Oregon Public Broadcasting

There’s a “new” dollar coin in circulation in the U.S. but don’t worry if you haven’t seen one.

The new coins were introduced a year and half ago. But so far, just like the Susan B. Anthony and Sacagewea dollar coins, the latest coin isn’t catching on.

So the U.S. Mint has designated four cities -- including Portland -- as pilot cities to encourage the use of the coins.  Pete Springer checked out how that project is going.

Paul Rigby owns The Coin Cottage in southwest Portland.

For the past year, he’s offered uncirculated dollar coins for sale, but the response has been disappointing.

Paul Rigby “And these are the kind of coins that collectors are gonna want to put in their albums and  books when they start collecting this kind of a coin.  But the demand has been almost non-existent for them.  I’ve sold a few of them, but not very many.”

The latest dollar coins feature the faces of presidents and are updated annually with four new presidents.  Perfect for collectors, right?

Not really.  Rigby says the only dollar coins collectors appear interested in are ones minted with errors—like those with no writing on the edges.

Paul Rigby “There were some that did not have that.  So that stimulated interest in them.  And those are selling for much higher than face value.”

Of course that wasn’t quite what the U.S. Mint had in mind when it introduced the coins. 

So that’s why it's promoting the dollar coins in four U.S. cities -- Austin, Charlotte, Grand Rapids, and Portland.

The goal, says U.S. Mint director Edmund Moy, is threefold. 

To increase the availability of the coins, to get retailers to use them, and to educate consumers about their benefits.

Edmund Moy “Does that combination of three things help get the dollar coin into greater, everyday circulation?  That’s the pilot program.”

Moy won’t admit that the new dollar coins don’t seem to be catching on.  He says there are 1.4 billion dollar coins in circulation. But ask around and you’ll be hard pressed to find many folks who have actually seen one.

So to encourage the use of dollar coins, the U.S. Mint is now billing them  them as "recyclable."  But aren’t all coins recyclable?

Yes, says U.S. Mint director Moy, moving onto his next point.  The dollar coins save taxpayer money.

Edmund Moy “The average lifespan of paper currency is 18 months.”

Coins last about forty years.  So though they cost more to make than dollar bills, they’re cheaper in the long run.

Edmund Moy “Do the math and it doesn’t take long to find out that the more dollar coins are used by Americans, the more money the federal government saves.”

Still not convinced?  Moy’s final point is that dollar coins are perfect for vending machines and parking meters.

But don’t tell that to Portlanders -- they prefer credit cards for parking meters, and quarters if they have them.

Maureen Yandle is a spokeswoman for the Portland office of transportation, which manages the cities parking meters.

Maureen Yandle “About eighty percent of the coins collected are quarters.  And one percent would be generous on dollar coins.”

In other words, out of nearly $15 million collected by Portland parking meters each year, less than one-percent of that is in the form of dollar coins.

So why haven’t dollar coins caught on like they have in other countries?  Again, Coin Cottage owner Paul Rigby.

Paul Rigby “Here’s a reason I hear is because they think it looks like a quarter.  But it doesn’t  look like a quarter ‘cause it’s gold colored, it’s not nickel.”

Rigby actually likes the dollar coins and often tries to give them out as change.  But he says many customers – even at his coin collecting shop – ask for paper currency instead.

Paul Rigby “We’re just used to using the paper dollars.”

In fact, Rigby says the demand he sees for the dollar coins at his shop is so low that he’s planning to take his remaining dollar coins back to the bank where he got them.