No Jingling All the Way This Holiday Season
A sign in a San Telmo laundromat finds a polite way to remindthose dropping off their clothes to return with change in hand.
The sound of sleigh bells — something that may have seemed conspicuously absent to North Americans and Europeans who spent their first Christmas in Buenos Aires this week — was certainly not supplanted by what has become an increasingly unfamiliar phenomenon in Argentina: The sound of a coin-filled pocket or purse jingling as its owner walks down the street.
“No Hay Monedas” is a sign displayed as frequently in tiendas as “Fuera de Servicio” is on ATMs in Buenos Aires. And while a coin shortage should not surprise anyone living in a developing country, neither should the answer Reuters received from the Argentine Central Bank when the news agency recently asked why the bank did not release more coins.
“You have enough coins,” said the Bank to the people. “In fact, the reason you cannot find coins is because you are hoarding them in your homes.”
“Great. Thanks,” we reply. We return to searching for a gas station that sells Tic Tacs so we can break a two-peso bill for bus fare home.
The word among shopkeepers is that bus companies, which have been steadily consolidating since colectivos began to flourish after World War II, have made a business out of stockpiling coins and selling them back to shops at an inflated rate. The shopkeeper Reuters interviewed said the rate at which he buys coins from bus companies is roughly 97 pesos for 100. A Subte spokesman told BBC News in 2006 that transit companies were not the source of the problem, however: He said the subway receives only about half of the coins is asks the Central Bank for annually.
A recent Clarín article (in Spanish) quoted a Central Bank official who said the bank will inject 15 million 25-centavo coins into circulation before the end of 2007. This, in conjunction with over 400 million coins — mostly 5- and 10-centavo pieces — that the bank has already released this year, will represent an 11 percent increase in the total number of coins available in Argentina since 2006. The official, despite conceding the bank’s substantial allocation of “monedas” into circulation, maintains that there are plenty of coins available for everyone.
If people in Buenos Aires think they have it bad, change-wise, stories a friend of mine in Quito recently told me may make them feel better: He said it is not uncommon to face a 15-minute hold-up in large department stores while tellers page and wait for floor managers to come up front and authorize them to break something as small as a $20 bill.
On a recent Friday night, I found myself changeless while waiting for a bus from San Telmo and ducked into an autoservicio to see if I could procure a couple of one-peso coins for my two-peso bill. I recognized the teller from a pool game a few nights earlier and asked him simply if he could change my bill. When he said “No,” I asked to buy the cheapest item in the store. He glared, took my bill, and shoved two one-peso coins into my hand. While this tactic may occasionally allow you to get change without buying cheap crap you don’t really want, it is certainly no way to make friends — not while the coin situation remains as it is in Buenos Aires, anyway.
–Nate Martin
Is it ok to make negative observations about the Argentinian monetary system like that? Are you allowed to say “coin shortage”, and no one attacks you?
Do they like it that you point this out to the whole world to know?
This makes them “imperfect”, is that OK?
I shudder to think someone reads this and think you are being negative.
But thanks for the info.
R U allowed to say these negative things about the locals and a “flaw” in their monetary system? How can you really prove that the coin shortage is really happening, maybe it was just your bad luck you are always out of coins, is that possible? People here frown upon others, especially expats, who say bad stuff about Argentina. be careful Nate. Happy New Year, looking forward to more good read from you.
LC
Both,
Thank you for the comments. I certainly meant no disrespect to the wonderful country of Argentina — I simply made the observation upon my arrival that acquiring correct change for things like the bus seemed a bit difficult, and after doing some research on the subject I found consistent reports that sought to explain the situation and thought I might share them. My only hope is to encourage dialog about issues that affect the public so that people will be aware of them and, if there is a problem, can work toward fixing them.
Again, thanks for reading a commenting.