Dollar Dollar Coin, Y'all.
Seven years ago when I was living in NYC, I was out late one night in the city partying. I didn't feel like waiting for the L train back to Brooklyn. So I hailed a cab.
First, I pissed him off by telling him I wanted to go to Brooklyn.
"Williamsburg please!" I told him in my perky drunk voice.
Cabbies don't like going to Brooklyn from the city because it is difficult for them to pick up a fare back into the city. But legally he had to go Brooklyn for me. It was the law that cabbies can't refuse you service to any of the boroughs.
So off to Williamsburg we went. We hopped off the BQE and drove down Union Avenue to my apartment in the "hood." When I went to pay the cabbie, I pulled out my money. the fair was $17 (about $14 without tip)... I pulled out a $10 bill, a $5 bill and two Sacagawea $1 coins.
The cabbie got pissed. He didn't want to accept the Sacagawea coins. And I didn't blame him. They were a pain to carry around.
"Give me paper money!" he demanded.
"Sorry dude," I told him. "That's all I have."
He handed me the two coins back (which were part of his almost $3 tip) and drove away.
He didn't want the tip.
Why is this story relevant? Well, today the U.S. Mint is releasing another version of the $1 coin.
Good luck to them.
I know nearly every other country has $1 coins. But this is the third time we have tried to do this in America in the last 40 years. It has never caught on. If you have a choice between a $1 bill and a $1 coin, people will almost always choose the paper, as it is easier to carry.
(And, as a side note, can you imagine someone trying to tip a stripper with a $1 coin? Strippers will have to start carrying around fanny-packs to carry their change while working.)
The only way this will work is if they get rid of the $1 bills completely.
First, I pissed him off by telling him I wanted to go to Brooklyn.
"Williamsburg please!" I told him in my perky drunk voice.
Cabbies don't like going to Brooklyn from the city because it is difficult for them to pick up a fare back into the city. But legally he had to go Brooklyn for me. It was the law that cabbies can't refuse you service to any of the boroughs.
So off to Williamsburg we went. We hopped off the BQE and drove down Union Avenue to my apartment in the "hood." When I went to pay the cabbie, I pulled out my money. the fair was $17 (about $14 without tip)... I pulled out a $10 bill, a $5 bill and two Sacagawea $1 coins.
The cabbie got pissed. He didn't want to accept the Sacagawea coins. And I didn't blame him. They were a pain to carry around.
"Give me paper money!" he demanded.
"Sorry dude," I told him. "That's all I have."
He handed me the two coins back (which were part of his almost $3 tip) and drove away.
He didn't want the tip.
Why is this story relevant? Well, today the U.S. Mint is releasing another version of the $1 coin.
Good luck to them.
I know nearly every other country has $1 coins. But this is the third time we have tried to do this in America in the last 40 years. It has never caught on. If you have a choice between a $1 bill and a $1 coin, people will almost always choose the paper, as it is easier to carry.
(And, as a side note, can you imagine someone trying to tip a stripper with a $1 coin? Strippers will have to start carrying around fanny-packs to carry their change while working.)
The only way this will work is if they get rid of the $1 bills completely.
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