Yet another one of those stories that found its way into the general media has gotten my attention. Hopefully, it’s just a phase, and this space won’t be dominated by those messages for much longer.

In the story, the head of Coinstar, the people who make the machines where you can convert coins (for a fee) into spending money, said Americans need to learn to love coins.

Makes sense from someone who makes a living off coins of all denominations. As those in the pursuit of numismatics, we already love coins, though most of us zero in on specific coins. In general, though, we respect coins, probably more than the average person, and that was his point.

Inevitably the message got around to the elimination of the cent. It’s going to be a topic we’ll deal with for a little while longer. But circulation is not what led to the penny’s precarious position in the hierarchy of the monetary system.

The point was that we treat “cash like trash” and there’s a certain truth to that, for sure. It should come as no surprise that, year after year, the number of cashless transactions keeps rising. It’s somewhat ironic that the major coin shows we attend are serviced by concession stands that won’t take cash, but that’s another topic for another day.

At one time, there was a U.S. Coin Task Force, dedicated to seeking out ways to keep circulating coins on the go. The effort was in response to the global pandemic. As the pandemic effects lessened, apparently so too did the task force. Now, if you go to getcoinmoving.org, you’ll find the domain is parked. The Federal Reserve Board still has a 2022 report accessible for those who want to delve into it, but we already know about the past. We’re interested in what’s next.

The idea is that coins are a recyclable resource that can be exchanged for value such as deposit into an account. They don’t do a whole lot of good just sitting at home when they could be working for you, gaining interest in a savings account, for example.

We take our coins to the bank. One of the branches has a self-serve machine, rather than requiring a teller to provide the service. Quicker, easier, and there’s free popcorn on Fridays. You should be so lucky.

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Yet another one of those stories that found its way into the general media has gotten my attention. Hopefully, it’s just a phase, and this space won’t be dominated by those messages for much longer.

In the story, the head of Coinstar, the people who make the machines where you can convert coins (for a fee) into spending money, said Americans need to learn to love coins.

Makes sense from someone who makes a living off coins of all denominations. As those in the pursuit of numismatics, we already love coins, though most of us zero in on specific coins. In general, though, we respect coins, probably more than the average person, and that was his point.

Inevitably the message got around to the elimination of the cent. It’s going to be a topic we’ll deal with for a little while longer. But circulation is not what led to the penny’s precarious position in the hierarchy of the monetary system.

The point was that we treat “cash like trash” and there’s a certain truth to that, for sure. It should come as no surprise that, year after year, the number of cashless transactions keeps rising. It’s somewhat ironic that the major coin shows we attend are serviced by concession stands that won’t take cash, but that’s another topic for another day.

At one time, there was a U.S. Coin Task Force, dedicated to seeking out ways to keep circulating coins on the go. The effort was in response to the global pandemic. As the pandemic effects lessened, apparently so too did the task force. Now, if you go to getcoinmoving.org, you’ll find the domain is parked. The Federal Reserve Board still has a 2022 report accessible for those who want to delve into it, but we already know about the past. We’re interested in what’s next.

The idea is that coins are a recyclable resource that can be exchanged for value such as deposit into an account. They don’t do a whole lot of good just sitting at home when they could be working for you, gaining interest in a savings account, for example.

We take our coins to the bank. One of the branches has a self-serve machine, rather than requiring a teller to provide the service. Quicker, easier, and there’s free popcorn on Fridays. You should be so lucky.

Connect with Coin World:  
Sign up for our free eNewsletter
Access our Dealer Directory  
Like us on Facebook  
Follow us on X (Twitter)

Whether you’re a current subscriber or new, you can take advantage of the best offers on magazine subscriptions available in digital, print or both! Whether you want your issue every week or every month, there’s a subscription to meet your needs.