There are at least nine ways the U.S. can avoid crashing into the debt ceiling besides the one everybody’s talking about lately, namely minting a trillion-dollar platinum coin. Not necessarily nine better ways, to be sure. The coin gambit, rich in numismatic strangeness, deserves every bit of hype it’s getting. It could probably feature in a sequel to Nicolas Cage’s National Treasure franchise. White House spokesman Jay Carney refused to rule out a trillion-dollar coin in a press briefing Jan. 9, keeping the blogosphere buzzing.
But if for some reason the trillion-dollar coin idea doesn’t pan out—say, because the U.S. Mint can’t find a way to squeeze 12 zeros into such a small space—there are lots of alternatives that range from intriguing to bonkers.
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