Millions of New US Coin Collectors!!!

JeffMTampa · July 15, 2020 5:00PM

There's a national coin shortage. That must mean there are millions of new collectors out there hoarding coins. Yippee!

Kliao · July 15, 2020 5:04PM

I think there’s a difference between collector and hoarder....

ShaunBC5 · July 15, 2020 6:57PM

@Kliao, you’re right, but line is very blurry sometimes.

jmlanzaf · July 15, 2020 7:04PM

Why couldn't it just be one giant hoarder?

derryb · July 15, 2020 11:44PM

I'm doing my fair share:

ricko · July 16, 2020 4:40AM

I do both.... I collect certainly.... but I keep putting change in jars....gets too heavy in my pocket .... So my wife got jars for me to put it in since she got tired of seeing the pile grow on the dresser.... That is just change from shopping... then I have jars of wheaties...So yeah... a bit of hoarding going on too...Cheers, RickO

Goldminers · July 16, 2020 5:16AM

I found it interesting that private businesses do not have to accept coins or currency as legal tender.

https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/faqs/Currency/Pages/legal-tender.aspx

Goldminers · July 16, 2020 6:02AM

Between 1880 and 2018, the U.S. Mint produced 793,464,097,826 coins and there is a shortage...

The gov't spent several trillion dollars in a few weeks, but has not minted a trillion coins in 100 years.

Jimnight · July 16, 2020 6:10AM

No more hoarding for me ... I cashed all my coin rolls in.

Hydrant · July 16, 2020 9:16AM

@Goldminers said:
Between 1880 and 2018, the U.S. Mint produced 793,464,097,826 coins and there is a shortage...

The gov't spent several trillion dollars in a few weeks, but has not minted a trillion coins in 100 years.

Interesting. Where did you find the number of coins minted between 1880 and 2018?

TurtleCat · July 16, 2020 9:37AM

@Goldminers said:
Between 1880 and 2018, the U.S. Mint produced 793,464,097,826 coins and there is a shortage...

The gov't spent several trillion dollars in a few weeks, but has not minted a trillion coins in 100 years.

To be fair, almost everything <1965 has already been removed from circulation. Cancel out 80% of the zinc cents and the number is much less. It’s still quite a few billion, though.

But this shortage is more psychologically created than real. All it takes is for the internet echo chamber to keep repeating it until it becomes a thing.

Hydrant · July 16, 2020 9:56AM

@TurtleCat said:

But this shortage is more psychologically created than real. All it takes is for the internet echo chamber to keep repeating it until it becomes a thing.

I agree with you but it already has become a thing. The mom and pop stores and the gas stations around here don't have enough coins to make change. Just started last week and it's getting worse. I think(?) people are hoarding small change because they're worried about the immediate future.

TurtleCat · July 16, 2020 10:03AM

@Hydrant said:

@TurtleCat said:

But this shortage is more psychologically created than real. All it takes is for the internet echo chamber to keep repeating it until it becomes a thing.

I agree with you but it already has become a thing. The mom and pop stores and the gas stations around here don't have enough coins to make change. Just started last week and it's getting worse. I think(?) people are hoarding small change because they're worried about the immediate future.

It reminds me of this scene from the movie Sneakers where they conjecture about money and how you get a bank to fail merely by changing people’s perceptions. Totally apropos to today.

https://youtu.be/coDtzN6bXAM

TwoSides2aCoin · July 16, 2020 12:40PM

Assemblage is everything. Organized and matched sets are fun to put together and study.
Funny thing. About 12 years ago before I came here (coin biz )full time; I ran a metal roofing business with 3 other brothers. One day I had to do a bid in our neighborhood. So, I met this gal and went on the roof to assess damage and give an estimate. Oddly, upon getting up there on the roof , I saw several dollars worth of cents, nickels, dimes , and quarters. Tossed about randomly on the shingles.
I told her we specialized in metal, but she didn't want to spend extra change for such. She wanted to replace the asphalt. I suggested she get off her asphalt. Change is good. Ooops, there it goes.

jedm · July 16, 2020 12:48PM

@TwoSides2aCoin -
Are you sure you're remembering correctly? Than it could've been the other way around? She may have told you to get off her asphalt about that metal roof and get to replacing her shingles.

Goldminers · July 16, 2020 3:00PM

@Hydrant said:

@Goldminers said:
Between 1880 and 2018, the U.S. Mint produced 793,464,097,826 coins and there is a shortage...

Interesting. Where did you find the number of coins minted between 1880 and 2018?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Mint_coin_production

I did a cut to Excel so it was easy to get a total. Has all details cents to dollars. I didn't include gold in the above total as they did not have the info.

Hydrant · July 16, 2020 3:06PM

@Goldminers said:

@Hydrant said:

@Goldminers said:
Between 1880 and 2018, the U.S. Mint produced 793,464,097,826 coins and there is a shortage...

Interesting. Where did you find the number of coins minted between 1880 and 2018?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Mint_coin_production

I did a cut to Excel so it was easy to get a total. Has all details cents to dollars. I didn't include gold in the above total as they did not have the info.

Thanks, Goldminers.

Goldminers · July 16, 2020 3:17PM

I think there are still 500 million Susan B Anthony dollars in storage since 1981, that could not be melted because of seigniorage. Now is a really good time to toss them out to the banks and get them off the books.

Will give everyone something else to collect. Toss in a few thousand with random privy marks and away they go. Will drive some of the counter clerks crazy.

sedulous · July 16, 2020 3:43PM

@ricko said:
I do both.... I collect certainly.... but I keep putting change in jars....gets too heavy in my pocket .... So my wife got jars for me to put it in since she got tired of seeing the pile grow on the dresser.... That is just change from shopping... then I have jars of wheaties...So yeah... a bit of hoarding going on too...Cheers, RickO

I use empty pill bottles and concentrate on the new stuff that comes out for that current year. I did grab 20 Brinks-wrapped cent rolls back when I worked as a bagger for the local grocery store. All unc 1987-D. I think I might have 11 of those left. Since then, the D/D has been recognized but I resist the temptation to rip them open.

T

Millions of New US Coin Collectors!!!

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