In its latest quarterly report, the Federal Reserve System (or the Federal Bank) reports that it now has over 1 billion dollar coins in inventory. While the number is staggeringly high, it is down slightly from the second quarter of 2020. Currently, the United States’ central bank has 1.011 billion dollar coins in inventory.
For those who are outside of the United States or unfamiliar with it, the Federal Reserve System is effectively the central bank of the country.
The Federal Reserve System (also known as the Federal Reserve or simply the Fed) is the central banking system of the United States of America. It was created on December 23, 1913, with the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act, after a series of financial panics (particularly the panic of 1907) led to the desire for central control of the monetary system in order to alleviate financial crises. Over the years, events such as the Great Depression in the 1930s and the Great Recession during the 2000s have led to the expansion of the roles and responsibilities of the Federal Reserve System.
Wikipedia
While the inventory breakdown is not indicated by the Fed, it will consistent of Native American Dollars and Presidential Dollars. It is possible that some American Innovation Dollars are in the mix too but given those were never aimed to be circulated, it is unlikely or accounts for a very small percentage.
Comparing year-over-year, the report from the second quarter is down from the same quarter in 2020. Then, the Fed reported having 1.064 billion coins in inventory. In the second quarter, 47 million coins were released for circulation, up from the 29 million from the previous year’s quarter.
While it is good for the Fed to have high reserves, the report also speaks volumes to the need to release these coins into circulation – and replace the dollar bill. As has been proven over the history of coinage in the United States, that is unlikely to happen barring the dollar paper bill being removed from circulation all together.