The solution is a change in the size of all of the coins.
If the dollar coin is produced it will be hoarded once the price of copper is significant and the metal in the coin is worth more than a dollar.
The currrent one-cent ought to be abolished, as well as the nickel.
There ought to be new coins as such:
10c: the size of the current penny and made of the old bronze.
50 c: size and weight of the current nickel
1 dollar: size of the dime. Same size and weight.
5 dollar coin: size and weight of the half dollar.
10 dollar coin: size and weight of the current dollar.
That way multiple the mint production by 10 to get the value of the coins produced.
PLUS: the old bronze one-cent ought to be accepted to be worth the value of the copper in it.
The bill
S 1624 is to limit productuion not cancel.
As collectors who wants to change the coinage
All the current denominations should remain.
Just limit production. If the Feds can bail
out wall St. They can back our currency. S
1624 will pass because of the Senators who
sponsored it.
The solution, reduce production of the $1 note!, so both sides play fair, the arizona congressman is not playing fair, he wants to stop the $1 note to benefit copper, the Massachusetts senator is not playing fair either, although he calls for a limit of production, the arizona congressman would destroy current dollar coins in existence, that’s silly, dollar coins have been around for a hundred years or so,
they feel like a quarter, used to look like a quarter, or were to big, currently however the $1 note has a high production rate, and cashier’s don’t change dollar coins, one would be silly, to have three different dollar coins circulation, anthony’s, eisenhowers, and native/presidential, counterfeiting too,
for instance in south america, oh yeah and the peace dollars,
If we are to have a dollar coin, it’s size should reflect its value. The dollar coin should be the size of the 3-cent silver coin of the 1850s. A whole pocketfull would not weigh more than the same amout in $1 bills.