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Sacagawea

Hit or Miss

Sacagawea

In search of something to blog about during these slow summer months, I went to the bank today and tried to get some Sacagawea dollar coins (via Unknown News). All previous attempts to get them at Walmarts or banks in Indiana had been unsuccessful. But at my new Missouri bank, the third teller I went to, after scrounging around in the back, was able to give me 5 dollar coins. I bravely announced to her that I was not going to hoard them but instead introduce them into the economy. The other patrons in the lobby probably thought I was a stupid fuck.

So I look at them and they’re kind of smudgy, like old pennies. Definitely not mint quality. But have they been around long enough to get discolored? Or is the type of metal the mint used easily tarnished? Any thoughts I might have had about collecting them is dashed.

And no. None of them had Washington stamped on the front.

2 responses so far (Respond)

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You can easily get dollar coins from any postal vending machine. Most banks should have a supply by now, they are minting 1 billion of them this year (making it so common they will never be collectibles, so spend ’em!) Most newer vending machines accept them (and the old Susan B, which can be used interchangably in vending) and tons more are being converted every day. The biggest user of the coins will be transit systems, etc. And even if they do away with the (useless) paper dollar, there are $2 bills to take up the slack and keep us from having heavy pockets.
As for the tarnishing, it is because of the manganese outer layer that gives the coin its gold coloring. They get ugly for a while, but then change to a uniform color that isn’t a dark as a well used cent. At least people can tell they are a dollar. The choice in metals was necessitated by the requirement to make the coins compatible with the older SBA coins in machines.

Steve Phillips | 7 Jul 2000
Gravatar

You can easily get dollar coins from any postal vending machine. Most banks should have a supply by now, they are minting 1 billion of them this year (making it so common they will never be collectibles, so spend 'em!) Most newer vending machines accept them (and the old Susan B, which can be used interchangably in vending) and tons more are being converted every day. The biggest user of the coins will be transit systems, etc. And even if they do away with the (useless) paper dollar, there are $2 bills to take up the slack and keep us from having heavy pockets.
As for the tarnishing, it is because of the manganese outer layer that gives the coin its gold coloring. They get ugly for a while, but then change to a uniform color that isn't a dark as a well used cent. At least people can tell they are a dollar. The choice in metals was necessitated by the requirement to make the coins compatible with the older SBA coins in machines.

Steve Phillips | 4 Nov 2009