I hate those dollar coins and I'm not alone. Most Americans won't carry them or use them in vending machines - the industry that has been pushing these white elephants for as long as I can remember. They are too close in size to a quarter and besides, coins are much easier to lose than bills. For Congress and the US Mint, it's in one ear and out the other: American consumers have shown about as much appetite for the $1 coin as kids do their spinach. They may not know what's best for them either. Congressional auditors say doing away with dollar bills entirely and replacing them with dollar coins could save taxpayers some $4.4 billion over the next 30 years. Vending machine operators have long championed the use of $1 coins because they don't jam the machines, cutting down on repair costs and lost sales. But most people don't seem to like carrying them. In the past five years, the U.S. Mint has produced 2.4 billion Presidential $1 coins. Most are stored by the Federal...(Read Full Post)