GALLUP NEWS SERVICE
PRINCETON, NJ -- Close to half of the American public, 46%, has received one of the new dollar coins featuring the likeness of Sacagawea, the Indian woman who assisted the Lewis and Clark expedition in the early 1800s. The gold-colored coins were introduced by the U.S. Mint in late January 2000. The coin is apparently becoming an instant collector's item. More than four in five coin recipients, 81%, told Gallup in a July 14-16 survey that they put aside the first dollar coin they received, rather than spending it. Close to two-thirds of those who have received multiple coins, 63%, say they are still saving the most recent coin that has come into their possession.
The U.S. Mint estimates that up to 1 billion of the coins will have been released into circulation by the end of this summer. The new coin is the same size as the Susan B. Anthony dollar -- which was introduced over two decades ago and is widely considered to have been a failure -- and is made of copper and other medals with a coating of manganese brass that gives it a golden sheen. The coin's design, including the image of Sacagawea on one side and a soaring bald eagle on the other, received extensive public comment prior to its release.
The U.S. Treasury launched a $40 million advertising campaign aimed at encouraging consumers to use the coin more widely than had been the case for the Susan B. Anthony dollar. The Mint's advertising message urged Americans to "be one of the first to get the Sacagawea dollars." The fact that 54% of Americans have yet to receive a coin may be bad news for the Mint, but the apparent widespread hoarding suggests a strongly positive reception -- even though it may represent a need to shift the public from "collecting the coin" to the "using the coin" posture that the Mint wants to bring about.
Most Received Their First Coin in Change, not as a Result
of a Request
While most Americans seem to be saving the coin once they receive
it, few seem to have gone out of their way to get it in the first
place. Only 37% of Americans interviewed in the poll tell Gallup
that they obtained one or more of their coins by requesting them,
while the remainder indicate they received them in a transaction,
or that they were otherwise given to them. Not surprisingly, those
in possession of two or more coins are more likely to say they
requested one than are those who have received just one coin to
date: 44% vs. 20%.
Collectors Dominated by Older Americans
Older Americans who have come into possession of one of the new
golden dollars are more likely than are middle-aged and younger
Americans to tell Gallup that they are saving the coin. Of those
who have received a new coin and are 50 or older, almost half --
46% -- say they have set it aside. This contrasts with 36% of those
aged 30-49 and only 26% of those aged 18-29 who saved rather than
spent the coin.
Despite the reported lobbying by women's groups to have the new coin feature a woman, as it does, women are no more likely than men to indicate they are saving the coin: 38% of women and 36% of men have set one or more coins aside.
Who's Getting the Dollar Coin?
Distribution of the new coin appears to be roughly even across the
country, with around half of all Americans living in each of the
four regions of the country reporting that they have received one.
This includes 44% of those living in the East, 48% of those in the
Midwest, 50% of those in the South and 42% of those in the West.
Rural residents appear to have wider access to the coin than do
those in urban and suburban areas. There are few significant
differences by income level in the percentages of Americans who
have received a coin.
Survey Methods
The results below are based on telephone interviews with a randomly
selected national sample of 1,063 adults, 18 years and older,
conducted July 14-16, 2000. For results based on this sample, one
can say with 95 percent confidence that the maximum error
attributable to sampling and other random effects is plus or minus
3 percentage points. In addition to sampling error, question
wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can
introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion
polls.
A new U.S. dollar coin is being issued this year, gold in color and featuring the face of an Indian woman on one side.
Have you gotten one of these new dollar coins, or not?
|
Yes |
No |
No opinion |
|
|
2000 Jul 14-16 |
46% |
54 |
* |
How many of these coins have you gotten?
BASED ON -- 474 -- WHO HAVE RECEIVED NEW COIN; ± 5 PCT. PTS.
|
One |
Two or more |
No opinion |
|
|
2000 Jul 14-16 |
23% |
73 |
4 |
Did you request it, or was it given to you?
BASED ON -- 107 -- WHO HAVE RECEIVED ONE NEW COIN; ± 8 PCT. PTS.
|
Requested |
Given |
No opinion |
|
|
2000 Jul 14-16 |
20% |
80 |
0 |
Did you happen to set the coin aside to save it, or did you not do this?
BASED ON -- 107 -- WHO HAVE RECEIVED ONE NEW COIN; ± 8 PCT. PTS.
|
Yes, set it aside |
No, did not |
No opinion |
|
|
2000 Jul 14-16 |
82% |
17 |
1 |
Did you request any of these coins, or were they all given to you?
BASED ON -- 349 -- WHO HAVE RECEIVED TWO OR MORE NEW COINS; ± 6 PCT. PTS.
|
Requested |
Given |
No opinion |
|
|
2000 Jul 14-16 |
44% |
55 |
1 |
Thinking about the first dollar coin that you received, did you happen to set this coin aside to save it, or did
you not do this?
BASED ON -- 349 -- WHO HAVE RECEIVED TWO OR MORE NEW COINS; ± 6 PCT. PTS.
|
Yes, set it aside |
No, did not |
No opinion |
|
|
2000 Jul 14-16 |
81% |
19 |
* |
Now thinking about the most recent dollar coin that you received, did you happen to set this coin aside to save it, or did you not do this?
BASED ON -- 349 -- WHO HAVE RECEIVED TWO OR MORE NEW COINS; ± 6 PCT. PTS.
|
Yes, set it aside |
No, did not |
No opinion |
|
|
2000 Jul 14-16 |
63% |
35 |
2 |
* Less than 0.5%
