Recently, there was an article in USA Today about the Dollar Coin. There have been several attempts to create a dollar coin and each has failed. The Susan B. Anthony coin looked like a quarter and our current dollar, while different looking, just hasn’t caught the attention of citizens. The U.S. Mint is now touting the dollar coin as being green. Coins have a life of  30 years vs. a paper dollar which lasts 18 months. The number of trees being harvested to become money is enormous. And, the government could save billions of dollars if the switch was made because of the relative cost to print money vs. minting a coin.  Why mention it at all??

In the 1990s we proposed a dollar coin and designed one that would salute Christopher Columbus on the 500th Anniversary of his discovery of America. It didn’t matter if it was a Columbus Coin or someone else, but we felt that the time had come to have a dollar coin, but only if we eliminated the dollar bill. This happened in Canada - the now famous Loony Dollar Coin. We argued that if we had no dollar bill, it would increase the popularity of the $2.00 bill.

Here is our article - written 20 years ago. (Bold stuff)  But, how do you feel about eliminating the bill and replacing it with a dollar coin? Two decades later, has the move toward plastic and need to carry less currency in our pockets created a time to make the change. Weigh in on our forum or send me a note…

“LAND HO!”
THE
COLUMBUS DOLLAR APPROACHES ITS DESTINATION

As we go to press, our campaign to introduce the Columbus Dollar as the replacement for our one dollar bill is making great progress. Bill HR1068, placed before the House by Congressman Jim Kolbe, and Bill S814, entered before the Senate by Senator Pete Domenici, are enjoying an increase in support by Congress. This legislation is known as The Coinage Reform Act of 1989. Should all go as planned, our currency will include a new one dollar coin in 1992 — the 500th anniversary of the celebrated discovery of
America by Christopher Columbus. This coin will probably bear the image of this great explorer.

The House Bill, as does the Farmers’ Almanac, seeks to halt the printing of the one dollar bill due to its limited life span and high production cost. The American taxpayer would save over $318 million annually if a coin replaced the dollar bill because coins last 30 years while bills last only 17 months. A coin costs 6 cents to produce, while a dollar bill costs 2 6/10 cents. Response thus far has been overwhelming, with the New York Times, Coin World and many columnists among those endorsing our efforts.

We know there is some dissent among people who are not thoroughly acquainted with the facts.

Those who point to the failure of the Susan B. Anthony dollar coin a decade ago should note that it was an alternate dollar, not exclusive, and thereby a novelty. In addition, it looked and felt like a quarter, making it a nuisance. The Columbus Dollar will be gold toned and have the benefit of hindsight thus avoiding these problems.

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