PENNY SHORTAGE MAY PAY DIVIDENDS

Forget a penny for your thoughts. A penny shortage locally may make those pieces of copper a lot more valuable.

Pennies were in short supply Friday at Schnucks and Mercantile Bank in Cape Girardeau. But an outpouring of community response helped ease the deficiency.

It could be worth your while to dig out your pennies.

Mercantile Bank is still paying a premium for pennies. They'll add 10 percent to the pennies customers cash in. The bank will even take non-rolled pennies, although patrons will be asked to drop them off.

Schnucks put up signs in the story Friday, asking people to pay with exact change. A Saturday story in the Missourian caused quite a stir, with customers bringing in pennies throughout the weekend. A store spokesman said they had an adequate supply of pennies on hand as of Monday.

Several other area banks said their penny supply was OK. But the penny shortage could spread since the Federal Reserve in St. Louis won't be distributing any more pennies to banks in eastern Missouri until June. Mercantile said it typically receives about $500 a week in pennies from the Federal Reserve.

The temporary shortage seems to be localized. The St. Louis Federal Reserve issued thousands of dollars in pennies to a single bank for a special promotion, which could be a major contributing factor.

Many people don't spend pennies. Many people will deposit their jingling pennies in a can or jar. But now may be the time to turn those pennies into extra cash.