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The argument for ending the dollar bill
A pile of euro coins sit on a display of one dollar U.S. notes. There is an ongoing argument among some politicians in America to get rid of the dollar bill and replace it with coins.
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United States Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa explains why we should abolish the dollar bill and replace it with coins.
Jeremy Hobson:I did a quick poll of the office this morning and we have 14 one-dollar bills among us -- and zero one-dollar coins. That's something Republican Senator John McCain and Democratic Senator Tom Harkin would like to change. They want to replace the dollar bill with a dollar coin, and they've introduced some legislation -- a bill if you will -- to do that. They say it would save around $200 million a year.
Senator Harkin joins us now from Washington. Good morning.
Tom Harkin: Good morning, Jeremy.
Hobson: Well, why do you want to get rid of the dollar bill and replace it with a coin?
Harkin: For a lot of reasons -- not the least of which: it will save us money. The GAO -- the Government Accountability Office -- has examined this six times: 1990, '93, '95, 2000, 2011 and 2012. And every time, they reach the same conclusion: basically, we should transition from the dollar bill and move to a dollar coin.
Hobson: And every time, Americans don't seem to be on board with that. They are given the opportunity to have dollar coins, but they don't want them.
Harkin: That's because we keep the dollar bill in circulation. If we didn't have the dollar bill in circulation, people would get used to the coins. Every modern economy in the world has made this switch.
Hobson: Senator, let me ask you this: when you go to Europe, or Canada, or some place that does use dollar coins, or whatever their currency is -- they have coin denominations -- do you get annoyed by having ten one dollar coins in your pocket?
Harkin: No. I took a vacation in Canada last summer, and quite frankly, I found having the two-dollar coin much better than going around with a lot of dollar bills. It didn't bother me a bit.
Hobson: Then why do you think there's so much opposition?
Harkin: Well, there's opposition from places where they make the paper for the dollar bill. There's opposition from the ink manufacturers that make the ink for the dollar bill, and on and on. I think the facts are on the side of moving to a dollar coin.
Hobson: So, what do you think's going to happen? When will you be able to get this bill through, do you think?
Harkin: We're going to continue to push on this; we have good bi-partisan support, as you know. But just to get the facts out to the public about how much money it will save us, and then it will make it much easier for large retail stores, vending machines, transit agencies -- all the arguments on the side of moving towards a coin. But then again, sometimes logical arguments don't always win in the United States Congress.
Hobson: Senator Tom Harkin is a Democrat of Iowa who has sponsored a bill that would replace the dollar bill, eventually, with dollar coins. Senator, thanks so much.
Harkin: Thank you very much, Jeremy.
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I like the look of most of the dollar coins and would be glad to use them if it were practical. Unfortunately they are so close to the size of a quarter that they can only be used where there is bright light and I have my reading glasses on. Most of the dollar coins I have gotten were given to me in change as quarters. Most that I have spent were accepted as quarters before I realized what I had given the clerk.
We will use whatever we are given. There are currently four billion $1 bills in circulation, and the life expectancy of each is approximately 18 months. Bills of larger denominations stick around longer since they are handled less than the $1 bill. Coins on the other hand can, and do, circulate for hundreds of years. Up until decimalization in 1971, it was common to receive 100 year old Victorian pennies in your change. The reason why we don't see older quarters in circulation is because dates prior to 1965 are 90% silver and worth about $6 in melt value. Because of this, no one who has a silver quarter is going to spend it on 25 cents worth of goods when it can be used to purchase $6 in goods. If it wasn't for the collector market for wheat pennies and Indian Head pennies (and the fact that cents prior to 1982 contain 2 cents worth of copper in them) we'd see them in our change once in a while, and you still do see 70 year old wheat pennies in your change if you look hard enough! So the answer is, theoretically for hundreds of years, practically it is until they change the composition or design of the quarter and the quarter becomes worth more as a collector piece or melted down than its face value. The savings of going to a coin would have to be tremendous when you think of the complete printing cost of the paper money.
I am a volunteer in the Eastern Caribbean where they use one and two dollar coins, and I can tell you I regret going back to a paper dollar. The coins last longer, are easier to handle when you only need a couple bucks to pay for something, and are much more aesthetically pleasing than a crinkled and faded one dollar bill that probably won't be accepted by a coke machine anyways. I was a doubter until I had a chance to use them on a daily basis. A couple weeks and you'll never know why you ever would have used anything else. Go Sen. Harkin!
If we are to be forced to use dollar coins, I urge Congress to make the next batch more distinct from quarters. I, for one, find it annoying and a waste of time to have to scrutinize each coin before handing it over. I never have to do that unless I know there's a dollar coin amidst my other change.
If we wanted to use coins instead of paper we would already. I notice the Senator didn't say how much money would be saved using coins instead of paper dollars. He also didn't say how much the government has spent making and storing the coins that no one wants to use. Isn't Congress supposed to listen to us not the other way around?
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