Presidential Dollar Coin Program : NPR

Presidential Dollar Coin Program Unused dollar coins, worth more than $1 billion, have been quietly piling up in Federal Reserve vaults thanks to a government program that has required their production since 2007.

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Presidential Dollar Coin Program

Unused dollar coins, worth $1 billion, have been piling up in Federal Reserve vaults.

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Millions of dollars worth of $1 coins languish in a vault at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond's Baltimore branch. John W. Poole/NPR hide caption

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John W. Poole/NPR

$1 Billion In Coins That Nobody Wants

June 28, 2011 • A joint inquiry by NPR's Planet Money and Investigations teams found that more than $1 billion of unused dollar coins are the wasteful byproducts of another failed congressional effort to replace the dollar bill in everyday commerce.

$1 Billion That Nobody Wants

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Fed Sits On A Billion Unwanted Dollar Coins

June 28, 2011 • A billion dollars in dollar coins are stacked up in Federal Reserve vaults around the country because Americans don't want them. The dollar coin program has become a waste of money and space. Congress initiated the effort to promote presidential history and to build up interest in dollar coins as substitutes for bills. But the government wildly misjudged demand. And political sensitivities keep the program alive — even though some of its congressional sponsors acknowledge it has been a flop. Melissa Block talks to Planet Money's David Kestenbaum for more.

Fed Sits On A Billion Unwanted Dollar Coins

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How Frequent Fliers Exploit A Government Program

Jane Liaw Liaw orders coins from the U.S. Mint to earn frequent-flier miles. Jane Liaw hide caption

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Jane Liaw

Planet Money

How Frequent Fliers Exploit A Government Program

July 13, 2011 • Travel enthusiasts buy thousands of coins with credit cards that award frequent-flier miles for purchases. The government picks up the tab for shipping.

How Frequent Fliers Exploit A Government Program To Get Free Trips

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Dollar coins gathering dust in the Fed's Baltimore brach. John W. Poole/NPR hide caption

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John W. Poole/NPR

Planet Money

Bill Would Kill Dollar Coin Program

July 14, 2011 • Planet Money recently reported on the mountain of dollar coins piling up in Federal Reserve vaults. Now a Democratic Congresswoman wants to halt the program.

Dollar Coin Loophole Closes For Frequent Fliers

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Planet Money

Dollar Coin Loophole Closes For Frequent Fliers

July 22, 2011 • The U.S Mint said today it will no longer accept credit-card payments for dollar coins purchased from its Web site. Too many people were using the program just to get frequent-flier miles.

Teacher Rebecca Kayes shows off the dollar coins she uses in Quito, Ecuador. Rebecca Kayes hide caption

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Rebecca Kayes

Planet Money

Dollar Coins In The Wild

July 22, 2011 • We talk to travelers who use frequent-flier-mile credit cards to buy dollar coins and pile up miles. And we hear how the U.S. Mint is cracking down.

Dollar Coins In The Wild

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Legislation Aimed At Killing Dollar Coin Program

July 26, 2011 • A bill has been introduced in Congress to kill the troubled dollar coin program. Unwanted dollar coins are piling up in Federal Reserve vaults around the country, costing taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars. The program was designed to whet the public's appetite for dollar coins. But it's been a flop.

Legislation Aimed At Killing Dollar Coin Program

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December 13, 2011 • Earlier this year we reported on the pileup of more than a billion unwanted $1 coins in government vaults. It was the result of a law passed a few years back that ordered the mint to create coins honoring each U.S. president.Today, the White House said it will end the program.

Dollar Coins Are Done

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