Dollar gets a make over

pierman

Ok not sure where this should be posted so if it's in the wrong place please let me know.
I was wondering what the impact would be on the American / world economy if as part of the war on drugs, an American administration decided to introduce new designs for the Dollar?
Different colours for different amounts, possibly polymer based?
All that drugs cash is going to be worthless unless it gets declared.
Impact?
 

Peg Leg Pom

Garrison said:
If you want a challenge get the average US Citizen to accept Dollar coins. Cost and convenience should make it an easy sell but apparently not.
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Dead easy just stop printing new Dollar notes. It worked in Britain where the pound coin wasn't exactly popular either. In a couple of years all the Dollar notes are worn out and gone whether the people like it or not.
 

Johnrankins

Peg Leg Pom said:
Dead easy just stop printing new Dollar notes. It worked in Britain where the pound coin wasn't exactly popular either. In a couple of years all the Dollar notes are worn out and gone whether the people like it or not.
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People here would throw a fit and scream to their congressmen. Congress would then order the treasury to start printing dollar bills again. The idea of dollar coins is very unpopular. They are too heavy. Coins are considered little more than trash that you dump into a coin machine to get a receipt for adding money to your Starbucks card or something.
 

EternalCynic

The US government will have to declare a deadline that's well in advance to avoid harm to the financial system. But that will provide more than enough time for sophisticated drug cartels to launder their money. It would simply defeat the purpose. And besides, there's crypto nowadays.
 

Garrison

Donor
Johnrankins said:
Bills are far more convenient, they are lighter than coins and foldable. Bills were invented for a reason.
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Mainly because they were cheaper than coinage which often contained precious metals. If you think bills are more convenient I can only suggest the examples of vending machines and parking meters where inflation would make a Dollar coin far more useful.
Also no one is going to be running around with enough coins for weight to make much difference. In the UK I might keep a couple of pound coins for when they might be needed. They can sit there for months without having to worry about wear or an tear or accidentally getting in the wash. Of course over the last year I've large stopped carrying anything more than some change because nearly every shop has gone contactless.
 
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Johnrankins

Peg Leg Pom said:
The same arguments were made here 40 years ago, didn't make a difference. People don't like change but will get used to
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This isn't the UK, if Congress wasn't worried about the outcry it would happen. The fact is saving $150 million a year isn't worth the headache for Congress.
 

Johnrankins

Garrison said:
Mainly because they were cheaper than coinage which often contained precious metals. If you think bills are more convenient I can only suggest the examples of vending machines and parking meters where inflation would make a Dollar coin far more useful.
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Weight was a big, big part of it. Bills were used mainly by rich people, the poor used coins. That is why bills tend to have more value than coins. It is far easier for a nobleman to carry around a 20 pound note than lug around 20 pounds of sterling silver.
 

Peg Leg Pom

Johnrankins said:
This isn't the UK, if Congress wasn't worried about the outcry it would happen. The fact is saving $150 million a year isn't worth the headache for Congress.
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So long as the Dollar bills the yahoos have stuffed under their mattresses remain legal tender is it really going to be that much trouble? So the Members of Congress and Senators get a few nasty letters whinging about it, hardly anyone is going to change their votes over such an issue, which is all a politician cares about anyway.
 

Johnrankins

Peg Leg Pom said:
So long as the Dollar bills the yahoos have stuffed under their mattresses remain legal tender is it really going to be that much trouble? So the Members of Congress and Senators get a few nasty letters whinging about it, hardly anyone is going to change their votes over such an issue, which is all a politician cares about anyway.
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They aren't willing to take even a small hit to popularity. Printing dollar bills is peanuts and there is no burning need for dollar coins. There is basically no large constituency that is demanding dollar coins. If it is unpopular why jam it down people's throats? The cost is insignificant and Congress has better things to do than waste time on a non-problem.
 

Riain

Banned
I agree with swapping the dollar bill with the coin, there apparently are tens of millions of $1 coins in storage so it would cost nothing. In order to deal with any uproar start printing more $2 bills, as inflation has made the $1 trash anyway. In my experience they just get wadded up in my pocket and jokes about me being a stripper when I buy breakfast with them in the morning.
 

Riain

Banned
It'd be pretty easy done if the coin-bill issue was made a partisan political issue, then it would get done out of spite. It wouldn't matter which way it went, one argument could be 'progressive' Dems wanting the change while 'conservative' Reps wanting to conserve the current order or alternatively the fiscally responsible Reps wanting the change and the big spending Dems wanting the more expensive option.

Get this argument going and in the spiteful, virtue-signalling US political climate these days it'd be an easy win for whichever side backs the change. By the time of the next election Americans would be used to it and not care.
 
SealTheRealDeal

SealTheRealDeal

Johnrankins said:
Bills are far more convenient, they are lighter than coins and foldable. Bills were invented for a reason.
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Ah yes the convenience of thumbing through 17 badly worn $1 bills before you find the badly worn twenty, then trying to buy a Pepsi at a machine and having all 17 of the $1 bills be too worn for the machine to accept. As a Canadian I really hate the American shopping experience.
 

Riain

Banned
Chris Nation said:
This is the most persuasive argument against dollar coins. Far too dangerous hurling bits of metal at a stage.
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I'd suggest the opposite, strippers (and hospitality staff) would graduate to $2 and $5 bills while beggars would graduate to $1 coins, it'd be a great wealth redistribution! ;)
 
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