Enthusiasts for forcing the replacement of our US dollar bill with a dollar coin should consider Montreal Gazette columnist Jay Bryan’s plea to the Canadian government, which already issues C$1 and C$2 coins (nicknamed the “loonie” and the “toonie”) and is currently considering a C$5 coin.

What's really important is for the government of Canada to keep in mind - as it so obviously forgot with the introduction of the $1 and $2 coins - that a change like this should only come about when it's clear that it will be beneficial to most Canadians. Governments exist to make life better for citizens, not vice versa.

The loonie and toonie were unpopular when they were imposed, and many Canadians still resent their weight and bulk. Rightly so, since the replacement of lightweight, convenient banknotes with heavy coins actually represented a big step backward for users.

… the widespread acceptance of paper money over the past three centuries was motivated largely by the convenience it offered. Now much of that convenience is being taken away, not because citizens will receive some significant offsetting benefit, but mostly for the convenience of the federal government.

After all, the alleged savings represent such an infinitesimal smidgen of federal revenues that it’s unlikely any Canadian will notice any benefit from them.

On the other hand, the inconvenience of lugging around a heavy lump of change represents a very tangible cost to Canadians, one that never goes away. Strangely, our government seems to have ignored this in its calculations.

… As any Canadian tourist can attest, it's a pleasure to walk around in the U.S. with less metal in your pocket.

As I’ve said before, if we would leave the issue of both coins and notes to the private marketplace, as Scotland and Northern Ireland today do for notes, we could have a genuine market test as to whether the convenience benefits of $1 notes (lesser pocket weight) justify their higher production costs as compared with more durable but bulkier coins. As long as we leave the note-coin decision to government, the best we can hope for are dubious cost-benefit studies.