The U.S. dollar coin: why you won’t use it

Yet again the US Mint has announced a new $1 coin. This time they're hoping the faces of U.S. Presidents will drive adoption where Sacagawea and Susan B. Anthony have failed before. Sorry, but this solution won't work either. You aren't going to use the new $1 coin for one simple reason: the paper version of the dollar is still alive and well. If the government really wanted you to adopt the coin, then they'd stop printing the dollar bill. In fact, this is the entire logic behind having a coin: hard coins can be in circulation much longer than flimsy, easy-to-rip paper. The $1 coin represents a lower cost option over paper to the U.S. Government. But the government will continue to print bills so will never adopt the coin. Why? Because the U.S. Mint makes the coins and the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing makes the bills. They work from separate budgets, and therefore have no incentive to make a trade-off. The Bureau of Engraving and Printing will never be incented to cut off their own funding for printing dollars to help the U.S. Mint with its $1 coin efforts. And that is why you'll never use the $1 coin: because you don't have to.