If you've ventured inside a convenience store recently, you might have noticed signs asking for exact change only, or even offering to buy your change.

That's because America is currently undergoing a coin shortage, or, more accurately, a circulation disruption.

Thanks to COVID-19, people aren't using as much cash and aren't redeeming coins at places like banks and grocery stores.

That means a lot of coins just sitting in homes and jars and piggy banks not being used.

That may not sound like a big deal if you buy everything online, but millions of un-banked Americans rely on cash to get by.

And many services, like coin-operated laundromats have no other payment options.

This is likely to persist until people start using coins freely again.

So we thought it was the perfect time to premiere this episode we shot before the pandemic struck about the importance of your loose change.

Enjoy.

If you've ever used a $5 bill to buy something that costs $4.01, you might have felt conflicted about that handful of coins you received in change-- coins that will either be jangling in your pocket all day, cluttering up your car, or slipping between your sofa cushions.

You know it's money; it's worth something, but maybe less than the trouble of holding on to it.

How did we get to a point where legal tender could be considered a burden?

Will things ever "change"?

And until then, what should you do with that change?

[whimsical music] [coins jangling] ♪ You're probably aware that pennies didn't start out worthless.

In 1913, they had roughly the purchasing power of today's quarters.

A handful of them could have bought you a quart of milk or a bite to eat, but after 100 years of inflation, today's pennies and nickels are worth less than it costs to make them.

No rational government would intentionally start minting coins with so little value, yet we seem to be stuck with them for the time being.

Why is that?

Again, inflation is one of the culprits-- or, rather, the fear of inflation.

Thanks to America's weird pricing practices, it's common to see numbers like these at check-out.

Many people assume that if we eliminate the penny, retailers will round up their prices to the nearest nickel.

It doesn't seem like such a big deal when you're grabbing a soda from 7-11, but some economists fear that if all the prices on all the goods across the whole country go up at the same time, it could kickstart a spike in inflation.

Others have conducted studies that suggest this fear is overblown.

Sentimentality is a much more likely reason.

Most Americans are against eliminating the penny.

And 43% said they'd be disappointed or angry if they were discontinued.

Without overwhelming popular support, it's unlikely that Congress will abolish such an iconic element of American history.

So U.S. Mints continue to roll out around 10 billion pennies a year, more than all the other coins combined.

Why so many?

In part because so many disappear, into couch cushions, junk drawers, fountains, and landfills.

Americans throw away over $60 million worth of coins every year.

Eleven percent of people said they'd rather throw a penny into the trash than hang on to it.

Don't do that!

I know a penny isn't worth much, but there are far better places to put them, like piggy banks.

Not to get off on a tangent, but what's the deal with piggy banks anyway?

It's not like pigs are known for their frugality and restraints, so what gives?

Thank you for that spontaneous and not-at-all pre-planned question.

The origins of the piggy bank are unclear, but the dominant theory is that in the Middle Ages, people would keep coins in jars made out of a clay called "pygg."

Over the next few hundred years, the vowel sound shifted from "ah" to "ih," making the word similar to the Middle English word for swine--pig.

By the 18th century, potters were making pig jars, in the shapes of pigs, as a kind of visual pun.

And, boy, did it catch on!

Unfortunately, not many of these original piggy banks are around today because you have to, you know, smash 'em to get your money out.

However, there is a surviving cousin of the piggy bank-- a clay vessel filled with hot water that people still use in certain places to warm their beds-- sometimes called a "pig."

So once your piggy bank is full, what should you do with all those pennies, nickels, and dimes?

Unless you want to be the most unpopular person at your supermarket, we don't recommend using them for big purchases.

Instead, you could pour them into one of those machines they often have near the entrance which automatically sift and sort your change and print out a receipt you can redeem at the cashier.

The catch?

They typically charge a processing fee, often over 10%, which is kind of a lot to turn money into money.

(host 2) Most coin machines will allow you to skip the fee by putting the value on a gift card instead, which is great if it's for a place where you know you'll spend anyway.

They also allow you to automatically donate the money to one of several charities, which has got to be one of the most painless ways to be generous.

Just make sure to keep that receipt for your taxes.

(host 1) Maybe you'd prefer to try your local bank.

But be warned: federal government does not require banks to accept coins.

It's totally up to the institution, and will often depend on whether you have an account there, whether the coins are rolled, and even how busy they are.

And many banks are starting to charge fees for processing coins.

It's best to call ahead before you load those buckets into the trunk of your car.

(host 2) Perhaps the best use for loose change is giving it to children.

It's worth a lot more to them than it is to adults.

It can be used a reward for desirable behavior, teach them about math and economics, and introduce them to the pride of saving when it's finally redeemed.

Just remember to keep a little change for yourself because one of the best uses for it is to avoid collecting more.

With just one nickel, two dimes, three quarters, and four pennies, you can nail any number that comes after that decimal point.

So if you don't want to accumulate any more change than you already have, just grab one, two, three, four on your way out the door.

In the era of credit cards and payment apps, it's easy to start seeing loose change as worthless.

But there's a danger in this way of thinking.

If you start internalizing the idea that a $1.55 bottle of soda costs $2 in cash, you're basically acquiescing to a 30% price increase.

Over thousands of transactions, that can add up.

If that's not enough motivation, consider using those savings to treat yourself to something fun or frivolous.

Since we tend to think of loose change as valueless, there's less guilt in spending it.

It doesn't look like pennies and nickels are going anywhere for a while, so whether you put it in a piggy bank, donate it to charity, or give it to your kids as an allowance, anything's better than throwing it away.

But maybe get one of those piggy banks with the stopper, just in case you get too emotionally attached to send them to hog heaven.

(both) And that's our Two Cents.