My guess is that so many people are the "throw the coins in the jar at night" type, and only ever spend paper when they buy small things, that they don't like the idea of having their pockets weighed down.
If you spend coins as you go, they don't accumulate, and your pocket doesn't get weighed down. But because we still have the dollar bill, people have to pull out their wallets for small purchases. And my guess is they don't want to both pull out the wallet, and, separately, pull out the coins. They just pull out the wallet, and as a result they accumulate all these coins in change, and, at night, into the jar they go. If their pockets had a few dollar coins in them, they'd do as the Canadians, the British and others - they'd find that the coins would in most cases handle buying a paper, a soda, some candy, perhaps even a combo meal at the fast food joint. Carleton From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Stephen Humphreys Sent: Saturday, June 12, 2010 14:52 To: U.S. Metric Association Subject: [USMA:47746] RE: Post regarding coinage I'm not so sure (of the connection). It's not usual for me to disagree with you, Carleton but here in the UK polls tend to confirm a preference to imperial over metric (don't shoot the messenger!) however when the pound coin came in and the pound note went out I remember no reaction or 'anti-feeling'. I still remain confused at why there's the anti- feeling in the USA. (still 1-0, although USA deserved one) _____ From: [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: [USMA:47742] RE: Post regarding coinage Date: Sat, 12 Jun 2010 13:34:47 -0400 There is definitely a connection. "You changed something. Why did you change something? I hate change. I don't understand change. Change is hard. Change is scary. I'm going to remember this at the next election. Don't ever change anything ever ever ever." Carleton From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Harry Wyeth Sent: Saturday, June 12, 2010 11:02 To: U.S. Metric Association Subject: [USMA:47738] Post regarding coinage Coinage is maybe a little off topic, but the miserable experience of the US in handling the dollar coin bit is educational: ALL efforts to really introduce a dollar coin in the US have failed miserably, and the reason is that the mint keeps printing one dollar bills. I like handing out those pretty golden coins, and when I spend them frequently people say "Gee, these are nice. Where can I get some?" (Just go to the bank, duh.) Point is: as long as dollar bills are printed, coins will go nowhere. And it is a lesson for metrication. I say that it has to come from above to really, really catch on. HARRY WYETH _____ Get a new e-mail account with Hotmail - Free. Sign-up <http://clk.atdmt.com/UKM/go/197222280/direct/01/> now.
