"I heard they were originally going to make all the new dollars like this "
I am sure this was just a rumor.
They will not work in machines. The plastic coating on them, makes them too thick.
A new process is now in place to rememdy this.
As far as cost, you are correct. A run of 1,500 $10 tokens costs $8 each. $1 would have been a little cheaper but not much.