New coins
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A bunch of would be collectors will end up hoarding them in sock drawers and 3 months after the minting run ceases they'll be completely impossible (as opposed to mostly impossible) to find in circulation. They're effectively just a revenue boosting scheme for the mint, which needs them since the penny and nickel (1c and 5c) coins now require more than their face value in bullion to mint (~1.4c, and 6.5c). What should be done is the US following most of the rest of the world in withdrawing the penny from circulation, and debasing the nickel to a zinc plated coin like the current penny (would drop the bullion cost to ~2-3c per coin). Likewise the dollar coin will never be anything but a curiosity as long as the paper bill remains in circulation. Accomplishing that would however require politicians to act, without any major constituency pushing and fully aware that a large fraction of the voters would oppose it out of nothing more than stubbornness. In addition, having developed the dollar bill reader in response to congresses earlier failure to ram a dollar coin down the publics throat, the vending machine lobby would likely throw their political weight into opposing the change. You and I both know the odds of that ever happening. :laugh::((:laugh:
-- Rules of thumb should not be taken for the whole hand.
Or for a more interesting read, check out the article in March 2007 Playboy about economists discusssing how corporations took over American politics, which is nt longer 'for the people and by the people'...