More than $1.2B in $1 coins in storage

BALTIMORE, Sept. 7 (UPI) -- Officials at the Federal Reserve Bank in Baltimore said they are running out of room to store the $1 coins they are forced to order.

Bank vaults across the country are filling up with $1 coins because a 2005 law requires the reserve bank to continue ordering the coins despite a lack of public demand, The Baltimore Sun reported Wednesday.

"This is just a small portion of what there is nationwide," said Dave Beck, senior vice president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, Va., and regional executive for the Baltimore branch. "At certain times, that vault will be full and we have to look for other Fed facilities … that have more space."

Beck declined to say how many coins were being held by the Baltimore branch, but a June report to Congress by the Fed's Board of Governors said more than $1.2 billion in dollar coins is being held at 28 reserve system facilities across the nation. Officials said the number is expected to reach $2 billion by 2016.