#MintTheCoin: Can social media and a trillion-dollar coin solve the US debt?

Twitter is buzzing with plans to evade the debt ceiling with a commemorative coin loophole, and supporters are trying to get the White House to take up the cause. Since the beginning of the current debt crisis years ago, pundits and bloggers have periodically suggested that the US Treasury mint a single, massively valuable platinum coin — say, a trillion dollars — and deposit it at the Federal Reserve, paying down the national debt without changing our laws or budget. But the idea has gotten new life during debates over the fiscal cliff, and it’s been taken up outside the usual circle of finance debates.