USA Today pro-$1-coin editorial
Paul Anderson
would be to stop printing dollar bills.
This is one of the largest mass-media publications I've seen endorse the
use of dollar coins.
<http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2008/11/dollars-and-sen.html>
Paul
--
Paul Anderson
OpenVMS Engineering
Hewlett-Packard Company
RF
"Paul Anderson" <paul.a...@hp.com> wrote in message
news:paul.anderson-8B0...@usenet01.boi.hp.com...
> USA Today suggests one way to save taxpayers some money in these times
> would be to stop printing dollar bills.
Of course the gubmint could also save money by stop making dollar coins
that nobody wants and also stop spending millions trying to convince the
public to use those butt-ugly things.
Arizona Coin Collector
news:paul.anderson-8B0...@usenet01.boi.hp.com...
> USA Today suggests one way to save taxpayers some money in these times
Hello
I wantred to add to the USATODAY blog.
-------------------------------------------------------------
FROM:
http://www.americancoinop.com/article.cfm?articleID=17795
American Coin Operation
The Dollar Coin Makes Sense
Published 11/12/2008 - 9:20 a.m. CT
It's the same old story that elicits complaints
from storeowners across the country: We can't
raise the vend prices high enough to keep up
with the rising costs of fuel, oil, gas, taxes,
rent and the other expenses associated with
running a coin laundry these days.
But does that same old story always have to be
true? Proponents of expensive, computerized
card systems say they can raise prices a few
pennies at a time to keep up with expenses.
OK, I'll give them that one. A flick of a
few switches or maybe a little programming
is required, and yes, the price goes up on
their double loaders from $2 to $2.06.
But wait, that doesn't pay the bills. OK,
I'm getting a bit ahead of myself here. Let
me back up a bit and tell you how and why I
favor using the dollar coin in my coin
laundry.
AN INTERESTING DISCOVERY
About 20 years ago, I purchased some new stack
dryers. After about three years, while doing
maintenance on one of them, I noticed that
they were pre-wired to accept two coin
denominations. During the same period, I
also noticed that the top pockets on the
dryers were getting almost twice as much
use as the bottom pockets.
I decided to take a chance. I took an old
quarter drop I had in my scrap pile and put
it on the cutting board. I opened the rivets
that held it together and filed it, drilled
it, and filed it some more so that it
accepted the Susan B. Anthony (SBA) dollar
coin. I fitted one bottom dryer with this
dual coin drop, and reprogrammed the computer
with the flick of a switch. I put up a sign
explaining that instead of getting 10
minutes for a quarter, users would get 10
FREE minutes (50 minutes total) for each
dollar coin used. It worked!
It wasn't long before I had to start vending
dollar coins to customers who showed up
during hours when no attendant was on duty.
I ended up converting all the bottom pockets
to accept both quarters and dollar coins.
People could even mix and match (a dollar
and a quarter gave 60 minutes of dry time).
Now customers had a reason to bend over and
use those bottom pockets.
The next step was to get a new bill changer
to dispense dollar coins. Once that happened,
I started to convert my washers. The first
ones I converted were the 50- and 75-pound
units, which needed quarters inserted twice
to start (this always resulted in some
confusion).
Seventeen years later, I haven't looked back.
Now the dryer use - as well as the wear and
tear - between the top and bottom pockets
is just about even. The maintenance on those
previously overused top pockets was minimized.
MOVING FORWARD
As fuel costs started to take off, I knew that
it was time to raise prices again. I took a
chance. I raised my $1.50 washers to $2. Now
instead of three coins to start the washers
(a dollar and two quarters), two dollar coins
does the job. I believe this even seems like
less money to some customers. The $2.50
washers went to $3 - again, one less coin.
The $4 washers went to $5, and the $7.75
washers went to $8 - and they all start with
just one push.
There are other advantages to using the dollar
coin. The coin boxes don't overflow, and
fewer coins mean faster counting. The changer
doesn't get abused by non-customers. How many
of you have people from stores tapping into
your quarter supply on weekends and holidays
when the banks are closed? And, much like with
card stores, when people leave with extra
dollar coins, they come back to the laundry
the next week to use them.
The U.S. Mint is also very helpful. It offers
posters, clings and stickers to promote the
use of the dollar coins. It will even ship
the newest dollar coins at face value (no
shipping charge) to storeowners who need
them - although the local banks are usually
happy to give me all I need. Besides, most
coins get "recycled" from the coin boxes to
the changers each week.
HAPPY CUSTOMERS?
I have never had a customer walk out because
they had to use dollar coins. Talk to any
card store owner and see if he/she can
honestly tell you that no one has ever walked
out because of the card system.
Yes, there are some drawbacks. Most people
don't carry any dollar coins in their pockets
on a regular basis. I have three bill changers
available, so if one is out of service, I'm
not out of business. One bill changer even
gives four quarters for each $1 coin, in
case someone wants to cash out when they go
home, or if they need quarters for the soap
machine.
I also have a manual changer that I made
that gives a $1 coin for four quarters. That
way, when a new customer comes in with a
handful of quarters, they can change them
even if the attendant is not around.
Obviously, since I first converted those
dryers, I have lowered the time on them a
few times. Most recently, I decided to
offer eight minutes for a quarter or 32
minutes for a dollar coin. Then, about
every other month, I run a special - with
plenty of signage - and make the bottom
dryers give eight free minutes with the
use of a dollar coin (40 minutes total).
This keeps everyone happy. People like
anything for free.
If I were to open a store tomorrow, I
wouldn't think twice about it being a
coin store and equipping it with dollar
coin use. It's just the way to go. Let's
face it, what can you buy for a quarter
these days? Yes, the quarter made sense
back in the 1970s when dimes went out of
fashion in Laundromats.
It's almost 2009 folks. The dollar coin
is what the quarter used to be. Penny
price hikes? Are you kidding me? Or are
you kidding yourself?
Bob Getschel
owner/manager, Floral Park Village Laundromat
Long Island, N.Y.
...
Paul Anderson
"RF" <R...@invalid.invalid> wrote:
> Of course the gubmint could also save money by stop making dollar
> coins that nobody wants and also stop spending millions trying to
> convince the public to use those butt-ugly things.
The "gubmint" makes money on every dollar coin they make. The millions
of dollars spent in advertising and marketing efforts are a drop in the
bucket compared to the cost savings resulting from increased dollar coin
use.
I will agree with you that the Presidential dollar coins are ugly, but
not as ugly as a worn-out fecal-matter-covered dollar bill. ;-)
RF
Your dollar bills are covered with feces?
Stop keeping your money up your ass!
I like the dollar bill just fine and so do the majority of Americans,
your constant trolling to the contrary notwithstanding.
Paul Anderson
"RF" <R...@invalid.invalid> wrote:
> I like the dollar bill just fine and so do the majority of Americans,
> your constant trolling to the contrary notwithstanding.
Well, that's a bit harsh. Trolling?
At the risk of being accused of additional trolling, here's a video
report from KVUE Austin TX describing how it's going in Austin, one of
four cities in which the Mint is pushing use of dollar coins.
<http://www.txcn.com/sharedcontent/dws/txcn/austin/stories/111208kvue_dol
lar_coins_cb.1a7cd9975.html>
Maybe you won't consider my pointing this out because the report is not
entirely favorable toward dollar coins.
And maybe you can explain why Americans can love dollar bills so much
when every other industrialized country in the world has switched to
coins with much success.
RF
> In article <gfhfnm$i0i$1...@news.eternal-september.org>,
> "RF" <R...@invalid.invalid> wrote:
>
>> I like the dollar bill just fine and so do the majority of Americans,
>> your constant trolling to the contrary notwithstanding.
>
> Well, that's a bit harsh. Trolling?
Yep, trolling.
All you ever do is whine about the cent and the dollar bill.
People won't use the dollar coin unless there are no more dollar bills.
Unfortunately (for you), people prefer the lightweight dollar bill over
the heavier and ugly dollar coin.
The gubmint has been trying to convince the public to use dollar coins
for 30 years and for 30 years the public refuses to.
Paul Anderson
"RF" <R...@invalid.invalid> wrote:
> The gubmint has been trying to convince the public to use dollar
> coins for 30 years and for 30 years the public refuses to.
You miss the reason why a dollar coin is needed in 2008--inflation.
Thirty years ago, there was not as much of a need for a coin of that
value.
Funny, I don't recall a big demand for 25¢ bills thirty years ago.
That's because a bill of that purchasing power would be cumbersome.
Just like today. If you didn't mind quarters thirty years ago, why
would you mind dollar coins today?
Paul
P.S. So as not to be called a troll, should I occasionally post an
article about something non-penny-or-dollar-coin-related?
Bruce Remick
> In article <gfhs9i$ck7$1...@feeder.motzarella.org>,
> "RF" <R...@invalid.invalid> wrote:
>
>> The gubmint has been trying to convince the public to use dollar
>> coins for 30 years and for 30 years the public refuses to.
>
> You miss the reason why a dollar coin is needed in 2008--inflation.
> Thirty years ago, there was not as much of a need for a coin of that
> value.
>
> Funny, I don't recall a big demand for 25¢ bills thirty years ago.
> That's because a bill of that purchasing power would be cumbersome.
> Just like today. If you didn't mind quarters thirty years ago, why
> would you mind dollar coins today?
>
I don't think most people would mind using dollar coins if more of the coins
were fed into commerce by banks and merchants. Even if the dollar bill
stays around, the coin could find its niche. Of course, once (and if) the
$1 bill is ever retired, the coins will probably enjoy more popularity.
The "feces-covered" argument is no more relevant to the $1 bill than it
would be to the $5, 10, or 20, and I have never heard of any concerns there.
And while statistics may prove otherwise, I find it hard to believe the
government actually makes money by producing dollar coins *for commerce*.
Sure, it rakes in the dough selling them at a premium to collectors, but
when so many of the dollar coins sit somewhere waiting to be needed, it
seems like a waste of money to continue producing them.
I doubt the public of thirty years ago would have ever taken a 25¢ bill
seriously. The quarter has been quite popular for at least as long as I've
been alive, moving in and out of peoples' hands very efficiently. Just what
the government would like to see the dollar coin do. This probably would
eventually happen one day were the bill removed.
shreadvector
> "Paul Anderson" <paul.ander...@hp.com> wrote in message
>
> news:paul.anderson-325...@usenet01.boi.hp.com...
>
> > In article <gfhs9i$ck...@feeder.motzarella.org>,
For the 741st time: When the government prints and issues paper
currency - including the $1 bill - it must borrow to 'back' the
currency. They are Federal Reserve "Notes". When they mint a $1 coin,
it becomes a "Dollar" and the profit is the difference between the
manufacturing cost and the face vlaue.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seigniorage
The GAO report explained that quite simply, for those who actually
read the simple words printed in the report.