Coin Supply Problem

"jminer" (jminer) 07/23/2020 at 14:40 • Filed to: None

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**Reposting  as I keep hearing and seeing news stories that mention it but don’t go into much detail**

** Disclaimer : This is going to get more than a bit nerdy about physical money supply and its circulation in the US economy, you have been warned**

So there is a problem in the US money supply due to Covid-19. It’s not an existential threat, more of a strange quirk on how we use money in the US that has had a wrench thrown in it by Covid-19.

There’s a coin shortage in the US at the moment. This is due to a few different factors.

1. The durability of coins

Coins, while expensive to produce (relative to their face value) last a very long time. Normally I’d ask you to empty your pocket and look at the age of coins but since nowadays we’re lucky to just be wearing pants I’ll ask you to check your change jar if you don’t believe me. I’m 35 and it’s very normal for me to find coins older than me in regular circulation, it’s actually less common to find coins made in the last couple years.

2. The re-circulation of physical money

Physical money (dollars and coins) is managed and distributed by the Federal Reserve system. This means before a dollar bill or quarter several times in it’s life passes through the Federal Reserve. The Fed is who distributes money created by the Mint, they take and hold deposits from financial institutions, check it for damage/counterfeit and then either send it back to banks or destroy it.

3. Difficulty of creation of new coins

Due to the issues we are all very well aware of companies adjust manufacturing process to reduce risk. The mint had also done this which has reduced the production of new coins. Also it doesn’t normally make that many coins due to point 1.

4. Reduction of cash spending

So as most of us aren’t going around spending cash, getting change in our pockets and giving it to the next vendor. Even when we do spend cash that back and forth isn’t happening. The change you’re given from the $10 at the coffee shop goes in your pocket then change jar as there is nowhere else to go.

All of this boring tedium of physical monetary management (I warned you this would be boring) dds up the problem of a coin shortage. Or as the Federal Reserve calls it ‘A shortage of coins in circulation’ as there are’t less coins in production just less coins moving through the economy.

While this all seems pretty silly (and it kind of is) this is a relatively serious problem and the Federal Reserve is running out of coin. They’ve even created a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! to figure out what to do.

  Why should I care?

If you enjoy the process of getting or giving exact change (if you give it, you’re a monster) then this is a problem for that. I personally believe we should get rid of the penny and probably the nickel. This seems like a good opportunity to do just that, but that’s off topic.

What can I do?

Take your coin jar and deposit it at your local bank branch. Hell I bet most kids nowadays have never put coins in a roll and it seems like something you could do to keep them busy. Even pay them, they get 1/2 the value of coins they roll. US Bank has some branches with a coin counter you dump everything in and get a receipt and if you’re a customer they give you cash or deposit it without a fee. Avoid the grocery store kiosks as they take a substantial cut of it.

The fed is even trying to use the socials with the hashtag !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! to encourage people to return coins to their bank so that they re-enter circulation.

Bonus Fact Time!

If you’ve made it this far here’s a fun tidbit of knowledge that will impress your friends (probably not unless they’re extremely nerdy). The Federal Reserve had a standing recommendation to congress/the treasury to replace the dollar bill with a dollar coin for decades. This was because even though a coin was more expensive to produce it’s lifetime was decades longer so it would eventually !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . In the last few years though the average lifespan of the 1 dollar bill has gone from 1 year in ~2000 to !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! meaning this recommendation doesn’t hold anymore and current Fed advice is that the cost of a transition wouldn’t pay off enough to be worth it at this point with the reduction in cash spending in the US economy.

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > jminer 07/07/2020 at 13:00

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Neat post. I’m with you on getting rid of small value coins. In general, I see physical money as such a relic of bygone times. Being a fellow 35 year old, having more than $5 in cash on hand ever is a rare thing, and it’s been a rare thing for my entire life as an economic entity. I see the Mint as a declining industry...

My first jobs in high school coincided with about the time cards became the default way of paying for everything in person, so I never didn’t have one from the time I had any real money to spend starting at 14.

PyroHoltz f@h Oppo 261120 > jminer 07/07/2020 at 13:00

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Good read, thanks jminer!

couple typos:

are’t = aren’t

dds = adds  

ttyymmnn > jminer 07/07/2020 at 13:02

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I nerd out about certain coins and keep them when I find them. For example, all quarters from my birth year (1966) and all Bicentennial quarters (for nostalgia; I still remember the first time I saw one and thought it was the coolest thing ever). Otherwise, I hang on to the oldest coins I can find, and those are almost always nickels. I think I’ve got some nickels that I came across in circulation that date back to the 40s. Conversely, I haven’t seen a wheat penny in ages. I also hung on to the last 50¢ piece I found since they are just so rare these days. I think I have at least one Bicentennial half dollar, and maybe one Ike silver dollar.

Like many others , I am not wearing pants right now....oh wait, I mean, I have a coin jar that I dump my coins into, and then I take it to the bank to cash it out (cash it in?) when it gets full. I do keep most of the quarters, though, since I use those at the carwash.

In the last few years though the average lifespan of the 1 dollar bill has gone from 1 year in ~2000 to 7 years in 2018  

I’m guessing that this is due to a general downturn in the use of cash? I’d like to see the penny go away, too.

Neat post. Thanks. 

facw > jminer 07/07/2020 at 13:03

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I’m still all in favor of just getting rid of every coin worth less than the quarter. The half penny was worth ~$0.13 in today’s money when it was withdrawn, so it seems pretty absurd that we are making people carry around all this worthless coinage. Just do a fair rounding scheme for cash payments.

As I much prefer bills to coins anyway, it might be good to solve the durability problem (to the extent it still needs to be solved) with polymer bills instead of replacing the $1, $2, and $5 with coins.

jminer > ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com 07/07/2020 at 13:04

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Thanks! I only carry cash when I travel anymore. I spent my first cash yesterday in months as I ran an errand to pick up something from the pharmacy but left my wallet at home so grabbed an emergency $20 out of the glovebox for it.

Cash is still great for person to person transactions. Everything I sell or buy on FB or CL is cash because I don’t want to deal with fees or a possible backcharge.

ttyymmnn > ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com 07/07/2020 at 13:05

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I played a gig on Saturday and got paid $200 in cash. It was kind of weird. I rarely use cash any more. I also finally got used to depositing my checks by phone. I only go to the bank now if I need to speak to somebody. And even then, they’re removing most of the tellers from the banks. 

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > jminer 07/07/2020 at 13:05

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Interesting, yeah I don’t think I’ve used cash at all! 

jminer > PyroHoltz f@h Oppo 261120 07/07/2020 at 13:05

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Thanks for reading!  I did not proof read this - typed it up and scanned it once for obvious errors so I’ll take that level of errors!

jminer > ttyymmnn 07/07/2020 at 13:12

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Thanks for reading!

I have a jar full of interesting coins too, things like wheat pennies, buffalo nickels, bicentennial quarters, pre-67 silver quarters, half dollars, dollars and so on. I was in Denver last year and parked at a lot that wouldn’t take my card for some reason so I gave it a $10 for parking and it gave me back Sacagawea dollars as change and it blew my mind as I hadn’t seen one of them in circulation in years!

Yes the increase in dollar bill lifespan is mostly due to how much less cash we spend than we used to. It also has to do with better printing methods and more durable paper as well.

I have a glass milk half gallon jug we use for a coin jar (local company still uses these in the grocery store) that I used to take in about every 6 months as it got full but it’s been probably 2 years since I last did that and it’s still only 3/4 full.

fintail > ttyymmnn 07/07/2020 at 13:13

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Coin roll hunting is a thing, I’ll admit this can be fun to watch:

I collected coins for a short period when I was a kid - I preferred hunting nickel rolls, as they weren’t too expensive, and always had older coins - even today it’s not insanely rare to find a 50s or older example in change.   I’d also go through my parents change whenever I could. Even 35 years ago, finding silver was difficult.

Canada did away with the penny a few years ago, they seem to have managed  fine.

jminer > facw 07/07/2020 at 13:14

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The lower value coins definitely need to go - it’s relatively expensive to produce them and they mostly annoy all of us.  To be cynical the reason they’re still printed is that mining companies lobby congress to keep printing them as pennies are a major consumer of zinc.

jminer > 415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) 07/07/2020 at 13:15

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I haven’t in months until yesterday when I went to walgreens but forgot my wallet at home and had to use a $20 out of my glovebox.

facw > jminer 07/07/2020 at 13:15

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Yeah, I got $1300 in cash selling stuff on CL over the weekend. I’m kind of disappointed that I cant just take a picture of it to deposit it, but I guess things don’t quite work like that. I don’t know if I could have used Venmo or something, but easier to take cash than worry about whether paypal would reverse charges.

I do tend to carry ~$100 in cash in my wallet. I never actually spend it, but nice to know I can pay for anything that could reasonably be cash only without having to go to an ATM.

facw > jminer 07/07/2020 at 13:17

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It was fun (and illegal I’m sure) to heat up pennies in chemistry class and then flick the zinc out of them. Just had to watch out for the older solid ones.

jminer > fintail 07/07/2020 at 13:20

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I’ve done that a couple times, but it’s just so much effort I couldn’t keep it up.  I worked as a bank teller once upon a time and we got to trade out any interesting coins or bills that we wanted so I came home with a handful of interesting things that way.  It was back before I really knew what was what so I’m sure I missed out on a bunch but that’s where most of my half dollars, wheat pennies and buffalo nickels came from.

Snuze: Needs another Swede > jminer 07/07/2020 at 13:23

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Normally I’d ask you to empty your pocket and look at the age of coins but since nowadays we’re lucky to just be wearing pants I’ll ask you to check your change jar if you don’t believe me.

Lucky for you I’m at work with no work to do, so I have both pants on and time to look at coins! We have a coffee mess here that costs 25 cents, so I keep a stash of quarters in my desk. I currently have 8, with dates of 1965, 1983, 1999, 2000, 2006, 2007, 2014, and 2016. I also have a 5 and two 20s in my wallet. The fiver is 2013, one Jackson is 2004 and the other is 2017 Series A

jminer > facw 07/07/2020 at 13:24

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I didn’t have that good a weekend but got $500 - seems to be a good time to sell a few things here as people are looking for things to do.  I used to take paypal sometimes but had a couple people try a chargeback on me, paypal ended up siding with me both times but it was a pain in the ass.

WildlyMild > jminer 07/07/2020 at 13:27

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Wife’s coffee shop is so tightly controlled they won’t let employees exchange coins for dollars as there has to be a bank receipt. It has caused alot of headaches. $1 bills too. I’ve had to go buy drinks (with employee discount of course) with nickels and pennies to get them change. But yeah at my job we just have a co-worker exchange for us.

fintail > jminer 07/07/2020 at 13:27

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Yeah, I lack the patience/desire etc today, but when I was 9 years old, it seemed like a little adventure.   There’s also little real gain, a common old nickel or wheat penny is worth barely anything over face - you have to be into it for the fun.  Any real gain would be in hunting for silver, but people have been doing that for 50 years, so it might be easier just to buy the coins, or befriend a bank teller to keep an eye out for people dumping old looking coins etc.

jminer > Snuze: Needs another Swede 07/07/2020 at 13:28

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Nice! That 1965 Quarter is actually mostly silver and worth something like a buck and a half in silver.

My desk drawer is also full of quarters for things like vending machine runs but I haven’t seen it since March 12th...

jminer > WildlyMild 07/07/2020 at 13:31

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Wow that’s insane, at a coffee shop even! I worked at a small bank and we just had to tell the manager we were swapping out something. We didn’t share tills though so any shortage was our ass anyway.

For especially old bills or coins it actually caused less problems for the bank for us to swap it out. It was worthless to the bank but actually caused more paperwork and transport as they couldn’t be just chucked in with the normal shipments to the home office and had to go through extra review then be sent to the Fed to be destroyed.

This was also 15 years ago so they might not let it happen anymore.

Snuze: Needs another Swede > jminer 07/07/2020 at 13:32

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So how do I get my buck and a half out of it?

I have a couple old “mint sets” at home that belonged to my grandfather. He was a pipe fitter and worked at the mint in Philly for a little while. He told me crazy stories when I was a kid, like how he used to get to help shovel out of circulation money into a big furnace  (I guess back then the burned old bills?)

TheRealBicycleBuck > jminer 07/07/2020 at 13:35

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We like to collect interesting coins, although we really have used cash a lot less over the past few years.

I had a strange interaction with a bank once when I tried to cash in a bunch of rolled change. They made me break apart the rolls. I was told that they’ve received rolls with slugs in the middle and rolls that are a few coins short. After getting less than they traded for, the finally decided not to take rolled change anymore.

jminer > Snuze: Needs another Swede 07/07/2020 at 13:37

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You’d take it to somewhere that buys silver but for only one I doubt they’d give you it.

The Fed handles most of the destruction now and until a few years ago still burned it, some of it gets burnt still but most of it gets shredded and composted.

https://www.businessinsider.com/the-atlanta-fed-shreds-cash-for-composte-2016-7

If you ever visit a federal reserve (a lot of them have museums) they’ll give you a baggie of shredded cash.

jminer > TheRealBicycleBuck 07/07/2020 at 13:40

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That is strange - I was a teller once (15 years ago) and we just took the rolls. It was way easier to just take a possible loss of a couple coins than to count it.  Putting slugs in the middle of a roll of coins seems like a lot of work for relatively little gain.

I have a bank near me with a change counter in the lobby though so I just dump mine in there now.  It’s way easier than rolling them.

Snuze: Needs another Swede > jminer 07/07/2020 at 13:49

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I got one of those baggies of shredded cash when they were recruiting at my college!

As far as the quarter, I wouldn’t bother with only 1, but I have A LOT of quarters at home that I save for work. And since COVID started and I haven’t been going into the office as much, or going in later and having coffee at home, my quarter supply has been growing.

I just googled and it looks  like 65 was in the introduction year for the clad quarters, so this one may not be silver, it was probably 64 and earlier, unless I’m misinterpreting what I (admittedly quickly) skimmed.

WildlyMild > jminer 07/07/2020 at 13:49

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The only bank she’s authorized to use hasn’t had the inventory she needed. And in this neighborhood people like to stop to break their big bills on $7 candy d rinks so they go through their change quick. It was never a problem before this year.

Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now) > jminer 07/07/2020 at 14:02

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Yeah... just yeet all of them except the quarter and move on. Just round.

Screw it, kill the quarter too.

Thomas Donohue > jminer 07/07/2020 at 14:05

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Is it me, or is this a sign that the government correctly produces the right amount of coins?

Not to few - we n ever really had a shortage before as far as I remember.

Not too many - a random virus has caused a shortage in less than six months.

Well done, Treasury!!!! Now get back to your job of printing up extra money so we can burn it.

jminer > Snuze: Needs another Swede 07/07/2020 at 14:14

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I might have my year wrong.  I thought it was pre-66 but it may have been pre-65.

jminer > WildlyMild 07/07/2020 at 14:16

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Oof - yeah the whole money circulation process is way out of whack right now because of the drastically (and q uickly) altered money flow.  There was also a big spike in people hoarding cash early on.

jminer > Thomas Donohue 07/07/2020 at 14:19

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You’re right, there are a lot of very smart people at the Mint, the Federal Reserve and the Treasury that manage all of this. These are the economists, statisticians that make up a lot of public service.  The people at the top change but these folks are really good at their job.

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > jminer 07/07/2020 at 14:21

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I have three twenties that have been in my wallet since the lockdown. O h I used a parking meter the other day with change from my car actually.

Thomas Donohue > jminer 07/07/2020 at 14:22

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Most of the time.  :)

jminer > 415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) 07/07/2020 at 14:32

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There you go - you’re helping!

jminer > Thomas Donohue 07/07/2020 at 14:32

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Those are still in circulation - albeit mostly for grandparents to give their grandchildren. Most banks keep a stack of them on hand just for this case.

jminer > Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now) 07/07/2020 at 14:49

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I’m fine with keeping the quarter, but wouldn’t fight for it.

koawaft1 > jminer 07/07/2020 at 15:39

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I wanna call BS on the slowdown in mint production due to covid. As someone who has been on the mint tour more than once in Denver. It takes like 2 people to ru n the whole damn thing. The machines do all the work they just check on them every now and again. If they break it takes one person to fix. This is like the perfect social distancing job. This part I don’t really get.

The velocity of the change is a much bigger effect. Less people using means less availability. 

jminer > koawaft1 07/07/2020 at 15:54

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There’s a lot more involved in production and distribution than just the stamping. It’s still not a large scale production but a lot of places like this made serious alterations to their procedures likely including stoppages and reduced hours.

I’m not intimately informed on the Mint production process just relaying what I read elsewhere regards that part of it.  

https://www.coinworld.com/news/us-coins/mint-fed-team-battle-coin-shortage-brought-on-by-covid-19-pandemic

It is reported that they cut back production until mid- June but are back at full operation or even beefed up now in some places.

dumpsterfire! > jminer 07/07/2020 at 16:22

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I thought silver quarters stopped in 1964.

jminer > dumpsterfire! 07/07/2020 at 16:26

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You’re right, someone else asked the same question in another thread and I looked it up and was wrong.  I thought it was through 65 but it’s pre-65 quarters that are silver.

ranwhenparked > jminer 07/07/2020 at 17:06

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Can confirm, when I managed a bank, we had a few regular customers who would call us often to check whether we had received any $2 bills. Also, people looking for Sacagawea coins. 

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

ranwhenparked > jminer 07/07/2020 at 17:10

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I had exactly two quarters in my pocket, 2007 and 1984, so, yep, one of them is a year older than I am, and probably in better condition than me, too.

It is amazing how coins pile up, though. Last year, we had a customer cash in over $500 worth of change, which inspired me to count out the canvas mint bag I’ve been dumping pocket change into for a decade - mine was over $330. Anything smaller than a quarter, I don’t even bother with. Quarters, I can spend easily - gum, mints, candy bars, exact change at unmanned toll booths, etc. All that was pennies, nickels, and dimes.

jminer > ranwhenparked 07/07/2020 at 17:12

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I worked as a bank teller 15 years ago and every drawer had a stack of about 20 brand new 2 dollar bills and a roll of Sacag awea dollars.

ranwhenparked > Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now) 07/07/2020 at 17:13

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The last time the United States totally killed a coin denomination, it was the half cent coin - discontinued in 1857, because inflation meant that it was worth too little to be useful or practical in commerce. Half a penny in 1857 is 14.5 cents today, so, if we still followed that logic, we'd drop everything smaller than the quarter. 

jminer > ranwhenparked 07/07/2020 at 17:15

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It adds up quickly for sure.  I fill a half gallon jug with coins but it is mixed everything and it usually hits about $300 when I empty it, but I’ve spend so much less in cash the last few years it’s been two years since I’ve emptied it and it’s only 3/4 full.

just-a-scratch > Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now) 07/07/2020 at 17:22

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Keep the quarter. I can still use it on it's own. Dimes, nickels, and pennies can go though.

Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now) > ranwhenparked 07/07/2020 at 17:37

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Exactly, just kill them all.

ranwhenparked > jminer 07/07/2020 at 18:10

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We only stocked up on $2 bills during Christmas season, and never carried dollar coins. If you wanted them, you either had to call and get us to add it to our currency delivery for the week, or see if we took in any on deposit that we hadnt shipped out yet.

jminer > ranwhenparked 07/07/2020 at 18:12

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I was last a teller in 2005 so the coin was still new enough then there was a genuine attempt at circulating it.

Last summer I was in Denver and when going to pay for parking downtown the machine wouldn’t read my card so I gave it a $10 and it spat out 3 Sacagawea dollars at me for change and blew my mind.  First time I’d seen them in circulation in years.

ranwhenparked > jminer 07/07/2020 at 18:18

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People hoarded them as if they were special collectables, and keeping the paper dollar in circulation alongside didnt help. 

Nauraushaun > jminer 07/07/2020 at 18:21

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It seems to me that there’s a reduction in coin supply right now, but there’s a reduction in coin demand as well. Nobody is handling money.

A reduction in both supply and demand isn’t a problem, it’s poetry!

Some countries have solved the problem of bank note durability by making them out of a material that isn’t paper.

jminer > Nauraushaun 07/07/2020 at 18:34

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Yes they’re both retracting but supply more than demand which creates a shortage. This was up at the gas station near me today.

US money isn’t paper either, it’s cotton. It used to be made from recycled and offcuts from Jeans but since most of them have elastic  in them now it’s virgin cotton used.

jminer > ranwhenparked 07/07/2020 at 18:37

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Leaving the paper dollar in place kept it from being the defacto currency for sure.

Nauraushaun > jminer 07/07/2020 at 19:03

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I see I see. I thought everyone had switched to contactless payments! I’ve got a bunch of notes and things in my drawer that I feel bad using. If I had my way I’d never use cash ever again, and the vast majority of businesses here are cool with that.

I think Aus use plastic of some sort. It’s super durable, difficult to tarnish, it’s great.

jminer > Nauraushaun 07/07/2020 at 19:31

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I still use cash for person to person transactions but that's it really.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > jminer 07/07/2020 at 21:07

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I do have about 300 bucks in rolled up dimes, nickels, and quarters (I don't roll pennies, fuck that). I had a deposit slip filled out for March 3rd. I think you can guess what happened.

jminer > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 07/07/2020 at 22:23

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Yeah timing as always is a motherfucker.

I am lucky and a branch of my bank about 10 miles from me has a counter in the lobby. I poor a jar into it and it spits out a receipt I take to the counter for either cash or to deposit.  This means I don’t have to roll anything and that makes me happy.

Eury - AFRICA TWIN!!!!!!! > Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now) 07/08/2020 at 07:51

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With no quarters, there would be no Gauntlet, Galaga, or Street Fighter.

Basically, we would fall into bored chaos. 

Ozdigital > jminer 07/08/2020 at 23:02

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So...drugs

jminer > Ozdigital 07/08/2020 at 23:15

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What else is cash good for?

SmugAardvark > jminer 07/09/2020 at 20:19

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Wow , I can’t even remember the last time I used cash for anything . Definitely not since the pandemic started. I don’t like carrying paper (well, cotton) money. And dislike carrying coins even more.   Even the vending machine in my office takes Google Pay these days.

I also, out of habit, drop off the entire contents of my coin jug every December to the Shriners (along with a donation check) . But unfortunately, the jug has probably not had more than $10 or $15 in it each of the last few years.

Ash78, voting early and often > jminer 07/23/2020 at 14:45

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“The only reliable way to increase the velocity of money is just to start tossing coins off of a tall building and watch the dumbasses scatter .”

-J.M. Keynes

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 07/23/2020 at 14:46

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In Japan you can just dump coins in an ATM and it counts and deposits them. I love that about their ATMs. One of a few things I can’t believe never happened here.

GLiddy > jminer 07/23/2020 at 14:47

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One of the Chick-Fil-A places in my area is giving a chicken sandwich with each $10 of rolled coins you swap for paper money.

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > jminer 07/23/2020 at 14:47

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Yeah, I have $60 in my wallet I keep for emergency money when I’m working and it has not been touched since March. 

BigBlock440 > Snuze: Needs another Swede 07/23/2020 at 14:52

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Definitely ‘64 and older.  I’ve been looking for a few years, never seen a ‘64, have seen a ton of 1965's, and the ‘65s are definitely not pure silver when you look at them.

Nothing > jminer 07/23/2020 at 14:54

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Banks have made it hard. Some straight up refuse coins. It’s also frustrating to roll em, bring em in, then see them break em open to count/verify. 

PowderHound > jminer 07/23/2020 at 14:57

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I’m all for getting rid of pennies and nickels, hell, probably even dimes. I use a card about 98% of the time anyway and just pay it off bi monthly. Now that my local car wash has a card reader I rarely ever use physical cash. It has its place for sure but between venmo/zelle and a card I haven’t had bills in my wallet for months.

punkgoose17 > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 07/23/2020 at 14:58

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Do you take your pennies to the grocery store then?

jminer > Ash78, voting early and often 07/23/2020 at 14:59

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I see no flaws in this logic

jminer > GLiddy 07/23/2020 at 14:59

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I like that incentive!

dogisbadob > GLiddy 07/23/2020 at 15:02

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Wawa is also giving incentives for rolled coins . $5 gets you a drink, $10 gets you a sandwich

jminer > 415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) 07/23/2020 at 15:03

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I’ve bought and sold a few things on CL/FB but haven’t used any cash other than that.

jminer > Nothing 07/23/2020 at 15:03

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You’re not the first to say that and it blows my mind.  Here I actually tried to turn in my jug of coins but none of the US Bank lobbies are open here so I can’t use their change counters.

dogisbadob > jminer 07/23/2020 at 15:04

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A lot of coins are locked up in closed businesses, too.

I’ve been paying with a card everywhere that doesn’t have a minimum.

jminer > PowderHound 07/23/2020 at 15:05

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Same - Only place I ever really spent change was the vending machine at work, which I’m WFH for a while longer now.

AestheticsInMotion > jminer 07/23/2020 at 15:07

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At this point I only use cash for craigslist sales. And occasionally under-the-table work. But outside of the somewhat shady niche cases... I would never voluntarily get out of the plastic ecosystem.

Coins are cool for collecting, but I wouldn't shed a tear if they were axed completely. 

jminer > dogisbadob 07/23/2020 at 15:10

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Definitely!

jminer > AestheticsInMotion 07/23/2020 at 15:13

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I’m with you there - those are the only times cash gets used by me too.

WasGTIthenGTOthenNOVAnowbacktoGTI > jminer 07/23/2020 at 15:29

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I took out about 200 bucks in cash before going out of town about 8 months ago. I still have basically all of it sitting in my wallet. I think about it from time to time, then forget to do anything about it.

Besides tipping valets (not a lot of that going on these days) and inhaling drugs, there’s not a ton of use cases for the paper bill any more.

And don’t get me started on coins . I’ve ALWAYS hated coins. T hey’re (basically) useless in today’s society.

Cé hé sin > Nauraushaun 07/23/2020 at 15:33

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I bought a coffee for €2.50 in coins the other day because their card reader was having trouble getting a wifi signal. I can’t remember the last time I used coins for anything other than supermarket trolley deposits.

sn4cktimes > jminer 07/23/2020 at 15:36

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I think it was Sweden that’s aiming to be cashless... I’m in the fence. I NEVER use or carry cash but I understand it’s usefulness; especially for private sales and/or keeping the government out out peoples pockets as it were. But on the other hand, NOT making and or monitoring cash has massive governmental savings potential... I’d like to read more from an expert about it. But am also far too lazy to look into it.

(Side note, I’m Canadian, we have monies too, but debit/credit are transaction kings up here, even most farmers markets and side hustles use em)

jminer > WasGTIthenGTOthenNOVAnowbacktoGTI 07/23/2020 at 15:39

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With you on coins and the cash usage.  I mainly use it for CL/FB selling or buying.

jminer > sn4cktimes 07/23/2020 at 15:40

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It’s tough in the US to go for cashless since there are so many unbanked people, it does disenfranchise a lot of lower income folks to not accept cash.

That being said I hardly use it unless doing a person to person transaction like CL or FB.

For Sweden > sn4cktimes 07/23/2020 at 15:46

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It’s one way to make people buy a smartphone already and stop being poor

ttyymmnn > jminer 07/23/2020 at 16:16

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Overheard at Costco: An older gentleman was checking out and he said to the cashier, “Do you know why there’s a coin shortage? Because people are throwing all of them in a wishing well hoping this thing will go away.”

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > jminer 07/23/2020 at 16:36

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I wish there was paper money for quarters. Coins are the worst! They at best get lost in between my seats and at worst are literally thrown away never to be seen again. It is insane to me how much they love coins in Europe. Those 1 Euro and 2 euro coins are the worst. I feel MUCH worse about losing those but since they are coins, they still get lost. Im not about to carry a coin purse around... Id rather go fully cashless but first would be axe ALL coins and just have paper at the very least. 

wafflesnfalafel > jminer 07/23/2020 at 16:39

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I really prefer cash’s anonymity for most purchases.  I just turn change into the Coinstar counting machines once or twice a year.  I don’t really like everybody on the planet knowing every single product/commodity I purchase... call me paranoid...

jminer > ttyymmnn 07/23/2020 at 16:45

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Ha! I like that explanation 

jminer > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 07/23/2020 at 16:47

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I don’t mind coins and it’s cheaper to make dollar coins than dollar bills here so I really don’t see us ever going the other direction.

There is definitely an argument for getting rid of the penny and nickel which I’m definitely for .

jminer > wafflesnfalafel 07/23/2020 at 16:48

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There is definitely something to that, I use it for person to person transactions but also some like you mention where I don’t want my bank or big brother knowing what I’m doing...

John Norris (AngryDrifter) > jminer 07/23/2020 at 17:41

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1962. That’s as old as I could find in my quick look in the j unk drawer in my office.

jminer > John Norris (AngryDrifter) 07/23/2020 at 17:53

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That’s pretty damn old for a penny! Most only make it 30ish years.

shop-teacher > jminer 07/23/2020 at 18:07

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Ah, so this is why I’ve been asked twice in the last few days if I had exact change (I did not, much to their dismay). I have a lot more than just a change jar, I have literally a duffel bag full of change in my closet.  I guess I should go deposit that.  I hope my bank has a change counter.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > punkgoose17 07/23/2020 at 18:08

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Coinstar once a year, pennies only

jminer > shop-teacher 07/23/2020 at 18:11

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Yep, the Gas Station I go to has this on their counter.

I went to go deposit my change jar at a local branch that has a change counter but the lobby was closed so it's back on my dresser...

shop-teacher > jminer 07/23/2020 at 18:17

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When I was delivering pizza during  high school (late 90's), we had a family of regular customers who would almost always pay in $2 bills.  It was weird.

jminer > shop-teacher 07/23/2020 at 18:20

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That is really strange.  I could see it happen once or twice but for it to be regularly...

shop-teacher > jminer 07/23/2020 at 18:24

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I just read all the comments. Apparently I’m the only person around here who still uses cash regularly. Although less since COVID hit, and places started requesting using cards. I like using cash on things that go away immediately, like food.

I’m with y’all on coins smaller than a quarter.  They can all go away now.