How one group is putting $100,000 in dollar and half dollar coins into circulation

More than three years and $85,000.

That’s how long and how strong an effort to put $100,000 worth of dollar and half dollar coins into U.S. circulation has been.

I stumbled across a thread on the Coin Community Family forum earlier this week titled, “Project $100K. Circulating Dollar and Half Dollar Coins."

Project $100K? Quite catchy.

The thread’s originator, a user who goes by cc99999, explains the contest in the very first post:

"I propose a Coin Community Forum project called Project 100K where we in the course of regular commerce spend $100,000 worth of golden dollar coins or half dollars. Post here with how many you spent, where, and what if any curious anecdotes you have regarding your transaction."

That was posted on April 6, 2012. cc99999 announced in the post he had put the first $17 worth of Sacagawea and Presidential dollars (all AU or below, mind you) into the system: $4 at tolls, $3 on candy for his son, $10 at a movie theater concession stand.

Since that first post, there have 4,137 replies, the most recent coming around 8:53 p.m. CT yesterday. User jack jackel spent $4 in dollar coins on lottery tickets, and $15.50 in halves and dollar coins at "the beer store."

That $19.50 worth of dollars and half dollars put into circulation brought Project $100K down to Project $14,756.50. 

That’s right, the thread’s loyalists have put $85,243.50 worth of dollar and half dollar coins into circulation since April 2012. And all of them are accounted for. (It’s like Bitcoin’s block chain, only instead of virtual new-age currency, it’s keeping track of the total opposite.)

It’d take me weeks to go through to find all the interesting things that people have exchanged high-denomination coinage for, but here are a few that I’ve come across:

• CelticKnot: "2 Prez for peaches at a fruit stand in Fredericksburg, TX" (June 3, 2015)
• Garoyn: "$2 Sacagawea--cafeteria; cashier laughed, but took ‘em" (June 2, 2015)
• jack jeckel: "Dropped 350 in dollar coins on Sears, Roebuck, & Co paying my credit card bill." (Dec. 14, 2014)
• Zoran: "Went to Denny's with my wife for breakfast; coffee is usually decent there but this time it was terrible. Left a $4 tip in halves." (May 18, 2014)
• argentum: "$3 for a couple of bottles of beer from the grocery store after a graduation celebration shindig." (May 25, 2013)
• AllezRoubaix: "2 G$ for a 5 layer burrito at Taco Bell, a glorious mess of nacho cheese, beef, sour cream, and refried beans, so unhealthy though." (March 11, 2013)
• 1967Canadapenny: "$22.00 On an e string for my violin" (Nov. 8, 2012)

Let the countdown continue!

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