Recycled Dollars - Part Two

She asked about it. Yesterday. Oh boy. Then she started looking for it. Frantically. Because she wanted to show it to her friend. I told her she needed to get ready to go to the library for story time and I was able to delay her for a while. So, we got home from the library and I had to go to the USPS website, get the phone number for the post office in Santa Clarita to find out if their stamp vending machine still gave change in dollar coins. Yes! So, on my way back from the dr's office yesterday, I stopped there and deposited a $20 bill into the machine. I had to buy a whole book of stamps! Oh well, it is for a good cause. I got twelve golden dollars and two dimes back! Now I have enough for later, too! I got back home and deposited eleven golden dollars into the monster safe and carefully placed the other on the floor of her playroom, right underneath where the tooth box had been on the shelf. After a little while, I casually asked her if she had a chance to look for the missing dollar. She said no and we went to look for it. I showed her where I had found the box and told her to look on the floor around there. There was plenty of debris on the playroom floor, so she had to do a little digging. She found it! "There's something here and it is shiny! And it is round!! It's my golden dollar!!!" Me: "Oh, good, you found it! Now put it someplace safe, okay? So you don't lose it again." Well, we put it in the monster as well. In a separate location from the other eleven. Phew. Done. I was so worried all day, since I had used the same one. What if the post office no longer had them? What if they only had susan b anthony dollars in the machine? I have received those as change before as well. So I was very relieved when I got golden dollars out of the machine!

In answer to your questions, Rosemary, golden dollars are the Sacagawea $1 coins that came out a few years ago that are no longer being minted. They were originally called Sacagawea dollars, but when people started to call them "Sucky's" because Americans don't want to carry coins around, they changed the name to Golden Dollars. They are a gold color and tarnish very quickly, so then they look almost copper-colored. They are the same size as the Susan B Anthony's. Apparently, the US Mint could save over $500 million per year if we would switch to dollar coins instead of paper dollars, but we the public are so whiny about it that they keep the paper and get rid of the coins. Since when do they listen to us about anything? JUST MAKE THE CHANGE. People will adapt! The campaign should be about saving the money, not making the money! But I digress.

Jess has her golden dollars from the tooth fairy. My guilt is gone. Today will be a good day. Now if I can just keep Rebekah from hitting her sister...