US Faces Coin Shortage
2020-08-24
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1The United States is facing a coin shortage, yet another side effect of the coronavirus health crisis.
2Coins are in short supply because many businesses have been closed and many Americans have been going out less to buy things.
3America's central bank, the Federal Reserve System, announced in June that the supply system for metal money had been affected.
4The U.S. Mint and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin urged Americans to use coins when making purchases or deposit the coins in to banks.
5As the economy recovers and businesses reopen, the coin supply is expected to return to normal.
6Yet businesses have urged buyers to make purchases electronically or use exact change whenever possible.
7Some businesses will not give change.
8Other businesses have offered products or services to customers in exchange for their coins.
9In exchange for $5 worth of coins, convenience store chain WaWa offered customers a free drink at some of its stores.
10If people brought in $50 or more in coins, they could get something to eat: a free sandwich.
11In Wisconsin, Community State Bank offered $5 for every $100 worth of coins that people brought in.
12Bank officials had to suspend the program after a week because so many people were taking up the offer.
13The coin shortage has hurt some businesses more than others.
14Brian Wallace is head of the Coin Laundry Association, a trade group that represents laundromats - businesses where people clean their clothes.
15Wallace described the coin shortage as "at the minimum an inconvenience...at worst... a business challenge."
16About 56% of laundromats take quarters as the only form of payment.
17Laundromats often use coins, in part, because many of their customers are "unbanked" or "underbanked."
18These terms mean the customers mostly pay for goods and services in cash.
19Daryl Johnson owns Giant Wash Laundry - a business operating 11 laundromats in the Minneapolis area.
20He says his company usually buys anywhere from $4,000 to $8,000 in quarters a week.
21The quarters are for change machines - machines that accept dollar bills and give back coins.
22Johnson got creative.
23He offered to buy change from friends and family on Facebook.
24He put up signs in stores asking customers to bring in their own coins.
25He also programmed his change machines to only accept smaller bills.
26Johnson even drove more than 4 hours to Omaha, Nebraska, to buy $8,000 in quarters from another laundry operator.
27"It's that or my business close," he told The Associated Press recently.
28Since then, the coin shortage at his business has become less severe.
29The coin shortage is even having an effect on some American traditions.
30Jen Vicker, of Bollingbrook, Illinois has a 10-year old daughter.
31Her daughter recently woke up with something not feeling right: a loose tooth.
32She worried that the tooth fairy would not leave money for the tooth because of the coin shortage.
33The tooth fairy is an imaginary person who is supposed to leave money for children while they sleep in exchange for a tooth that has come out.
34So Vicker's daughter wrote a note.
35It reads: "Dear tooth fairy, you may already know this but there is a national coin shortage in America.
36You usually leave me dollar coins, but until this situation is resolved, I would like cash for my teeth. I apologize for the inconvenience."
37I'm John Russell.
1The United States is facing a coin shortage, yet another side effect of the coronavirus health crisis. 2Coins are in short supply because many businesses have been closed and many Americans have been going out less to buy things. 3America's central bank, the Federal Reserve System, announced in June that the supply system for metal money had been affected. The U.S. Mint and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin urged Americans to use coins when making purchases or deposit the coins in to banks. 4As the economy recovers and businesses reopen, the coin supply is expected to return to normal. 5Yet businesses have urged buyers to make purchases electronically or use exact change whenever possible. Some businesses will not give change. 6Other businesses have offered products or services to customers in exchange for their coins. 7In exchange for $5 worth of coins, convenience store chain WaWa offered customers a free drink at some of its stores. If people brought in $50 or more in coins, they could get something to eat: a free sandwich. 8In Wisconsin, Community State Bank offered $5 for every $100 worth of coins that people brought in. Bank officials had to suspend the program after a week because so many people were taking up the offer. 9The coin shortage has hurt some businesses more than others. 10Brian Wallace is head of the Coin Laundry Association, a trade group that represents laundromats - businesses where people clean their clothes. Wallace described the coin shortage as "at the minimum an inconvenience...at worst... a business challenge." 11About 56% of laundromats take quarters as the only form of payment. 12Laundromats often use coins, in part, because many of their customers are "unbanked" or "underbanked." These terms mean the customers mostly pay for goods and services in cash. 13Daryl Johnson owns Giant Wash Laundry - a business operating 11 laundromats in the Minneapolis area. He says his company usually buys anywhere from $4,000 to $8,000 in quarters a week. The quarters are for change machines - machines that accept dollar bills and give back coins. 14Johnson got creative. He offered to buy change from friends and family on Facebook. He put up signs in stores asking customers to bring in their own coins. He also programmed his change machines to only accept smaller bills. 15Johnson even drove more than 4 hours to Omaha, Nebraska, to buy $8,000 in quarters from another laundry operator. 16"It's that or my business close," he told The Associated Press recently. 17Since then, the coin shortage at his business has become less severe. 18The coin shortage is even having an effect on some American traditions. 19Jen Vicker, of Bollingbrook, Illinois has a 10-year old daughter. Her daughter recently woke up with something not feeling right: a loose tooth. She worried that the tooth fairy would not leave money for the tooth because of the coin shortage. 20The tooth fairy is an imaginary person who is supposed to leave money for children while they sleep in exchange for a tooth that has come out. 21So Vicker's daughter wrote a note. It reads: "Dear tooth fairy, you may already know this but there is a national coin shortage in America. You usually leave me dollar coins, but until this situation is resolved, I would like cash for my teeth. I apologize for the inconvenience." 22I'm John Russell. 23Sarah Skidmore Sell reported on this story for The Associated Press. John Russell adapted it for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor. 24_____________________________________________________________ 25Words in This Story 26coin - n. a small, flat, and usually round piece of metal used as money 27deposit - v. to put (money) in a bank account 28change - n. coins as opposed to paper money 29chain - n. a group of stores or other businesses that have the same name and appearance and sell the same products or services 30inconvenience - n. trouble or problem 31cash - n. metal pieces of money or notes, such as dollar bills 32bill - n. a banknote; a piece of paper money 33tooth - n. a hard, bony structure in the moths of people and most animals