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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;kaparthy, post: 4651056, member: 57463&quot;]<font size="6"><b>USA Today</b></font></p><p><font size="6"><b>Fact check: Yes, there&#039;s a national coin shortage. Here&#039;s why</b></font></p><p>As the spreading coronavirus and resulting business closures crippled economic activity in the United States, the circulation of coins dropped off significantly. The U.S. Mint, which manufactures the nation&#039;s coin supply, also decreased staffing in response to the pandemic.</p><p><br /></p><p>As the nation&#039;s businesses have reopened, demand for coins has exceeded the available supply.</p><p><br /></p><p>The Fed, <a href="http://archive.is/BbQAg" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://archive.is/BbQAg" rel="nofollow">in a June 30 news release</a>, further explained the issue, saying that as of April 2020, the U.S. Treasury estimated the total value of coins circulating was $47.8 billion, up $400 million from the same time last year, according to the release. The &quot;slowed pace of circulation&quot; of coins, not the number of coins in the economy, was the issue, according to the release.</p><p><br /></p><p>The Fed on June 30 announced the creation of the U.S. Coin Task Force, a group tasked to address the &quot;disruptions to normal coin circulation.&quot; <a href="https://www.frbservices.org/news/communications/071020-us-coin-task-force-members-confirmed.html" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.frbservices.org/news/communications/071020-us-coin-task-force-members-confirmed.html" rel="nofollow">Members of the task force were announced on July 10</a>. The task force is expected to create an initial set of recommendations by the end of the month.</p><p><a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2020/07/21/fact-check-america-midst-national-coin-shortage/5439455002/" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2020/07/21/fact-check-america-midst-national-coin-shortage/5439455002/" rel="nofollow">https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2020/07/21/fact-check-america-midst-national-coin-shortage/5439455002/</a></p><p><br /></p><p><b>Forbes</b></p><p>Yiming Ma, assistant professor in the finance division of the Columbia Business School, says describing the current coin circulation disruption as a coin shortage isn’t entirely accurate.</p><p><br /></p><p>“A disruption is a better way to describe it,” Ma says. “It’s reflecting the fact that, once circulation is resumed, these disruptions will ease out.”</p><p><br /></p><p>Ma says businesses that primarily take coins, such as laundromats, vending machines and car washes, likely stopped operating during the pandemic due to social distancing and stay-at-home measures. These businesses are usually key components in getting coins back to banks to redistribute back into the economy. Since they weren’t receiving coins, the flow of them back into the economy has been significantly reduced.</p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/advisor/2020/07/20/is-there-really-a-coin-shortage/#448a6f54f0a3" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/advisor/2020/07/20/is-there-really-a-coin-shortage/#448a6f54f0a3" rel="nofollow">https://www.forbes.com/sites/advisor/2020/07/20/is-there-really-a-coin-shortage/#448a6f54f0a3</a>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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