Walt Disney World helps U.S. Mint

[lazyboy97o]

Legally they cannot refuse any type of valid US currency.

Unless Florida has such a law on the books, such a policy is completely legal according to US law.

QUESTION: I thought that United States currency was legal tender for all debts. Some businesses or governmental agencies say that they will only accept checks, money orders or credit cards as payment, and others will only accept currency notes in denominations of $20 or smaller. Isn't this illegal?

ANSWER: The pertinent portion of law that applies to your question is the Coinage Act of 1965, specifically Section 31 U.S.C. 5103, entitled "Legal tender," which states: "United States coins and currency (including Federal reserve notes and circulating notes of Federal reserve banks and national banks) are legal tender for all debts, public charges, taxes, and dues."

This statute means that all United States money as identified above are a valid and legal offer of payment for debts when tendered to a creditor. There is, however, no Federal statute mandating that a private business, a person or an organization must accept currency or coins as for payment for goods and/or services. Private businesses are free to develop their own policies on whether or not to accept cash unless there is a State law which says otherwise. For example, a bus line may prohibit payment of fares in pennies or dollar bills. In addition, movie theaters, convenience stores and gas stations may refuse to accept large denomination currency (usually notes above $20) as a matter of policy.

Source: http://www.ustreas.gov/education/faq/currency/legal-tender.shtml

 

[lilredfoxie]

The Train Ticket machines have been giving back dollar coins for change for years.

If they really wanted to get the $1 coins in use more, discontinue the paper $1 bill, bump up the lowest paper bill to $2.

 

[GenerationX]

I've vacationed in Canada and in the U.K. And by Canada and the U.K., I mean the real countries, not just the Epcot pavilions. I've been to the Epcot pavilions, of course, but that's not pertinent to my point, which is: I found dollar and pound coins to be useful. In the U.S., change is exactly that - change. There's no other real use for it, because very few items can be purchased with just change. Sure, there's the occasional person who ventures into their wallet/purse to make exact change for a purchase, but that's atypical. Most coins go straight from U.S. mint to cashier to pocket to jar at home. Where they stay for a long time.

In Canada and the U.K., however, I found myself using change to actually buy stuff. I'd be less likely to throw my U.S. change in a jar if I didn't have to have a pocketful of it the size of a baseball to buy lunch.

 

[_Scar]

I love how Disney and the government are helping each other out (this, the train). I like to think this is the work of Obama. Change I beleive in.

 

[lazyboy97o]

I love how Disney and the government are helping each other out (this, the train). I like to think this is the work of Obama. Change I beleive in.

The Treasury has been pushing for the $1 coin for some time now. A new dollar coin (what became the Sacagawea coin) was approved by President Clinton and the high speed rail project is being done at a state level, not a federal level. Disney also first offered the land to the train project a few years ago, but was trying to use it as leverage against other stations in the area (the Convention Center).

 

[Rob562]

Yeah, let's bring politics into it.....:shrug:

By law ( Unites States Code, Title 31, Section 5114(b) ) only a potrait of a deceased individual may appear on U.S. currency.

(As a side note, I believe this practice also applies to US Postage...)

As for the dollar coins, until the MBTA switched to mag stripe fare cards, their token machines gave out dollar coins as change. I'd often stick in a $10 bill just to get the dollar coins back.

Then there was the time I stopped at a rest area along the highway in Connecticuit. Looking to get a snack and a drink, the smallest bill was a $5, and luckily the drink machine took it. It then gave back change that included dollar coins. But then when I went to use the OTHER machine, it didn't take dollar coins. Grrrr!!!

And as a final coinage anecdote, the lobby of the main post office in my city is open 24 hours. They used to have 3 or 4 machines in the lobby selling a bunch of different stamps, pre-paid postcards and envelopes, etc. You could also buy single stamps in one of the machines. That machine was the only machine I've ever seen that accepted pennies for purchases (and gave them back as change, if necessary) because of the nature of buying a single stamp. Every once in a while I'd stop by with my change cup from home and feed the machine pennies and get stamps.

I know it probably wasn't the best use of my time, but I felt good spending the time to do that rather than the change machine at the grocery store gobbling 8.9% of my coins' value. I don't know if it was some sort of cost-saving measure, but they removed ALL of those machines a couple years ago. Now the only option is the Automated Postal Center machine. It's great being able to use it to mail packages outside of the counter hours, but the only stamp options are a whole book of 1st class stamps. No postcard stamps, no pre-paid envelopes, nothing special.

-Rob

 

[Philo]

I'm going to throw my UK opinion in on this one.

We have a 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, 20p, 50p, £1 and £2 coins. After that it goes to notes. In other words - a lot of coins.

When you get a pocket full of change, you will be surprised how quickly you will spend it again. The fact you have £1 and £2 coins means that you can quickly have enough change to buy something of value.

Whenever I visit the US I always end up with a small mountain of change which I've never spent because you need a pocket full to make anything decent out of it.

I also find it much easier to pay for small items with coins. Just dip your hand in your pocket and you can see at a glance how much you have, not so easy with the US bills (I'm sure it would be easier If I was more used to the currency but it's still easier to open you hand and see a few coins than count out a few notes).

In short, I think this is a good idea. Just because the $1 is a coin rather than a note, it won't change peoples attitudes towards it's use (i.e. no one is going to start throwing them in fountains just because it's a coin, people still know the value). It will be a bit of a shift, it always is (our £2 was only introduced a few years ago and the 5p and 50p coins have been changed within my living memory) but people adjust quickly and I think the coin will be adopted.

Of course, if you really hate the coins then just collect them at the end of each day, put them in a jar and you will have enough $ for a Disney World tip in no time.

 

[gsimpson]

Most people dislike the coins

I maintain and help manage the fare vending system for a metro light rail (about 115 vending kiosks) and they all give out dollar coins. There is not a single day that goes by that our riders don't tell me how much they dislike the dollar coin. It is not just a small number of people who dislike the coin, it is a majority, they ridicule us for jamming the dollar coins down their throats and write many many letters to complain about it. Quite a few people use credit cards instead supposedly because they don't want the dollar coins. Some of them even take the time to ride to one of our transit centers to exchange them for paper money (a good definition for "waste of time" as I see it). Personally I don't care much one way or another, it all spends the same.

It is actually quite a bit cheaper for a vending machine to handle coins than bills. The coin verifier (device that actually verifies the coin is authentic) is about 350.00 dollars and will accept most any coin (we choose not to take pennies), the bank note acceptor on the other hand costs about 4000.00 (it is a very high end Sodeco/Mars unit). To give bills in change instead of dollar coins would add about another 2400.00 to the cost of the machine.

I am stunned most every day by the number of people that don't think the US Government makes a dollar coin, they believe we are giving out railway tokens! As a rule people seem less annoyed with the gold colored presidential dollars versus the Susan B Anthony or Sak dollar coins.

According to our CoinCo rep, the SBA and Sak coins are not actually being minted anymore but nor are they being actively removed from circulation. According to him (and he should know) the only dollar coins being made these days are the presidential dollars, four different designs each year.

 

[Disney05]

Hate this idea. Imagine having to walk around in the hot humid FL weather with $20 worth of dollar coins in my pocket. I don't even like walking around with small change jingling in my pocket.

 

[Philo]

I've got to ask, In what situation do you see yourself walking around with $20 worth of coins in your pocket? If you pay for a small item with a $20, you will still (probably) get $15 in notes and some of the $1 coins will be given as $2 coins. Basically you might end up with 2 or 3 coins.

In 26 years of living in the UK - I find it hard to remember a time when I've had to walk around with more than 8 pound coins and even if that happened, you just use that to pay for your next purchase. At any given time I might have about 5 or 6 coins of various denominations in my pocket and they can always be spent.

I'm not trying to make any kind of real statement here nor argue with anyone, I just think that this is a case of hating the change (pardon the pun) without experiencing the system.

 

[RSoxNo1]

With our luck they will put Obama on the $1 coin and it will be the new thing to have and everyone will think what a great idea it is and why we never thought of it before.:brick:

If only they could make it look like a nobel prize.

Now, I don't think keeping the coins solely in Liberty Square it will be that substantial a change. If they were to implement this resort wide it would be far more substantial.

 

[Disney05]

I've got to ask, In what situation do you see yourself walking around with $20 worth of coins in your pocket? If you pay for a small item with a $20, you will still (probably) get $15 in notes and some of the $1 coins will be given as $2 coins. Basically you might end up with 2 or 3 coins.

In 26 years of living in the UK - I find it hard to remember a time when I've had to walk around with more than 8 pound coins and even if that happened, you just use that to pay for your next purchase. At any given time I might have about 5 or 6 coins of various denominations in my pocket and they can always be spent.

I'm not trying to make any kind of real statement here nor argue with anyone, I just think that this is a case of hating the change (pardon the pun) without experiencing the system.

Ok, so I was exaggerating a tad.

 

[wdwwdeagle]

I'm not trying to make any kind of real statement here nor argue with anyone, I just think that this is a case of hating the change (pardon the pun) without experiencing the system.

I agree with you, Philo.
I am one who would have been vehemently against dollar coins in the past -- "what a pain!" However, after my first trip to Europe this past spring, I've got a completely different perspective. The 1 and 2 euro coins were absolutely no problem, and I didn't miss the paper notes at all.

As with most everything else, Americans aren't going to accept this until we're forced to. So, at some point they're just going to have to take the paper $1 out and leave us without a choice.

 

[fireworkz]

(As a side note, I believe this practice also applies to US Postage...)
Then there was the time I stopped at a rest area along the highway in Connecticuit. Looking to get a snack and a drink, the smallest bill was a $5, and luckily the drink machine took it. It then gave back change that included dollar coins. But then when I went to use the OTHER machine, it didn't take dollar coins. Grrrr!!!

I don't understand why the US gov is "transitioning" to a coin from the bill. In Canada we made the change right away which forced vending machines to be changed almost immediately to allow the use of the dollar coin. Got rid of those dang bill readers. Biggest pain for me traveling to the USA (once I'm there) is using those bill readers! Sure we loved our bill too, but there are a lot of advantages today in having coins only.

And for those of you asking, yes QEII was on both the $1 Green and $2 Red bills. The final $1 had the Parliament buildings on the reverse, while the final $2 had a pair of Robins (the previous one had Inuit hunters).

 

[Expo_Seeker40]

I recently came back from Toronto, and while I didn't enjoy the idea of having coins in my pocket, I do agree with Philo :wave: that, yes, in reality, the Canadian 1's and 2's weren't with me that long, I was spending them more than I was spending the Canadian 5 dollar bill. Thus at the end of each day, I had change just like I do in the US....quarters, dimes, nickles, and pennies.

I also just bought a Canadian half dollar on ebay because I found out, like in America, Canadian half dollars are no longer made for circulation.

I also bought a fine crisp Canadian 2 dollar bill on ebay as well, from the last series made in 1986. :lookaroun

I think what many Americans and myself don't like is that, yes, we can easily rid our wallets of the 1 dollar coins by using them just like paper 1's, but it's being told by many uninformed cashiers that these coins aren't real, they're fake, their tokons, or "we don't accept them". :brick: If everyone in the country knew what the US dollar coin was, I'd have no problem using it. As of now...I give it back to the bank.

 

[Phonedave]

I agree with you, Philo.
I am one who would have been vehemently against dollar coins in the past -- "what a pain!" However, after my first trip to Europe this past spring, I've got a completely different perspective. The 1 and 2 euro coins were absolutely no problem, and I didn't miss the paper notes at all.

As with most everything else, Americans aren't going to accept this until we're forced to. So, at some point they're just going to have to take the paper $1 out and leave us without a choice.

I loved using pound coins when in England. I found it easier to reach in my front pocket and fish out one or two pounds to pay for a small purchase as opposed to getting out the wallet.

They really did not "weigh me down" at all.

I used to work in a grocery store when I was in High School and College. For I while I worked as a cashier (before I transfered to the floor) and getting customers to take 2 dollar bills or dollar coins as change was almost impossible.

Some of us (such as myself) used to always have $10 - $20 on us just to be able to swap for "good things" that would come into our tills.

I collected a variety of stuff during my time there. Loads of wheat pennies, a few buffalo nickles, silver certificates, Kennedy half dollars, silver dollars (that was a coup, some lady paid with about 10 of them one day), and of course a load of one dollar coins.

-dave

 

[luckyeye13]

Then put Washington on the $1 coin.

I for one cannot fathom why Americans have $1 notes, the smallest denominator note here is £5 and in less than 10 years time I suspect that will be replaced with a coin. (I have a £5 coin but thats a special collectors one for the silver jubilee a few years back).

I was just in Switzerland in August and noticed that they actually do not have bills smaller than 10 Swiss francs. Thus, the CHF1, 2, and 5 denominations are all in coins! Naturally, I made sure to spend all of my coins (except for the one of each denomination that I kept) before leaving the country as that would be a lot of money that I would not be able to exchange once I left. (CHF5 is worth almost USD5!)

On the topic of things that other countries do better than the US with regards to currency, it would also be nice if we quoted prices with the tax already included (as is done in the United Kingdom, Switzerland, the Euro zone, Australia, and most any other country I have been to) and made sure that the cents generally ended in a zero or a five to eliminate the need for pennies (as is done in Switzerland and Australia). Even in the Euro zone, there are some countries where the 1c and 2c coins are not minted and prices are rounded up to the nearest 5c. New Zealand actually went further and also got rid of its 5c coins.

 

[Expo_Seeker40]

Two things:

Is anyone else, besides me, not a big fan of the US's current color paper money? :shrug: It's not the color that bothers me, it's how for decades and decades our paper money had intricate prints, and a symmetrical design. Each bill sort of looked the same, but had a unique design that complimented each paper note.

I'm not saying Canadian or European money is ugly looking, I'm saying that it seems the American Treasury department tried to go that route a few years ago, and IMO, failed with a half US/half european design.

The US $2 bill is the oldest obverse (front face) design left in current US Paper Money, having been designed in 1928.



And the other thing.....to those wdwmagic members who are from Canada and Great Britain, what do you typically call the United States of America?

"The US", "The States", etc? While I was in Canada I typically heard "the states".

 

[Monty]

Two things:

Is anyone else, besides me, not a big fan of the US's current color paper money? :shrug: It's not the color that bothers me, it's how for decades and decades our paper money had intricate prints, and a symmetrical design. Each bill sort of looked the same, but had a unique design that complimented each paper note.

I'm not saying Canadian or European money is ugly looking, I'm saying that it seems the American Treasury department tried to go that route a few years ago, and IMO, failed with a half US/half european design.

The US $2 bill is the oldest obverse (front face) design left in current US Paper Money, having been designed in 1928.



And the other thing.....to those wdwmagic members who are from Canada and Great Britain, what do you typically call the United States of America?

"The US", "The States", etc? While I was in Canada I typically heard "the states".

The States is what the majority call your country.

I always get slightly put off when people call your country "America"... America spans two continents.

 

[lazyboy97o]

According to our CoinCo rep, the SBA and Sak coins are not actually being minted anymore but nor are they being actively removed from circulation. According to him (and he should know) the only dollar coins being made these days are the presidential dollars, four different designs each year.

Well your rep is wrong. The Sacagawea dollars are still being minted and got a series of new obverses this year. The reason the Susan B. Anthony coins are not being actively removed from circulation is that because in 1999 the supply of dollar coins had diminished and the Mint was not yet ready to begin minting the Sacagawea coins. In order to deal with the shortage the mint ended up minting new Susan B. Anthony coins in 1999.

Source: http://www.usmint.gov/mint_programs/nativeAmerican/