New Gold-Colored Dollar Coin Makes Its First Appearance at Wal-Mart

A new dollar is exchanging hands around Tulsa. Wal-Mart is offering the new gold colored dollar coin exclusively in its stores before the coins begin regular circulation March 3rd. The gold dollar is

Monday, January 31st 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

A new dollar is exchanging hands around Tulsa. Wal-Mart is offering the new gold colored dollar coin exclusively in its stores before the coins begin regular circulation March 3rd. The gold dollar is proving to be popular among shoppers, but most people say the coin doesn't look real. "I think it looks like fake money,â€ said shopper Rose Smith. â€œI just got one for the grandkids." Shopper Angie Therrien agrees. "They look like something you might find in a kids treasure chest,â€ she said. â€œThey look like toy money."

However, the coinâ€™s odd look is not stopping anyone from buying them. Right now, Wal-Mart is the exclusive distributor of the coins. The United States Mint chose the retailing giant to exclusively sell the first run of the gold colored coins. This is due to the fact that Wal-Mart has about one million people a day visit their stores across the nation. The mint thought this would be a better way to introduce the new coins to the U-S population.

Wal-Mart store manager Gene Orr says many people are trying to buy some of the coins. "Actually we've had a really good response,â€ Orr said. â€œWe've had a lot of customers wanting to buy quite a few of them before they hit circulation, so they can get a first set."
Individuals can purchase the coins at face value in up to ten dollars increments. Orr also says if you're interested you'd better hurry because the coins are going fast.