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Replacing dollar bill with coins could save billions: government

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BOSTON | Fri Mar 4, 2011 4:49pm EST

BOSTON (Reuters) - Replacing $1 bills with coins of the same amount could save the federal government $5.5 billion over the next 30 years, officials said on Friday.

Analysis by the U.S. Government Accountability Office showed the savings would come from replacing bills with more durable coins.

The report was not the first time the GAO has recommended the money swap, but the agency said past efforts to buoy support for the $1 coin have been hindered in part because the $1 bills have remained in circulation.

Other countries such as the United Kingdom and Canada that use a coin advised the GAO to pull the bills from circulation to hasten public acceptance.

The GAO said a change to coins from dollar bills would present some upfront costs and assumed a four-year transition period.

Private companies also said altering current equipment to take and store the proposed $1 coin would be an expense, the GAO said.

(Reporting by Lauren Keiper; Editing by Ellen Wulfhorst and Jerry Norton)
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Comments (3)
bikerjoe wrote:
I wonder how much the government could save by eliminating the penny? Oh, well since they just revised the penny with an assumed 10-year payback period they can’t afford to eliminate it until 2021.

Mar 04, 2011 5:45pm EST  --  Report as abuse
hsvkitty wrote:
And I have a loonie that says that is probably very true…

Mar 04, 2011 7:52pm EST  --  Report as abuse
Proud2BAmerican wrote:
@bikerJoe, they wouldn’t never eliminate the penny, that is a big fundraisers for many organizations. I can see people contributing their change but not their dollar bills, not for a kids drive, etc.

Mar 08, 2011 9:21am EST  --  Report as abuse
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