I called my bank PNC and I tried to get $50 in pennies and then $100 in either Nickels or Quarters but they said they are only allowed to give them to business right now because of the coin shortage and I live in Western Pennsylvania.
Correct, there is no shortage of coins in existence, but there is a shortage of coins that retail businesses can get there hands on. Similar signs have now appeared in hundreds and thousands of businesses across the country. Many stores are asking customers to use credit cards/debit, or to use exact change.
And this opens up another sore spot for me. There are only a handful of major banks that control most of the banking in this country. Citicorp & Chase come to mind. You have to wonder about how many people are using credit cards instead of money and how many will misuse their credit cards because they are irresponsible. The end result, somewhere down the road, will not be pretty. Plus the stores have to pay a fee each time a card is used. Many stores are already in financial trouble before this whole mess came about. It's the same with food distribution. Again, only a handful of major corporations who handle all the food and meat and look at the mess that was created in the beginning of this Covid situation. I could go deeper but I think everyone will get the point.
True, about the banks, because that is where most people go. There are plenty of regional banks and credit unions that people can and do use, also. Heck, going from NH to RI down 95, I can name half a dozen regional banks with 5 or more locations (Institution for Savings, Eagle, Leader, Cambridge Savings, Rockland Trust, Century) and a few credit unions that I am aware of. However, for whatever reason, people like me choose to use the majors. I chose my semi-major bank because I am on the road all day, so I needed one with multiple, spread out locations and user friendly hours (located in grocery stores, so 7 day a week banking, and until 7pm weekdays, 5 and 3 on Sat and Sun). I did use a regional for my last 2 mortgages. As for the food, yeah, it wasn’t pretty for a couple of weeks, and there are still items that can not be gotten.
@Garlicus Don't forget Portsmouth Savings Bank. I stop in there once in a great while when visiting the Hampton Beach area. I use Berkshire Bank locally but it is regional to New York and Mass.
Just went to my Wells Fargo bank today and saw a note saying there is a coin shortage and they limit 1 roll of each domination....Its 1964 all over again but with a virus....
Okay, just for fun, it’s conspiracy theory time. What if, the COVID19 crisis takes touchless payments mainstream for safety reasons? What if the federal government really wants us to go to a cashless society, and would take full advantage of current conditions to do so? What if the “shortage” in new coinage is intended to bring existing coinage out of the woodwork for return to the Mint for destruction? What do you think? Plausible? Am I nuts for letting this cross my mind?
We are supposed to question, it’s unhuman not to. (Edited to add: not to mention, unAmerican). Your ideas all seem plausible to me.
I put all my change in my top drawer. When it collapses, it’ll be time to cash it in. And get a new bureau.
It looks like self-fulfilling prophecy - everybody talks about coin shortage, which causes hoarding, which causes even bigger coin shortage. For example, if before covid store owners ordered new coins based on daily need, then now they try to get weekly or monthly supply, because maybe tomorrow there is no possibility. Also one question. I'm not american, so I dont fully understand it. Why do You have to roll the coins, before taking them to bank? Don't You have coin counting machines in banks? Rolling coins is something I would expect the machines will do. Also, why rolls? Why not mingirips or something like this? Rolling coins looks to be so inefficient and time consuming.
No, it;s because they aren't moving from things being closed, people not going to banks, people ordering more online etc. There is no actual shortage as has been explained before in several threa You don't and many don't allow you to do it.
Its policy of each bank. Keeping coin counting machines in operation is expensive for maintenance. People used to bring in bags of pocket change when cash was more common and it was full of pocket lint, hair, gum wrappers, paper clips, debris, etc. Jam up the machine. So to cut costs some banks would request rolled coins only and accept a roll by feel as +/- accurate. Others might charge a fee to use coin machine if I recall. Others may accept loose change but only in a clear plastic bag (to make sure no junk mixed in). I had one bank about 10 years where I took them $12 in rolls but they said they didn’t take rolls. They proceeded to rip apart about $12 in change (several dollars being in pennies) directly on the counter, and count them by hand, pennies at a time. Fortunately, my counting skills were good and they wasted 5 minutes realizing I brought them exactly what I said I did. I didn’t walk away with the same opinion of them as when I started.
Agreed there is no "absolute" shortage, but on a practical level, all those coins sitting in hoard, and jars effectively don't exist, and much of the coinage actually in circulation is just what the mint etc are pouring into it and that isn't enough, hence the "shortage" in actual usage.
