How Has Coin Circulation Changed in the US?

During the recent Coin Conference, held 28-30 October in Lisbon, Portugal, delegates heard from several speakers on coin circulation in their respective countries or regions – with shifting circulation trends, efficiency issues, and collaboration as key to solving these as common themes. Here, Coin & Mint News™ focuses on the United States, covering the presentation from the Federal Reserve Financial Services – FedCash Services’ Turner Angell. 

Ongoing issues with US coin circulation 

Unsurprisingly, the focus of Turner’s presentation was issues with US coin circulation, with changes in payment preferences impacting the need for coin and altering circulation patterns. 

He began by providing background to the coin ecosystem in the United States, with the US Mint and Federal Reserve holding different but complementary roles in the coin supply chain. The former is the issuing authority and producer – responsible for production of over 13 billion circulating coins in FY2023 – whilst the latter is the authorised distributor – with 28 federal reserve cash offices and a further 160+ armoured-carrier-operated coin terminals and depots at its disposal.