Banks and Businesses Across U.S. Facing Coin Shortage
Another unexpected impact of the coronavirus pandemic is being felt around the United States. A coin shortage.
The shortage is serious enough that the Federal Reserve released a statement that read, in part,
In the past few months, coin deposits from depository institutions to the Federal Reserve have declined significantly and the U.S. Mint’s production of coin also decreased due to measures put in place to protect its employees. Federal Reserve coin orders from depository institutions have begun to increase as regions reopen, resulting in the Federal Reserve’s coin inventory being reduced to below normal levels... Although the Federal Reserve is confident that the coin inventory issues will resolve once the economy opens more broadly and the coin supply chain returns to normal circulation patterns, we recognize that these measures alone will not be enough to resolve near‐term issues.
That's why signs like this are being posted at many businesses around the country:
The good news is that it should be a short-term problem. Nonetheless, it can be a real hassle, especially for banks and businesses who could use our help right now. John Sorensen, the CEO of the Iowa Bankers Association, told KCCI,
We've been encouraging consumers if you have excess supply of coins, maybe break into the that piggy bank and take it in and exchange it for dollars to see if we can move through this particular situation.
Helping is simple. And let's be honest, you're not going to use that change anyway.