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Why do U.S. coins seem to be in short supply?

federalreserve.gov

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Re: Why do U.S. coins seem to be in short supply?

#101

Post by tingletech »

late2part wrote: post #37
sueders101 wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Many pay-to-use(coin or card) laundry rooms in apartment complexes are entirely contracted out to a third party company that handles everything; payment collection, machine leasing, service/repairs, etc. On the whole I think it's easier for them this way. https://www.wash.com/360-laundry-room-solution/ https://www.coinomatic.com/multi-housing-coin-laundry-soluti...

That's very interesting. In my MCOL of city I've been looking at buying some apartment buildings and many of them advertise the W/D in the building as a source of revenue.

the building owner gets a cut, even with the more fully managed option.

Re: Why do U.S. coins seem to be in short supply?

#102

Post by bpodgursky »

sneak wrote: post #91
irrational wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not everyone. I personally have not touched cash in 15 years or so. I really haven’t had any need to. In all that time I haven’t had a single experience where card was not accepted.

Either you live in Scandinavia, or you aren’t sufficiently tipping coat check, valet, bellhops, delivery runners, et c. Cash is also essential for grease/bribes.

I think you may be overestimating how many bellhops and valets the average person interacts with in a year...

Re: Why do U.S. coins seem to be in short supply?

#103

Post by ultrarunner »

joezydeco wrote: post #15
jccooper wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Stores are unable to handle cash transactions because they can't make change, because they can't get enough from their banks, because the banks aren't getting enough supply, apparently.

At my grocery store today there was a large sign at the checkout informing you they don’t have coins to make change, please use electronic payment. If you pay cash and don’t have the exact amount the total will be rounded up and the excess donated to a charity.

As long as that charity isn't the owner of the grocery store's yacht club I like this idea. In practice, though, the types of charities usually offered are a) the business themselves like Goodwill, or b) controversial at best (say, a Komen-eqsue figure). If there was a way to make this choice with less friction I'd be much more willing to give up change entirely.

Re: Why do U.S. coins seem to be in short supply?

#104

Post by aaronax »

patmorgan23 wrote: post #94
cjones26 wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not anymore since many got sued a few years ago for being inaccurate or simply costing too much to maintain. Your bank should provide coin sleeves for free, though rolling them manually can be a hassle. See here for more info: https://www.mybanktracker.com/news/coin-counting-machines-ba...

Banks can't take pre-rolled coins. They have to break them and recount.

I had the opposite experience. Big Bank would not take my loose coins but happily gave me paper tubes and accepted the rolls a couple days later.

Re: Why do U.S. coins seem to be in short supply?

#105

Post by EEMac »

jmann99999 wrote: post #31
vikramkr wrote: post #2

What does a shortage of coins look like today? Difficulty paying for a parking space or a gumball? Is it just difficulty giving change in a cash transaction? Wouldn't stores have access to banks that arent closed to be able to give change? What's the role that coins play today that would be noticeable?

I can answer the "wouldn't stores have access to banks that aren't closed?" question. I work in a niche industry that enables stores to order coin from banks. The issue is that stores can't get coins from banks because the banks don't have them either. Banks order coins (and notes) from the Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve is shorting the shipment of coins to all major banks. So, when a store like Target orders c…

It's like the Federal Reserve has massive, if indirect, control over the whole economy. That's funny.

Re: Why do U.S. coins seem to be in short supply?

#106

Post by ilikepi »

tomschlick wrote: post #78
partiallypro wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A large number of banks have coin machines inside that will take unrolled coins and deposit them into your account for free. Coinstar unfortunately largely targets people that don't have bank accounts.

Pro tip: Coinstar wont take a cut if you get it as a gift card. The times I've used them I just opt for an Amazon Gift card or one for the local grocery chain that I'm already going to be spending money at.

That's great for Amazon, and for people who shop at Amazon...

Re: Why do U.S. coins seem to be in short supply?

#107

Post by lotsofpulp »

tim58 wrote: post #98
sneak wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Either you live in Scandinavia, or you aren’t sufficiently tipping coat check, valet, bellhops, delivery runners, et c. Cash is also essential for grease/bribes.

> Cash is also essential for grease/bribes. Am I not bribing enough people? I've never had to.

Even if you needed to, there are much better ways to bribe than cash in the US.

Re: Why do U.S. coins seem to be in short supply?

#109

Post by tesseract »

sueders101 wrote: post #30
krapp wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A lot of apartment complexes also have on-site laundromats that are coin operated. I've never understood why the cost of that isn't included in the rent, landlords can't be taking that much of a cut from it.

Many pay-to-use(coin or card) laundry rooms in apartment complexes are entirely contracted out to a third party company that handles everything; payment collection, machine leasing, service/repairs, etc. On the whole I think it's easier for them this way. https://www.wash.com/360-laundry-room-solution/ https://www.coinomatic.com/multi-housing-coin-laundry-soluti...

The small apartment building I live in is set up this way. I don't really mind, but I wish they would find a way to accept cards (credit and/or reloadable) rather than only coins because as it stands right now, I have to go to the bank and get $50 worth of "laundry tokens" (quarters) every few months, since I don't spend enough cash day-to-day to naturally collect enough change for the laundry.

Re: Why do U.S. coins seem to be in short supply?

#110

Post by jb775 »

Don't expect any help from the govt fixing this, it's a win/win from their perspective.

No coins means more businesses forcing credit/debit use. More credit/debit use means it's harder to hide cash transactions and therefore means more tax revenue for the govt. As an added benefit, it creates permanent paper trails that can be utilized when convenient.

I go out of my way to pay cash, now just need to make sure I bring enough change.

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