Sacajawea Dollar Coins: Get Them On Metro Rail!
For anyone who frequently ventures into Canada, carrying around dollar (or two!) coins is a familiar routine. Some of us may think the Canadian “loonie” and “toonie” coins are kind of weird. But even stranger may be the existence of the American dollar coin.
It sure does exist and Buffalo's Metro Rail is one of the few local places we can count on reliably obtaining these. Every time you buy a rail ticket from the station vending machines with a large bill, say $5, 10, or 20, you're bound to get a pile of these Sacajawea coins spit out at you. It may seem heavy in the pocket at first, but after getting used to carrying them around, the coins can actually end up saving time at cash registers.
Let's admit it, we're still hooked on dollar bills. Wads of them may clog up our wallets and slow us down when it's really imperative to get through that congested checkout line. I can imagine that scores of Canadians visiting the Buffalo area can't quite understand why we haven't switched our smaller monetary amounts over to coinage. If I recall correctly, the dollar has become less and less valuable over the years, as inflation has made it's steady climb.
The Sacajawea dollar coin first rolled hot off the mint, back in 2000, as result of the US Coin Act of 1997. These coins were made to replace its predecessor, the quite unpopular Susan B. Anthony coin, which many found to look too much like the quarter. To combat confusion, the Sacajawea is gold. It stands out well from all other US coins.
Will we ever become like our brothers to the north and start using dollar coins on a regular basis? As long as dollar bills keep being minted, probably not. Old habits die hard, especially here in America. The new Sacajawea coins still seems confusing to many of us.
“Some guy came in the other day thinking [the dollar coins] were worth two bucks apiece,” said the dude behind the counter at a cafe I often frequent.
Should we really start conducting our basic money matters differently? Single dollar bills get soggy when soaked or dropped in the snow, torn, and soiled. They can cause endless frustrations when being rejected by an especially nitpicky vending machine.
Maybe it's time we show our neighbors we can be smart with our change too. A good way to start is to start riding Metro Rail downtown, if practical. Or... visit the post office more often. How about local merchants making a habit of using these coins out as change? Once we get our hands on more of these, start tipping your favorite bartender with them. After getting laughed at (or becoming the recipient of very dirty looks) the first twelve times, this new “trend” may start sinking in locally.
However, it's done, Buffalo can do it. Canada does it. Europeans do it to. So does much of the rest of the world. One way we can prove ourselves as a progressive city and in-touch with international trends is by thinking outside the piggy bank. Ponder this next time you head downtown for a big event and wish to leave the car behind.
For anyone who frequently ventures into Canada, carrying around big dollar (or two!) coins is a familiar routine. Some of us may think the Canadian “loonie” and “toonie” coins are kind of weird. But even stranger may be the existence of the American dollar coin.
It sure does exist and Buffalo's Metro Rail is one of the few local places we can count on reliably obtaining these. Every time you buy a rail ticket from the station vending machines with a large bill, say $5, 10, or 20, you're bound to get a pile of these Sacajawea coins spit out at you. It may seem heavy in the pocket at first, but after getting used to carrying them around, the coins can actually end up saving time at cash registers.
I'd appriciate getting the coins from the metro ticket machines if it didn't take half a dozen tries or more to get the same machines to take dollar coins as payment the next day. They spit the coins back out more often than not.
That is funny you bring this up, I have been getting these coins and getting strange looks around town from actually using them for about a year. I personally just like to use coinage rather than dollars, it is faster and carries fewer worries about machine eating your money or not accepting the bills.
People will get used to it, but other countries with these denominations also carry wallets with change pockets built into them. How many people do you know with those? Probably none and I think that is partly why people think of them as less convenient.
I think it's well beyond time we adopted at least $1 coins- maybe $2 as well, I'm less concerned with those. They actually "cost" less in that they last much longer than bills. I'd also generally advocate loosing pennies, but you know that in the great rounding afterwards, it'd all be upwards, so I'm not sure about that.
as for the wallet thing, I do agree, but the simple solution is to go buy a european wallet! I *think* they're available on the 'internets'... :)
OK someone here has to voice the Other Side on this :)
Dollar Coins are interesting... But for actual use - they're very annoying. If you have a pocket full of dollar coins they are not convenient at all. The same number of dollar bills in your wallet is much easier to use, quieter, and less bulky.
Just because something is European doesn't mean it's better, it's just different. People in America generally prefer bills over coins. Simple. This is not the first time a US dollar coin failed to be popular. Look at Suzie B and Eisenhower.
BTW - Sacajawea dollar coins have been available in all Post Office stamp machines for many years. :)
Then again, to play devil's advocate, there is no real reason to have more than 4 at a time time otherwise you would just get a 5 note. ;)
the "sac" dollar...
I love coin denominations. There is something very pleasurable about just plunking down two coins for a coffee in Canada instead of pulling out my wallet.
Goddamnit i've been trying to start a sac revolution for the past 6 months. If you go to your local bank you can pick up rolls of sac dollars. I ask all of you to concentrate on spending these dollars at Tops and Wegmans!!! If we fill their cash registers with sacs, then they will have to dispense them out thus starting a chain reaction that will flow throughout the city. Tip your waitors and waitresses with them too!
also spend at mighty taco. So the list is Mighty Taco, Tops, Wegmans and Waitresses. Spread the word!
Is this 'sac' warfare? Guerilla 'sac'ing an interesting and funny idea.
Some 50 years ago, coins were real money. Today, in the United States and some third world countries with hyperinflation, it's just change. We used to carry coins around for everyday purchases. If there were $1 and $2 coins today, our use of money would be no different than back in the 1940s and 1950s.
No, the reason the Sac (and SuzieB) failed to take is that we haven't axed the bill alongside; simple as that. I think that were they to 'sack' the bill, we'd adopt the Sac with little or no fuss.
But you'll are right: short of that, Sac advocates need to just find ways to inject them into the public consciousness. People will call you out on being pretentious or having a gimmick (and you might not even mind), but hey: it's all for the Sac!
dan-
that's a goood point, though, there is also this: I assume bills are harder to counterfeit, which has become (always was?) an important consideration. Not so much for $1's of course, I mean, who would bother?
though, the more that I think about it, the more that I wonder if that is so. Certainly, coins can just as easily have certain protections built-in, like using strange alloys, bi-metallic coins, for all we know, rfid...
I don't understand why people would actually want to carry more change in their pockets. Coins are annoying in large volumes. Most people empty all their change as soon as they get a chance. Having lightweight foldable bills all neatly tucked away in your wallet is much much much more convenient.
For that reason, they will not get rid of the dollar bill as long there the cash system exists.
The cashless society will happen before the dollar coin ever replaces the dollar bill
:-)
The dollar coins were supposed to replace the bills, actually. The plan was to follow Canada's example: as dollar bills came through the banking system, they were destroyed. As usual in the USA, a sensible change was resisted. Pennies now cost more than one cent to make, btw.
While you're making war with the dollar coins, try to get some $2 bills and have fun with those :)
"No, the reason the Sac (and SuzieB) failed to take is that we haven't axed the bill alongside; simple as that. I think that were they to 'sack' the bill, we'd adopt the Sac with little or no fuss."
So, you're basically saying that people will take the first option if you bar the preferred alternative. This begs the question, why switch if people don't want to?
To DrKay,
Why is switching to a coin based dollar a sensible change?
Dollar bills get a lot of use, wear out quickly, and are costly to replace. That's why Canada and Britain both use 1 and 2 unit coins instead of bills, today. Coins can stay in circulation for decades, while bills are shot within 18-22 months.
Burning the $1 bills also frees a bin in cash drawers, which is needed for the $1 coins. Vending machine operators pray for dollar coins, too - getting a machine to recognize bills is an expensive headache.
A 2006 dollar won't even buy what a 1906 nickel did; it's time to change, so to speak. Pennies should go, too; those are so worthless that people pick them out of their change & toss them. I (being the Scrooge that I am) retrieve at least 10 a day, on my walks.