Real Change Comes to Austin
Dec 19th, 2008 by Adam
Sir Austin is proud to report that Austin has been named one of four cities in the U.S. to be visited by the United States Mint for the launch of a new program to educate the public about coin money. The U.S. Mint reports that the American public could save as much as $522 million a year if the entire U.S. switched from paper currency to coined money.
Greg Hernandez, Deputy Director of Public Affairs for the mint states “The main advantage for using coined money in place of paper is that coined money lasts on average 30 to 40 yrs. and in addition can be melted down at the end of its life and made into new coins making the currency 100% recyclable. Long term, the GOA (Government Accountability Office) estimates that if America made the choice to use $1 coins in place of dollar bills the U.S. could save billions of dollars over time.
The U.S. Mint also reports that even though prices are down from last year it still costs the government a little more too print pennies and nickels than the coins are actually worth. On the flip side the $1 dollar coin is actually a good investment for the U.S. Mint. $1 dollar coins cost around .20 per coin to print giving the Mint a great Return of their investment.
Austin’s Progressive Populace Recognized
In a definite compliment to Austin residents the Mint stated that Austin was chosen as one of the four cities for the pilot program because of Austin’s progressive populace. The Mint also stated that Austin area residents were open to various types of new conservation programs such as renovations in recycling and the like. Deemed the “Real Change Exchange” the program hopes to educate as many people as possible on the benefits of using the lowly circulated currency. Hernandez stated that “the Real Change Exchange has been well welcomed by Austin businesses evidenced by the fact that more than 200 Austin businesses have already signed up to participate”. There are no plans to scrap using the greenbacks just yet but if Hernandez had his way Austin would serve as a test market for the country to wean itself off of paper currency and onto the currency of the future.
