This is one of those stories that keeps popping up every few months or so, but the possibility that the U.S. could replace its $1 bill with the not-very-popular $1 coin seems to be gaining at least a little traction.

In October of last year, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) started releasing reports showing how much money the government could save by ditching the $1 bill  for its coin counterpart.  Coins can last for decades, as where most dollar bills get so much use they have to be yanked out of circulation after about five years.  They just wear out.

Replacing those dollar bills gets expensive, and GAO said using coins instead would save $4.4 billion over the next 30 years.  (That number keeps changing, by the way.)  Still,  the issue kind of quieted down and nothing was done.

However, this month, the U.S. Mint is planning to release a new report to Congress recommending that the nation change the amount of metals it uses in the coin-making process. By making coins cheaper to produce (a penny actually costs 2.41 cents to make, a nickel costs 11.18 cents) the idea for killing off the paper dollar is becoming more feasible to some.  As of right now, the dollar coin isn't even in production.

Vending machine companies have long pushed for more dollar coins to be used. Canada has already replaced its dollar with coins and seems to love it.  But at the same time, I'm not so hot on carrying around a stack of coins in my wallet instead of easy-to-fold bills. While the GAO tells us "You just have to get used to it," it might be a weird transition.  At the same time, I have to admit that I use my debit card so much now, I rarely carry cash to begin with.

More From 92.9 The Lake