Yes There Is a Coin Shortage and Here’s Why
My friend Bob did a Facebook live video yesterday. Bob posted that he was delivering coins to the bank that is wife manages in Johnson City, because they were in such dire need of coins.
People were asking him what was causing the coin shortage and he said he didn’t know. So I decided I would look into it.
The reason there is a shortage of coins in the United States is because of the coronavirus. There is a shortage of pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters. According to the New York Times, the nation's coin supply is running low mainly because a lot of people were not using cash or coins when buying items for fear that the Coronavirus germs might be on the currency.
I hardly ever carry cash on me to begin with, but since the pandemic broke out, if I did carry cash, which has only happened a couple of times, I would either spray it with Lysol, or wipe it down with Clorox wipes.
I would imagine that another thing that is adding to the shortage is vending machines. If you think about it, lot of vending machines are in buildings that either were or are still shut down. Vending machine companies have to make sure they have enough change in the machine to make change for bills, then they dump out the rest of the coins to bring to a bank.
I don’t know if any local banks are doing this, but I read somewhere that a bank in Texas is offering an extra 10% for rolled coins that were brought into their bank.
So next time you go to a store and see a sign that says exact change is appreciated, you know why.
[via: New York Times]