Greener Green – The U.S. One Dollar Coin

The Sacagawea dollar coin was introduced in 2000 to replace the Susan B. Anthony dollar, which (being Canadian, I didn’t know) was often confused with the quarter because of its color and feel. The newer coin is a golden color with no ribbing along the sides to prevent confusion, just like the Presidential coins introduced this year by the US Mint . When the coins were introduced, Michael Claus, W. Reid Shepherd and Brandon Wayne at Michigan State University asked “is one form of the dollar better for the environment? If the coin dollar is better, should we replace the paper dollar with its coin equivalent? If the paper dollar is better, and Americans trust the paper dollar more than the coin, wouldn't it be prudent to stop introducing new coins into the American economy?” Their answer: the coin is better.