More Ways to Spread Out the Gold $1 Coins

Here's the latest update on what we're doing with our gold $1 coins purchased from the U.S. Mint (here's the last report if you need a review.) If you read the post on our 2010 credit card results, you know that we have quite a few of these coins on hand. ;-)

So here's how we are dwindling down the bundle a bit:

• We're still giving out blessing boxes (coins in mini "treasure chests") but have also expanded to blessing banks (coins in ceramic piggy banks) and blessing bottles (coins in a bottle filled with colored water.) In January we gave blessing boxes to a friend of ours who is struggling financially and a family we know who just lost their home. We gave a blessing bottle to a friend in a tough spot and a blessing bank to a family we felt needed a "boost" (though we don't know for sure.) The fun of seeing their faces when they open the gifts (for those we saw) is priceless! It's great fun (everyone loves gold coins)!
• Our kids still give them at birthday parties and are regularly told they are the "best" gifts the other kids receive. (Note: the container is also a gift -- something that can be re-used by the recipient -- so it's a fun "double gift.")
• I load my car up with them and we spend them when we're out and about. I've paid for trips to the movies (yes, I hauled in $20-some-odd coins), quick treats (like a pop or ice cream), small gifts (I got some silly bands for my daughter the other day), fast food stops (on the way back from a basketball game), small trips to the grocery store, one-day fees for the pool, and the like.
• I use them for tips. When I drive on a trip for work, I get the coins out of my car and leave them for the hotel staff. I also often leave a few at a restaurant if I think about it (and don't give the tip via a credit card charge.)
• We pay our kids in gold coins sometimes. They have a bank we keep for them but they sometimes want to withdraw for a small purchase or gift. We use the coins and they love them!
• We gave them as Christmas gifts. My parents loved getting them in their stockings this year!

Those are our main uses for the coins at this point. BTW, I haven't seen a lot of vending machines use them (though I don't often buy from a vending machine.)

How about you? Anyone else out there buying the gold $1 coins (and getting the cash-back rewards that go with them)? If so, how are you using them?

Comments

[Harm]

Again....golden coins, not gold coins.
some might be confused, LoL.

[Robert Muir]

I bought a box of them and since I rarely buy small items, I think they'll last me quite a while. So far I've used them for the occasional DQ Blizzard in the drive-thru.

Until the government does away with the penny (freeing up a spot in the cash drawer), the dollar coin isn't going anywhere. Retailers are tossing them under the drawer divider 'til the end of the day when they make their bank deposit. The same problem with the $2 bill. Until they eliminate the $1 bill, there isn't room for the $2 bill in the drawer.

[George]

FMF, I have not heard of this at all! Wow, I can't believe I have missed your posts about this / hearing about it. Sooooo cool. One of my favorite things about traveling is using coins (Europe, England, Canada), I always wish America would do this more. I loved just tossing euros around instead of bills, so much easier and cleaner. I seriously am going to pick up one of those $250 rolls, you better get ready for some competition in other cities. Ah I can't wait to use these in pubs...

[AZJoe]

We often use them when we are on vacation. We use them for tips to airport baggage handlers, in hotels for maids, on tour buses, and dining out (since we don't eat out much at home). People seem surprised and pleased to receive them. I also use them for small purchases. Our Grandchildren really like them when we give them for gifts.

[Kathy F]

I use them in the soda and snack vending machines at work (Federal Building), as tips for maids, airline porters etc and to pay parking fees occasionally at a garage where they don't take credit cards. I also use them to pay for membership in the Water Club at work (about $4 per month) and to pay into the work group lottery when we decided to buy some tickets together. I keep several rolls at home for emergencies along with some other cash bills in case of some disaster where electricity might go out for an extended time and cash and change might be needed.

[MelMoitzen]

I carry at least four of them with me at all times. All transactions under $5 are paid via coin. I get my 2% back since I purchased them with a credit card; the retailer doesn't pay an unreasonable transaction fee on a small purchase. Sounds like a win-win for me. The pool opens in a little more than a month--the coins can go into my son's bathing suit pocket so he can easily hop out of the pool and buy his own ice cream when the truck comes around (try doing that with bills).