BROOKFIELD, Wisc., (SPECTRUM NEWS) -- For more than 20 years, Jim Holton of Wauwatosa has been collecting coins. It all started with a piggy bank given to his son when he was born. Every day since Holton has been filling it up with his spare change Two decades later it's parlayed into three 5 gallon buckets of change.

“I heard on the radio they were having a coin shortage and with everything going on; I was like, 'I can help,"' says Holton. 

On Thursday afternoon at North Shore Bank in Brookfield, Holton decided it was time to cash in. According to Holton’s weight predictions, each bucket weighs about 100 pounds. The buckets were wheeled in because they were too heavy to lift. 

Holton got a workout just wheeling the money inside the bank. 

“It’s heavy I am sweating," says Holton.

Jim’s final tally rang in at $5,366.05.

When news hit about the national coin shortage it came as a surprise to Susan Doyle of North Shore Bank. 

"We didn't think that would be an impact of the pandemic, but it is. The bank's ability to order money from the Fed is reduced,“ she says. 

The shortage is affecting many retailers locally, as well as nationwide, who are having to alter their business operations 

“It’s a fun activity take those coins to see how much you have been saving by throwing them in a bucket,” says Doyle.

North Shore Bank is offering community members and bank customers interested in having their coins counted and exchanged can visit any North Shore Bank branch for free through the end of August.