Seigniorage

Could platinum coin deposit In the U.S. Treasury's closet Our debts enjoin? A trillion-dollar coin Might yield a government profit Author's Note: Section 31 U.S.C. § 5112 of the United States Code authorizes the Treasury Department to "mint and issue platinum bullion coins" in any denominations the Secretary of the Treasury may choose. This privilege only extends to platinum coins. Thus, if the Treasury were to mint a few one-trillion dollar platinum coins, it could deposit such coins in the general fund instead of issuing debt (lol). Seigniorage is the difference between the receipts from the Federal Reserve System from the sale of circulating coins at face value and the costs of minting and distributing the coins. Seigniorage is deposited periodically to the General Fund where it reduces the government's need to borrow. Of course, this might create a wave of inflation. But we should all realize that the value of paper currency eventually tends to zero. In any event, the inflation we've experienced in 2022 is just a taste of what's to come since the politicians don't want to explain a depression to their voters. We're entering strange times.