The coin shortage is real. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States is out of spare change.
Everyone is paying with credit cards now, keeping their nickels and dimes firmly quarantined in couch cushions and piggy banks. Will anyone miss coins? Unclear. But if that sounds like you, and if you want to help out the US Mint, pull out that giant mason jar and cash it in. You can do that in a couple of ways. You can roll the coins yourself. Most banks will give you free wrappers if you ask and will exchange their customers’ rolled coins for cash — and many extend that courtesy to non-customers as well.
Or you can slap on a mask and head to your nearest Coinstar kiosk. Often found in grocery stores (there are more than 17,000 Coinstar kiosks in the US), these machines allow you to dump your stash straight in. It then dings and clangs and gives you the adrenaline rush of winning at slots, except the money has been yours the whole time. You bring your receipt to customer service right then to get your cash in bill-form.
If you want to avoid the significant service fee of 11.9% at most locations, I've got your back. Coinstar will waive the fee (which amounts to $4 if you were sitting on the average Coinstar cash-in value of $47) if you opt for a gift card to a large retailer like Amazon, Lowe’s, or Krispy Kreme (cashing in for a tower of donuts makes you a freaking hero in my book). Every time I’ve used Coinstar, I’ve been terrified I’ll absentmindedly crumple up a receipt worth, like, $98 and toss it in the trash. So right then and there, I open my Amazon app, enter the code from the receipt in the Redeem a gift card slot, and save it to my account. You can also choose a no-fee tax-deductible donation to charity.
Coinstar is pretty much the only player in town. There are a few credit unions that have coin counters for their customers, though they may charge a service fee. The Credit Union National Association didn't have any data on how many coin counters exist or where they are, so it might be worth calling before heading over. TD Bank got rid of its Penny Arcade coin counters after a lawsuit in New York State alleged that the machines undercounted the change. Although Coinstar was not subject to this suit and the company told me that all machines are regularly cleaned and calibrated (a 2016 test by Philadelphia's Action News confirmed this), Wirecutter has not independently verified the accuracy of Coinstar’s machines so use them at your own risk.
Bottom line: No matter which path you take, please stop hoarding quarters so people without washing machines can do their laundry again.
