Johns Hopkins economist Steve Hanke argues in the Wall Street Journal today lambastes lobbyists today with a vigor that almost approaches the level shown by my Washington Examiner colleague Tim Carney. The lobbyists he has in mind work for mining companies and he is angry that they are lobbying Congress for legislation which will phase out dollar bills in five years and effectively force everyone, he says, to use dollar coins they have avoided–the Sacagawea and Susan B. Anthony dollars which are in circulation but seldom used.

I take a different view. No other advanced country, so far as I am aware, uses a bill for amounts approximating a dollar. They use coins, which are longer lasting and more convenient to use in vending machines and parking meters. Coins last longer and don’t bulge up in your wallet.