Posted on 07/24/2020 7:15:01 AM PDT by Roman_War_Criminal
As if the global economic disaster caused by the Chinese Covid-19 viral pandemic was not bad enough, the looming global “coin shortage” and the “unknown pneumonia” (Covid-20?) in Kazakhstan are here.
Why exactly do we have a coin shortage?
Banks tell us that the Fed are not releasing enough coins.
Armstrong Economics wrote that faith in governments has been eroded. It sees governments as promoters of the idea that money is dirty, and the solution is to eliminate coins and paper money even though physical money as a medium of exchange has been in circulation for centuries.
The U.S. Treasury reported a disruption in the coin supply chain and its velocity of circulation due to the lockdowns and the huge reduction in consumption in the last four months of forced lockdowns in all 50 states. People shopped mostly for food and avoided all other venues of direct commerce for fear of Covid-19 infection and because so many places were closed. Many shopped online or in large retailers like Costco, Target, Walmart, and Amazon.
Allegedly, the U.S. Mint has minted less coins to protect employees from COVID-19. It is an interesting issue to ponder since minting coins and printing paper currency are highly automated operations, with expensive computers driving the printing and minting presses and requiring very few employees, mostly in checking roles to make sure the machines run properly and the mint/print are done correctly, as well as controlling the quality of each batch that is bound and packaged for distribution and circulation.
Some central banks are sterilizing money with UV light to prevent the spread of viral infections. The Fed purportedly quarantined for ten days U.S. dollars returning from Europe and Asia.
The U.S. Treasury sees the current coin shortage in U.S. businesses as a decrease in velocity of various coins in circulation. The Treasury estimated the value of coins in circulation in April 2020 of $47.8 billion as an adequate coin supply, larger than last year’s supply of coins by at least half a billion. But the closing of retail shops, many permanently, bank branches, transit authorities, and laundromats due to Covid-19 fears, eliminated the typical places where coins enter circulation.
Nobody knows exactly if people are hoarding coins on purpose or if the businesses that have closed temporarily or permanently have cleared out all their cash registers of coins and paper currency.
“The coin supply chain includes many participants, from the U.S. Mint who produces new coin, to the Federal Reserve who distributes coin on the U.S. Mint’s behalf, to armored carriers, banks, retailers and consumers, all of whom have a role to play in helping to resolve this issue.”
On June 11, the Federal Reserve announced the Strategic Allocation of Coin Inventories which was a temporary coin order allocation in all Reserve Bank offices and Federal Reserve coin distribution locations effective June 15, 2020.
The Federal Reserve also established a U.S. Coin Task Force in early July to deal with disruptions to normal coin circulation. All interested parties participated – U.S. Mint, Federal Reserve, armored carriers, American Bankers Association, Independent Community Bankers Association, National Association of Federal Credit Unions, Coin aggregator representatives, and retail trade industry.
The Federal Reserve said that “it is confident that the coin inventory issues will resolve once the economy opens more broadly and the coin supply chain returns to normal circulation patterns, however, “it recognizes that these measures alone will not be enough to resolve near-term issues.”
“Never let a crisis go to waste.”
I can certainly help end the shortage, once the banks are reopened. Can’t hand them off through drive-through.
Coins are going the way of baseball cards. For collectors and enthusiasts only.
A penny makes a cheap flat washer
A week ago I went to Royal Farm, picked up some snacks. Stood in line with only lane open that automatic thing. I hate them and my face must have showed my distress. A living cashier waved me over. She said “I can take you here if you have exact change.”
Which I had lots of cash on my person so she rung me up. Total was $11.97. I pulled out a ten and two ones.
“Do you have nintey seven cents?” she asked.
Well who the hell is carrying around ninety seven cents or more, who wants to sit and count all that out? I told her to take my dollar and keep the three cents change.
She had to call a manager, yada, yada. They told me I must use exact change next time.
A week later I go to grocery store. Lady tells me I need exact change. I had some coins in my purse this time so I tell her I got it. Total is $85.30.
I get out four twenties, a five and a quarter. I fish around in my pocketbook and can’t find a damn nickel.
I tell her I don’t have a nickel and she says she can’t have her register with not enough money. I look to my grocery cart and ask if everything has to be put back.
This was all serious folks. Thought maybe they’d be calling the cops.
Fortunately lady behind me gives me a nickel.
I gave her a five dollar bill for thanks but you can’t make it up.
I now have a change purse FILLED WITH QUARTERS, NICKELS AND DIMES.
Country going to hell in a handbasket.
Seems like I once knew when coin production for upcoming years was decided, but I’ve forgotten. Obama may have his hand in it.
A Cashless Society is the goal.
Yeah. When you go to the store and see washers for 9 cents, you start to wonder.
This is more fake hysteria. If some store tries to shortchange you, pull out a credit card. Most businesses have to pay 2 - 3% for credit transactions.
I’m sure the government would like to eliminate coins. And, we could get a cashless society to boot. Bill Gates will volunteer to help...
Stopped at a Burger King yesterday and saw a sign asking for exact change, then went to Walmart and the self-check machines were declining cash transactions, indicating they can’t make change.
Round OFF, not up.
Pay the dollars in cash, then use a credit/debit for the change.
They forgot how to make coins?
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/50_State_quarters
Too much hiding from doing jobs is going on with the excuse of covid. State Farm is playing a cat and mouse game with me over a claim giving the excuse that an adjuster can’t come to my rural location because of the risk of covid.
Horse Hockey.
At times, the melt value of a penny and/or nickel have been higher than spend value. It’s been a crime since 2006/7 to melt coins.
Odd no one in the MSM has express concern about paper newspapers, paper books, or metal 'silverware' in restaurants.
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