Coin Shortage In The U.S. Is A Real Thing

Over the weekend I went to Home Depot to get a few things for a do it yourself project and when I went to pay for my items the sales associate said they are not taking cash. Of course, I would be paying in cash but following my first mind, I brought my card with me.

The sales associate at Home Depot said she could take the cash but I would not get the change back. You know Momma Mac’s voice popped into my like “you betta not” hahaha. Yes, I used my card to pay for my items.

So apparently, there is a coin shortage in the United States. Now I came across this news story like a week ago but didn’t bother to read it or think about it until then. Here is why the coin shortage is happening.

The Federal Reserve is temporarily ordering coin allocation because of COVID-19. The pandemic significantly disrupted the supply chain and coin deposits from institutions like banks have dropped dramatically. The U.S. Mint reduced its production also because of the pandemic to protect the employees, thus a coin shortage.

The Federal Reserve issued a statement via fbcservices.org.

Consequently, effective Monday, June 15, Reserve Banks and Federal Reserve coin distribution locations began allocating coin inventories. To ensure a fair and equitable distribution of existing coin inventory to all depository institutions, effective June 15, the Federal Reserve Banks and their coin distribution locations began to allocate available supplies of pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters to depository institutions as a temporary measure. The temporary coin allocation methodology is based on historical order volume by coin denomination and depository institution endpoint, and current U.S. Mint production levels.

To read the full press release click here

We are living in very unique and strange times.