PORTLAND, Ore. -- In a push to go green, the U.S. Mint is trying to get people to go with gold dollars.
Representatives from the U.S. Mint were at Pioneer Courthouse Square in Portland Wednesday encouraging people to get acquainted with the gold dollar coin, reported television station KPTV in Portland.
Portland was one of four cities picked to test-drive the new, 100 percent recycled dollar coin.
They feature the likeness of U.S. Presidents on the heads side and the Statue of Liberty on the tails side. Around the edge, the coins say "In God We Trust" and "E Pluribus Unum."
People who went to the Real Change Exchange truck got to play games and exchange some of their paper money for coins. The reaction was mixed, though.
"(They're) probably a lot easier, they don't bend and fold and pop back out at you, so that'd be good," said Betty Bigelow, who got some of the new coins.
"I think I like the paper better than the coins. Well, I mean, you can store it better, for me," said Kiki Holt, who got some of the new coins.
The Mint is trying to switch to more coin usage because they last for about 30 years rather than bills, which have a usage life of less than a year.
Officials said that by switching to the coins, the government could save billions of dollars.
One-fourth of the 2,513 adults surveyed online by Harris Interactive last March said they had seen the dollar coins. Only 13 percent favored the coins over paper dollars.
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