I recently read an article on NPR illuminating a surplus of unused dollar coins in the Federal Reserve that has now topped over a billion dollars. The banks keep returning the coins to the FED because they do not want them! This got me thinking about our fiat currency once again. I love coins because they can stand the test of time – the oldest coins in the world are thousands of years old. I love coins because they have touched so much history, so many places, and so many people. The introduction of dollar coins in America brought these feelings to life for me once again.

When I first saw the Sacagawea gold coins I was really excited, but my excitement quickly faded. Not only was it difficult to use them in vending machines, but I can count the number I have received during my entire life, through day to day transactions, on one hand. Sure, I can go to my bank and exchange a $10 bill for 10 dollar coins, but it nevertheless it remains unlikely that I will ever receive one back when buying goods or services.

I am lucky enough to have traveled to Europe many times in my life. Their one and two Euro coins, or alternatively British one and two pound coins, work well and no one thinks the wiser! Something funny (and a hidden cost) is that people in countries with heavier coins require their pant pockets to be fixed considerably more often than their American counterparts.

What do you think? Is it time to stop printing dollar bills?