Money: Set Us Free, Susan B.

Set Us Free, Susan B.

Each year the Treasury Department spends $318 million to shred worn-out dollar bills and replace them with fresh ones. New Mexico Republican Senator Pete Domenici thinks he has a better, if not new, idea. He has introduced a bill to create a dollar coin, stamped mainly out of copper (which, not coincidentally, is plentiful in his state). He predicts the coins will drive paper dollars out of circulation because they can be used so readily in vending machines. Moreover, they will last 20 years, vs. a life-span of only 18 months for paper bills.

But wait, wasn't the Susan B. Anthony...

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