U.S. Coins: Alternative Scenarios Suggest Different Benefits and Losses from Replacing the One Dollar Note with a One Dollar Coin. Report to the Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management Government Information, Federal Services, and International Security, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs U.S. Senate

摘要

In March 2011, GAO reported that replacing the 1 dollar note with a 1 dollar coin would provide a net benefit to the government of about 5.5 billion over 30 years, or an average of about 184 million per year. This benefit, which GAO estimated using an economic model based on a set of assumptions, was entirely attributable to seigniorage, a term defined as the difference between the cost of producing coins or notes and their face value. Seigniorage reduces government borrowing and interest costs, resulting in a financial benefit to the government. As GAO noted, the estimated net benefit could increase or decrease with changes in the assumptions. GAO was asked to provide additional details on its 2011 analysis. Accordingly, GAO (1) updated its analysis to account for recent changes in note processing, among other things, and based on this update determined (2) the specific benefit or loss to the government for each of the first 10 years of its 30-year analysis; (3) the net benefit or loss to the government over 10 years if the interest savings due to seigniorage are excluded from the analysis; and (4) the net benefit or loss to the government over 10 years if it is assumed that each note will be replaced by 1 coin, rather than 1.5 coins, as GAO assumed in its 30-year analysis. GAO used the economic model it developed for its 2011 report, updated certain factors, and varied the assumptions for seigniorage and the replacement ratio of coins to notes as requested.