Ah Dollar coins.  We still have then you know.  For those that ride the subway and pay cash or visit the post office vending machines, has most likely received gold dollar coins as change..  So what do you do with it?  If you have kids most like give it them, else try to spend those guys as fast as you can because you know when you get home, you will put them in a stack or in a jar and most likely never use them again till your short of cash or just want to piss off your buddy when paying off a bet.  However, what if you REALLY embraced dollar coins?  Its not too crazy. When I lived in England I really gave pound coins the old collage try.  Even sporting a hip (at least at 1600’s standards) coin sack tied to my belt loop. I was an indie/punk musician at the time so someone trying to nick my bag was not a concern. 🙂  However, the bloody awful click click did get to me and I fell into the old habit of keeping a collection in a wicket bowl.  But someone has decided its time for a come back, so with pride I reprint sworddance.com/blog

Party like it’s 1611 aka living credit card and (dollar) bill-free

Late last year I found out from a friend that the U.S. Mint is making a strong effort to get the $1 Coin into circulation. For no shipping and handling fees, the U.S. Mint will send to consumers $1 Coins through the $1 Coin Direct program.

So I ordered, A few days later…

For over a month now I have been paying for everything with coin! No bills, no credit cards. The only exceptions have been my transit card and online transactions, including the coin purchase. $100 dinner, all in coin! $180 drug prescription – all in coin! Babysitting? coin!

Instead of carrying a wallet I now carry a money bag! People have asked about the weight. A $1 coin weighs about 8g so a $1000 weighs about 17.6 pounds. $50 dollars weighs about a pound. This must be horrible! Actually, no:

1. I carry my laptop with me anyhow so an extra pound is not horrible.
2. It is easy to control spending, carrying the extra weight means I just take exactly what I am willing to spend and no more. Really easy to stay in budget when all you have is coin!

The reactions have been all over the place:

• “Are these quarters?”
• “Are they collectables?”
• “Are they gold?” ( Uncirculated $1 coins are shiny )
• “What? Fine.” (And then dumps them in the drop safe)
• “Are they real?”
• “Do I have to take them to the bank?”
• “I love them, you are taking Caltrain, right?” (Coffee house)
• “We don’t pass them out as change.” (Safeway)
• “Sounds like a good idea but don’t you have to spend time converting them to bills?” (Safeway manager – apparently the idea of using money as money is a new concept)
• “I am going to give them to my wife” (A waiter who bought up the $100 in $1 coins that we paid for dinner with)
• “My company gives them out as a sign of good luck during the New Years.”
• “I am going to give these to my kids in the Christmas stockings”

Clearly, the Mint has a ways to go in the educational department, if cashiers are uncertain if the $1 coin is even money!

This program is a great deal for consumers. This is a cash advance through the U.S. government! WTF? Yeap! Lets look at a “traditional” cash advance:

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