Yet another dollar coin

Yet another dollar coin

Lima News: Over the years, Americans have made clear how they feel about of using dollar coins instead of paper bills — they don’t like it.

There have been a couple of attempts in past decades to get Americans to accept dollar coins, but they just languish in bank vaults.

But the determination to switch never seems to die. Now an Arizona Republican congressman, Rep. David Schweikert, thinks he has found a way to make it happen: Don’t give Americans a choice.

In the past attempts, the dollar coins coexisted with paper dollar bills. That was a mistake, Schweikert says. You have to stop printing the bills and force people to turn in their beloved dollar bills if you want the coins to be accepted.

Many folks find bills more convenient than coins, but don’t expect the dollar coins to just go away either. The U.S. Mint started taking orders Tuesday for the new Rutherford B. Hayes dollar coin. Hayes, the 19th president, was one of eight Ohioans who have served as president.

The whole issue of coins versus bills will likely become irrelevant more people switch to electronic purchases with debit cards, something they are doing voluntarily because it is more convenient than carrying either coins or bills.