Donation Dollar
September 2, 2020 2:36 AM Subscribe
The familiar kangaroos are replaced with a green and gold ripple and a message - Give to Help Others. The Royal Australian Mint releases the Donation Dollar, a coin intended to be given away. 25 million will be minted, one for each Australian.
Yes, this is great! But I’ve still got two twenties in my wallet I got from the ATM on the 16th March. I haven’t paid for anything with physical money in months. I’m aching to use cash, but won’t, not for a while yet. I can’t imagine getting one of these dollars soon.
posted by Fiasco da Gama at 5:09 AM on September 2, 2020 [4 favorites]
posted by Fiasco da Gama at 5:09 AM on September 2, 2020 [4 favorites]
Plus, as a Canadian, I like that it kind of looks like a toonie.
Hopefully it doesn't look too much like a toonie, because the Canadian and Australian Mints have thrown down over that sort of thing before.
posted by jacquilynne at 5:58 AM on September 2, 2020
Hopefully it doesn't look too much like a toonie, because the Canadian and Australian Mints have thrown down over that sort of thing before.
posted by jacquilynne at 5:58 AM on September 2, 2020
No mention of the sister design: the Screw You, I've Got Mine Dollar featuring the one finger salute?
posted by UbuRoivas at 6:09 AM on September 2, 2020 [5 favorites]
posted by UbuRoivas at 6:09 AM on September 2, 2020 [5 favorites]
I've been thinking of making a stamp to hit ally cash with, saying it's a "Grand Rapids Economy Bill" and that it should only be given to a person or local business that will keep it in the local economy.
That said, I'm curious how these are supposed to work. You donate it to, probably, a person asking for cash. Then, they spend it at a store. Now it's in the stores cashbox. Are they going to donate it?
posted by rebent at 6:51 AM on September 2, 2020
That said, I'm curious how these are supposed to work. You donate it to, probably, a person asking for cash. Then, they spend it at a store. Now it's in the stores cashbox. Are they going to donate it?
posted by rebent at 6:51 AM on September 2, 2020
It looks like it's mostly an awareness-raising project. From the first link:
Mr MacDiarmid said the aim was to promote charity, even if that meant simply thinking about giving.posted by trig at 7:04 AM on September 2, 2020
"What we are trying to do here is get people to stop and reflect," he said.
"If they did just that alone and thought about the idea of donating … that in itself would be an amazing outcome.
The Mint is encouraging giving "in all forms" — whether that involves donating to a registered charity or collector, or simply handing the coin to a person in need.
Coin collectors will hoover them all up, but hopefully also be inspired to give money to good causes?
posted by rmd1023 at 7:31 AM on September 2, 2020
posted by rmd1023 at 7:31 AM on September 2, 2020
I've been thinking of making a stamp to hit ally cash with, saying it's a "Grand Rapids Economy Bill" and that it should only be given to a person or local business that will keep it in the local economy.
I have seen cities issue bills that can be accepted as legal tender at local businesses that sign up to be part of the program. In my finding (which may well be mistaken), these programs are usually short-lived and of indifferent success. Twenty years ago I lived in Toronto and I think I still have a few Toronto Dollars tucked away in an envelope somewhere. I cannot imagine many or indeed any of the merchants who enrolled in the program would accept them as cash now.
As well, in many jurisdictions, defaced money is removed from circulation as soon as it reaches a bank. I faintly recall hearing a podcast where there was an interview with a rep from an activist group in the UK whose focus was forgiveness of third world debt. He said he had learned that defaced money was removed by banks, and that the procedure involved the banks recording the exact nature of the defacement. As he explained it, banks recorded the nature of the defacement for five different administrative departments, each of which was obliged to record the defacement multiple times for different functions. Accordingly his group had ink stamps made up reading CANCEL THIRD WORLD DEBT and stamped all the banknotes they could knowing that every single instance would be recorded dozens of times in bank records. Dunno how much they moved the needle, but I admire it as a bit of grassroots memetics.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 7:42 AM on September 2, 2020 [1 favorite]
I have seen cities issue bills that can be accepted as legal tender at local businesses that sign up to be part of the program. In my finding (which may well be mistaken), these programs are usually short-lived and of indifferent success. Twenty years ago I lived in Toronto and I think I still have a few Toronto Dollars tucked away in an envelope somewhere. I cannot imagine many or indeed any of the merchants who enrolled in the program would accept them as cash now.
As well, in many jurisdictions, defaced money is removed from circulation as soon as it reaches a bank. I faintly recall hearing a podcast where there was an interview with a rep from an activist group in the UK whose focus was forgiveness of third world debt. He said he had learned that defaced money was removed by banks, and that the procedure involved the banks recording the exact nature of the defacement. As he explained it, banks recorded the nature of the defacement for five different administrative departments, each of which was obliged to record the defacement multiple times for different functions. Accordingly his group had ink stamps made up reading CANCEL THIRD WORLD DEBT and stamped all the banknotes they could knowing that every single instance would be recorded dozens of times in bank records. Dunno how much they moved the needle, but I admire it as a bit of grassroots memetics.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 7:42 AM on September 2, 2020 [1 favorite]
The people who need to stop and reflect are the ones for whom a dollar is a speck of dust. And the way to make them do it is not to show them a shiny coin but to tax the fucking shit out of them.
Sigh.
posted by seanmpuckett at 8:02 AM on September 2, 2020 [9 favorites]
Sigh.
posted by seanmpuckett at 8:02 AM on September 2, 2020 [9 favorites]
I work in fundraising in Australia too, third word on a random page - be funny if we knew each other IRL.
With 25 million of these minted, it's doubtful they'll all be snapped up by coin collectors. The idea is that they'll raise awareness and make people think about giving, which I am in favour of.
posted by andraste at 10:03 PM on September 2, 2020
With 25 million of these minted, it's doubtful they'll all be snapped up by coin collectors. The idea is that they'll raise awareness and make people think about giving, which I am in favour of.
posted by andraste at 10:03 PM on September 2, 2020
I think this is a great idea. But to Fiasco De Game’s point, so many of us are cashless right now (what’s more, there are stores who won’t even accept cash due to Covid) that it’s a shame it won’t be as effective as if it were launched at another time.
posted by Jubey at 4:49 AM on September 3, 2020
posted by Jubey at 4:49 AM on September 3, 2020
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I work in fundraising in Australia, and between the bushfires, the extended lockdown in Melbourne and the increase in need in domestic violence, food insecurity and mental health, it’s been a rough one. There’s lower trust in government and in charities, for many, many reasons, but above all, people generally don’t talk about generosity and giving. So this might be tokenistic, this might just be a gesture, but if it gets more Aussies to think about giving, great. And if it can spark a conversation about the ways charities are left to bridge the gap when governments have stepped back from the safety net, even better.
Plus, as a Canadian, I like that it kind of looks like a toonie.
posted by third word on a random page at 4:39 AM on September 2, 2020 [4 favorites]