US Mint is literally begging for spare change

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Uncle Sam wants YOU to dig under your couch cushions and unearth your spare change.

No, really.

The United States is in the midst of a nationwide coin shortage brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, making life difficult for banks, retailers and anyone who regularly pays with cash. The US Mint, which is in charge of producing new money to replenish the country's supply, is working on addressing the issue, and now it's asking Americans to help out, too.

The Mint is asking people to pay with exact change and to find other ways to return coins they may have lying around to circulation, it said in a press release Thursday.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/us-mint-is-literally-begging-for-spare-change/ar-BB176Zhn?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=DELLDHP

[Marthe48]

1. impeached traitor-nickel and diming us to death

n/t

[soothsayer]

2. I've got a bunch. Guess I should see if T&D bank still does free coin counting

...for non customers

[rickford66]

4. I'd wait.Years ago they paid a premium and counted them.

[soothsayer]

14. Ooh, I was wondering if they'd do something like that

Thanks! Also works out because I’m lazy.

[Skittles]

3. I've been doing that

I have a bunch of change and whenever I'm at the supermarket checkout and no one is behind me, I start feeding into the change slot....yup

[dewsgirl]

8. Me too.

[Ms. Toad]

5. Not if I have to pay to convert it to something else

#yes_coinstar_I'm_talking_to_you

Also talking to stores or other places that won't accept coin rolls as payment.

[RockRaven]

7. One of my siblings had a bank (wells fargo) refuse to accept coin rolls.

She was pretty pissed off at having wasted the time sorting and rolling a big jar of change for no reason...

[a kennedy]

9. and seriously, FAWK Wells Fargo.....they are the worst bank EVER.

[Ms. Toad]

11. The only banks around here that will take them

are banks where you have an account (so they can tag them with your name and debit your account if you miscounted).

That exacerbates the class disparity - since it is largely people who don't have bank accounts who depend on a cash economy.

There is no reason banks can't run coins through a coin counter and give you bills - especially if there is a shortage of coins.

[RockRaven]

13. She's had account there for 3-4 decades, which was part of her annoyance.

Bad customer service, no loyalty.

But I hear you about the class/privilege issue.

Fortunately for her, she rolled them herself because she dislikes coinstar on principle, not because the fee is burdensome to her budget. So she admitted defeat, unrolled them all, and took it to the coinstar in the grocery store down the block.

It was before the covid lockdowns, and so before the coin shortage. Probably they'd be singing a different tune today.

[TexasTowelie]

12. Coinstar asks for 11% for transactions at the grocery store near me.

However, the store will not accept rolled coins at their customer service desk. Thankfully, the convenience store and liquor store in my area not only accepts rolled coins, but they are also willing to pay me for any coin rolls that I have in excess of my purchase. Not only is it good for their business, but they also build customer loyalty in the process.

[IADEMO2004]

6. QAnon, Alex Jones, OAN Network, Freedom Caucus, NRA?? Some loopy conspiracy out there?

[roamer65]

10. People are losing money letting them pile up and sit for years.

Inflation.