SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Today's Why Guy question comes from Janet Piper. She asked, "Why is there a coin shortage? Do I have to make my own quarters for laundry?"
While Why Guy doesn't promote the minting of counterfeit coins, it is hard to find loose change these days. The problem isn't a coin shortage though, it’s a lack of circulation.
It started during the COVID pandemic when people stopped using cash and coins for small transactions and opted for the more hygienic plastic cards. It's still that way.
Ray Perryman is a Texas economist and he said ending the shortage will take time.
"Over time, more people will get out and about doing transactions and people will get back out and more coins will get back into circulation. Basically we were shut down for a while, [it] certainly reduced the usage considerably like a lot of things it started very suddenly again and sometimes it takes a while to catch up," said Perryman.
So, to help the "catching up," you can empty your piggy banks and check under your couch cushions for that loose change and put it back in circulation. Your nickels, dimes and quarters can be a stimulator of the American economy.
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