Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Replacing Dollar Bill With Dollar Coin?

Chundles said:
They just pulled the 1¢ and 2¢ coins out of circulation.

Prices got rounded up or down to the nearest 5¢ so $x.01 and $x.02 went down and $x.03 and $x.04 went up.

No big deal. Very easy.

It's two things I absolutely detest about shopping in the US:

1. The penny.
2. The advertised price not including tax.

Stop both of these things and it'll be much better.
Click to expand...

#2 would be just about impossible. Sales tax varies wildly by state, county, and city. Plus online/catalog retailers can't charge sales tax on most out of state orders, and can only charge the state sales tax on out of county orders.
 
Last edited:
wordoflife said:
I really doubt it would ever change. While it has it's benefits (which I agree with), there really is no "reason" to change.
Click to expand...

The benefits should be reason enough but it seems like we are in the minority. Too bad. Could have made NASA look less silly if we had changed over like we were supposed to in the 80s.
 
APlotdevice said:
#2 would be just about impossible. Sales tax varies wildly by state, county, and city. Plus online/catalog retailers can't charge sales tax on most out of state orders, and can only charge the state sales tax on out of county orders.
Click to expand...

So you're saying the store owner doesn't know the price inc. tax of his/her products and doesn't own a price tag printer?

I worked in a Canadian coffee store, there was nothing stopping me from changing the prices on the blackboard to include the tax. Even the huge mass merchants only need to change the price on their signage in store.

It's far from impossible. It's dead set easy.

There's no excuse for physical stores to not have prices including taxes on their products, online merchants sure but brick and mortar stores?
 
Chundles said:
So you're saying the store owner doesn't know the price inc. tax of his/her products and doesn't own a price tag printer?

I worked in a Canadian coffee store, there was nothing stopping me from changing the prices on the blackboard to include the tax. Even the huge mass merchants only need to change the price on their signage in store.

It's far from impossible. It's dead set easy.

There's no excuse for physical stores to not have prices including taxes on their products, online merchants sure but brick and mortar stores?
Click to expand...

You said the advertised price. Many products are advertised (with their MSRP) nationally. Some products, such as magazines, have the price printed on them.
 
iJohnHenry said:
We are there, with pennies added to the weight.

Retailers just love it when I decide to unburden myself, in favour of a more balanced approach to walking straight.

They need a counter, that you just toss coin into, and see what comes up. ;)
Click to expand...

I believe the first attempt at this idea was the gum ball machine.

Chundles said:
So you're saying the store owner doesn't know the price inc. tax of his/her products and doesn't own a price tag printer?

I worked in a Canadian coffee store, there was nothing stopping me from changing the prices on the blackboard to include the tax. Even the huge mass merchants only need to change the price on their signage in store.

It's far from impossible. It's dead set easy.

There's no excuse for physical stores to not have prices including taxes on their products, online merchants sure but brick and mortar stores?
Click to expand...

It really is pretty ridiculous, although there are some places that include sales taxes in the price (the biggest I know of is Starbucks-mind you that doesn't change the fact that I wouldn't bother buying coffee there). I believe American retailers are still using psychology 101 tricks to get people to buy things. If it looks 5-10% cheaper, then more people will dive in and buy it.
 
CalBoy said:
I believe the first attempt at this idea was the gum ball machine.
Click to expand...

You just reminded me that there are such machines, but not at check-outs.

They count your change, take a percentage, and issue a store credit.

And I thought Pay-Day Loans were crooks.

Wait ..... they are. Far worse.
 
scottness said:
Except none of them really gained wide acceptance/use.

Today, I bought lunch with 2 coins: ¥500 + ¥100 (~$7.25USD).

Edit: that was supposed to be 500 yen + 100 yen. Apparently tapatalk doesn't like the yen symbol.
Click to expand...


Of course they haven't become widely accepted/used. THey never will unless you lose the dollar bill.
 
rdowns said:
Of course they haven't become widely accepted/used. THey never will unless you lose the dollar bill.
Click to expand...

You're right.

I like that Japan's paper money is usually all very clean and crisp. Their lowest paper denomination is 1000 yen (12USD). Contrast that with Vietnamese or Bangladeshi paper currency which is worth much less... It's often quite dirty/nasty. The dollar falls somewhere in between. I always hated jamming a well-used dollar into a vending machine.
 
Dagless said:
America doesn't have a dollar coin?
My mind is blown!
Click to expand...

They do, but it wasn't widely accepted, mainly because the size, shape and weight was very close to the US quarter.

They have had a few other coins, the gold one comes to mind, can't remember the name off the top of my head right now. But they just haven't caught on.
 
huntnboy04 said:
I'm not too into strippers wearing helmets to protect themsleves from stray dollar coins flying at them, I like paper instead.
Click to expand...

They get real mad when I shout "I'm makin' it hail!"

acidfast7 said:
I love the 1€/2€ coins compared to the dollars.

While your at it, why don't you make the different denominations different colors and sizes (like the rest of the planet.)

Also, just get a wallet with coin pouch just like everyone else.

http://www.amazon.com/Black-Leather-Wallet-Bifold-Pouch/dp/B00337JXSM

The comment about 2€ coins adding up to a sizable sum is spot on. I can have 2 USD (8 quarters in my pocket) or 16€ (20USD in 8 2€ coins).
Click to expand...

I really hate the feeling of a wallet with too much change in it. Lived with it in the UK for 25 years of my life, and I actually prefer the idea of $1 bills to coins.
 
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
steviem said:
I really hate the feeling of a wallet with too much change in it. Lived with it in the UK for 25 years of my life, and I actually prefer the idea of $1 bills to coins.
Click to expand...

This. Maybe introduce dollar coins and reduce the amount of dollar bills made for new circulation.

And as far as different sizes and colors go, we are quite fine with the president on the front or simply looking in the corner for the number (1,5,10,20,50,100).
 
Dump the penny and dollar bill

Switching to dollar coins is a sensible idea and should have been done years ago. They cost less to make in the long run, and are actually more convenient than dollar bills. Because of inflation, a dollar coin today is worth what a quarter was in 1976. I don't recall anyone saying that quarters were inconvenient back then, nor did anyone suggest a 25¢ bill would have made any sense.

Eliminate the penny and dollar bill and the average person will have LESS weight from coins in their pocket. Coins are faster to count, too, and don't get rejected by vending machines.

The COINS Act is the legislation before Congress and it has bipartisan support. Most people, when told of the cost savings, are in favor of dollar coins over bills.

Check out the Dollar Coin Alliance web site for more information--<http://dollarcoinalliance.org>.
 
I say bring it on! I have no problems with dollar coins.
(Yes, those are all dollar coins)
IMG_2437.jpg

IMG_2438.jpg
 
Last edited:
Chundles said:
So you're saying the store owner doesn't know the price inc. tax of his/her products and doesn't own a price tag printer?

I worked in a Canadian coffee store, there was nothing stopping me from changing the prices on the blackboard to include the tax. Even the huge mass merchants only need to change the price on their signage in store.

It's far from impossible. It's dead set easy.

There's no excuse for physical stores to not have prices including taxes on their products, online merchants sure but brick and mortar stores?
Click to expand...

Maybe they expect customers to be able to do simple math.
 
Chundles said:
It's two things I absolutely detest about shopping in the US:

1. The penny.
2. The advertised price not including tax.

Stop both of these things and it'll be much better.
Click to expand...

Can't do much about #1 but shop in New Hampshire if you want the advertised price be the actual price (there is no sales tax).
 
Chundles said:
So whoever prints the labels puts the tax on the tag.
Click to expand...

Time is money. If you want to volunteer to do so, go ahead. Thats unnecessary wasted time when it's incredibly easy to do the math.

Unless you don't know how to do simple percentages?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back