SALISBURY, Md.- Some businesses on Delmarva are once again low on coins.
Signs can be seen on doors and windows saying, "Please use exact change." and "Not accepting any cards."
The lingering pandemic is causing consumers to make more electronic and credit card transactions, rather than cash payments. A local Home Depot customer tells WBOC he's an avid coin collector, never uses cash and would rather keep his coins in his pocket. "Always planned to one day take them out and cash them in, but I just haven't done it. And then I've got a lot of old coins that I've collected. I've always thought that the shortage was partly because of COVID -- that they didn't want to handle your change," said Tom Brumley, of Salisbury. But stores desperately want our change. Bill Chambers of the Salisbury Chamber of Commerce says the shortage is not just about consumer spending habits. It's also about the subsequent drop in coin production at the U.S. Mint. "Lots of establishments here on the shore have signs posted as you walk through the door. Exact change. Any loose change would be appreciated. It's real. The thing we've been told by the U.S. Mint is probably another year before they'll get completely ramped back up to producing the coins to where they were prior to the pandemic. But the coin shortage is real and it's pandemic driven," said Chambers. Chambers says when it comes to cash, even for the government, it is all about supply and demand. The U.S. Mint says you can help with the coin shortage by using #GetCoinMoving and exchanging your coins for currency at your local bank or other financial institution.