Posts Tagged ‘George Washington coin’

When you think of a dollar, you probably think of a paper dollar. The paper dollar is very handy and can be easily folded and kept inside your pocket without much difficulty along with the rest of the stack of dollars, similar to all other paper currencies. What if we didn’t have paper currency? What if there was a one dollar coin instead of the paper dollar? Is there generally a positive response to the one dollar coin or would most not want to use it as 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. You rarely see the silver dollar coin any longer as most of them are in the hands of collectors or have been melted down for their silver content. 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. The reason this coin didn’t catch on is likely the same reason the silver dollar didn’t catch on. It is too thick and will not fold up like dollar bills. 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

Europe will abandon the paper currency if they begin to distribute coins like the one dollar coin so that people can’t have a choice. For Americans to begin using the dollar coin, the U.S. government is going to have to take away all other options. People are going to want the less cumbersome, foldable version of the dollar, the paper dollar, leaving the one dollar coin to the collectors.