Should the Government Force the Dollar Coin Upon us?

David Schweikert of Arizona has introduced a bill in the House of Representatives has introduced the Currency Optimization, Innovation and National Savings Act (known as the COINS Act).  The bill calls for the elimination of the paper dollar, to be completely replaced by the dollar coin.  The author touts the tremendous national savings of 6 billion dollars over the next 30 years.  


To put this into perspective, this comes out to about 200 million dollars per year.  (Of course multiplying by thirty will make the number sound larger).  Since the US has a population of about 300 million, this means that each citizen would save about 67 cents per year by switching away from the paper dollar.  


Rather than asking citizens if we should save 6 billion dollars, we should be asking if citizens would be willing to give up the paper dollar in exchange for 67 cents.  My guess is that many will be willing to pay the 67 cents for what they see as a convenience.  After all, some banks now want to charge $60 per year for an ATM card.


I, of course, am a coin man.  I pay for virtually everything in coins (much to the dismay of those waiting behind me in the checkout line).  The question is whether the government should force all Americans to be more like me.  What are your thoughts?

Will the government seize the Norfed liberty dollars?

Comments from the federal government has led to new fear that the secret service may try to seize the privately minted liberty dollars.  The courts have ruled that they are considered counterfeit and the secret service confiscates counterfeits.  One immediate result of this is that the Norfed liberty dollars are becoming harder to find.  On my website's liberty dollar page , I have listed a few places to find them along with more information about these so-called dollars.

A trip to a coin-less Las Vegas

Today I find myself in Las Vegas, Nevada, where the main industry is gambling.  While touring the vast expanse of slot an video poker machines -- I noticed something was missing.  There are absolutely no coins here.  To play a slot machine, one can insert paper money.  Buttons are pushed to bet quarters, dollars, or whatever.  At the end, the player pushes the payout button and receives a voucher representing the cash won.  As the machine prints the voucher, it generates artificial sound of coins clinking through the machine.  But gone are the days of players holding there casino cups brimming with silver quarters and dollars.

Casinos have played a significant role in our coinage.  Many of the Morgan dollars , shunned by the citizens at large, were distributed by the treasury for use in the casinos.  In 1965, Lyndon Johnson ordered the minting of the "1964 D Peace dollars " to satisfy the gambling industry.  Click here to see my brief educational video on the 1964 D Peace Dollar .  And so, we have another example of our shift to a society in which coins may becoming obsolete.