Anyone know what is the point of making another dollar coin? The last time they brought these coins out, it was cumbersome. They looked like quarters too. The $5 will become the new $1 and prices rounded up. http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070215/dollar_debut.html?.v=11
One dollar is really too little value now to warrant making and carrying around bulky paper money. Even a few $1 bills will fatten your wallet and make it awkward to carry when combined with your larger-denomination bills, cards, etc. I spent some time in Europe, where there are 1 and 2 Euro coins and the minimum denomination of paper currency is 5 Euros, and I liked it much more - just reach into your pocket, plunk down a few coins for your small value purchase, and you're done. (The paper note dimensions also grow with denomination - the 5 Euro bill is tiny, 10 slightly bigger, etc., up to 500 Euros, which is relatively huge. Also an interesting idea.) The dimensions of the coin are very important, though. You're exactly right about the previous $1 efforts in the US - they were too similar to quarters. The physical size of the dollar coin needs to be substantially different than any other coin, so you can easily identify it by touch when you reach into your wallet or purse without actually pulling it out and looking at it.
In Canada the smallest paper note is $5.00. We have 1 and 2 dollar coins. Pennies have been eliminated. All cash transactions are rounded to the nearest $0.05. Non-cash transactions still to the penny. Getting rid of the penny and 1-dollar note has been very successful.