Yeah what happened to those?

A decade ago I remember being surprised that they were becoming a "thing" -- getting them as change, might have been from vending machines too -- but now I realize I haven't seen one in years.

I lived in Ecuador for a while and they use USD as their currency. They have all of the dollar coins.

As I understood it, it's a cultural thing in USA where they really like the feeling of lots of dollar bills https://youtu.be/gonVHW_X79U

Can't put a coin in a g-string...

the ticket machines for the patco train in NJ to philadelphia still give them as change i believe, although i havent used them in years.

Before they added a refillable card, i hated getting a heavy pocket full of golden "pirate money" (sacajawea's or presidential dollar coins) buying a $3 ticket with a $20 bill, if i forgot to bring smaller bills.

In San Jose they used to use them for trolley tokens! But that was years ago. The price has probably gone up.