With a shortage of coins in circulation because of the coronavirus shutdowns, local businesses have sought new ways to create a flow of pocket change to keep operations afloat.

For nearly a month, Whitehall Turkey Hill store manager Dustin Anderson said the store was short-handed on coins, prompting employees to hang signs on doors and cash registers notifying customers.

The store joined other area businesses forced to turn away potential transactions from customers who didn't have correct change and were unable to pay with a card.

The shortage is the unlikely result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. As Americans have altered their spending habits, opting to stay home, shop online and limit hand-to-hand exchanges, it's been difficult for businesses to conduct cash transactions, which has led to a shortage of change in the register.

While it's been referred to as a coin shortage, it's not. There are more than $40 billion in coins in circulation, but most of them are sitting inside homes.

Financial institutions are receiving more coins, but there hasn't been a return to usual circulation patterns, said a Federal Reserve spokesperson.

To address the circulation problem, the United States Mint and Federal Reserve established a U.S. Coin Task Force in July that includes representatives of the coin supply chain. The group is tasked with identifying and promoting strategies to resolve the coin supply chain issues, according to the Fed website.

In August, The Mint issued a public service announcement detailing the disruption in circulation. Mint Director David Ryder asked the public to “help get coins moving by using exact change when making purchases, taking your coins to financial institutions, or turning them in for cash at coin recycling kiosks.”

Ryder also praised the efforts of the organization's work force, stating, “I want to assure you that the men and women of the Mint workforce are working as hard as we possibly can to get newly produced coins into the economy."

The Mint is now on track to produce more coins this year than it has in nearly two decades, in the hope of alleviating the circulation shortfall. The Fed is distributing coins to credit unions and banks to ensure their inventories are stocked.

Chelcee Stearns, spokesperson for the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, said coin circulation will return to normal as the economy begins to stabilize.

"While there is an adequate overall amount of coins in the economy, the slowed pace of circulation has reduced available inventories in some areas of the country," Stearns wrote in an email.

"As the economy recovers and businesses reopen, more coins will flow back into retail and banking channels and eventually into the Federal Reserve, which should allow for the rebuilding of coin inventories."

To recover from the shortage, Anderson said the Whitehall location rounded up price totals, received assistance from Fifth Third Bank and received $200 to $300 in change from customers.

"It was kind of a give-or-take thing for a while, but I think we're on solid ground," he said.

Michele Doran, owner of Doran's Farm Market in New Albany, said the store also received extra change from customers.

"Although we haven't had an issue, we appreciate the people that are concerned and are willing to help out by doing that," Doran said.

Despite these efforts, Anderson said it will take some time for the gas station and other area businesses to fully recover.

"I don't think we're going to be back to normal for a while, but there's other problems and other shortages," he said. "Until everybody gets to full speed, we're going to be a little limited."

Some Columbus-area businesses are hampered by US coin shortage

– The Columbus Dispatch