WEST VIRGINIA (WOAY) – On June 11, the Federal Reserve announced its plan to allocate coins due to a coin shortage.
“It’s happening due to a couple different reasons,” said Sheetz Public Relations Manager Nick Ruffner. “There’s still lockdowns across the country in different areas, so businesses are closed down but [it’s also happening] because of some social distancing measures that have been in place at the U.S. Mints that’s resulting in less production than usual.”
There isn’t a literal coin shortage. The Federal Reserve Bank says there is plenty of coin in the economy, but circulation has nearly stopped.
“It’s not an emergency situation,” said Ruffner. “It’s not a situation where Sheetz is running out of coins.”
Without circulation, some businesses stopped accepting cash because they are unable to make change. Others accept cash, but encourage customers to use cards instead.
For those wanting to spend some cash, Sheetz has another approach.
“They can bring their coins into any Sheetz location and donate it to Sheetz for the Kids,” said Ruffner. “That’s an employee-run charity that goes back almost 30 years. Our employees shop for, wrap and present gifts to kids during the holiday season. It impacts about 16 kids per store location.”
The Federal Reserve Bank says the shortage should solve itself once the economy opens more broadly and spending habits return to normal.
