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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;-jeffB, post: 7796155, member: 27832&quot;]Welcome <i>back</i> to CoinTalk! <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie1" alt=":)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>I think this is because people aren&#039;t <i>turning in </i>coins, in part because of COVID lockdowns and the resulting generally slower flow of money.</p><p><br /></p><p>Think about it: how often do you see people <i>spending</i> change, as opposed to handing over a large bill and <i>receiving </i>change? The fact is, after decades of inflation, <i>anything less than a dollar is a trivial amount of money</i>, not worth spending extra time and attention to count. Unless, of course, you have the coin-collecting disorder. <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie11" alt=":rolleyes:" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>So, people take change home and put it in a pile. Or a jar. Or a bucket. Eventually, they realize they&#039;ve accumulated an amount that <i>isn&#039;t</i> trivial, and they take it to the bank or to a CoinStar. But banks are taking out their automated coin machines (they&#039;re a maintenance headache), and CoinStar currently skims something like 11% off the top, and last year people weren&#039;t going out much anyhow -- so the amount of change in jars spiked, and the amount coming back to banks and stores tanked.</p><p><br /></p><p>As for Memorials and future value -- there&#039;s a longer-term change that&#039;s going to have an effect there. In 1959 when Memorials first appeared, <i>pennies mattered</i>. One cent was enough money to bother with. Today? They&#039;re still a unit of account, but their stored value is too little to be anything but an annoyance. Most people either throw them away (either intentionally or accidentally), or put them in a jar until they can be thrown away.</p><p><br /></p><p>A few people will still collect them, but the days when they&#039;d capture the attention of most (or even many) children are long gone. That used to be one of the big gateways into coin collecting. I can&#039;t help thinking that the hobby will be much smaller without it.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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