It's a stiflingly hot, sticky, Buenos Aires summer afternoon in the beautiful neighbourhood of Monserrat. I'm standing in the Chinese supermarket staring at the grubby price tag on a bottle of Malbec. I compare prices with the next bottle, desperately calculating which will give me the most change in Monedas (coins). The price is not important.

The clerk swings the bottle through the bar code reader with his girlfriend sat on his knee. He doesn't look at me. He merely gestures toward the price, illuminated by the register. I reach into my pockets gently with my sweaty hand and fish out the largest note I can wrap my fingers around, trying not to disturb my precious Monedas. I sheepishly hand the man a fifty peso note. He finally looks up at me.
"Do you have anything smaller? Any change?".
I answer with a guilty and almost silent
"no".
I don't want to look into his eyes. He looks at me blankly. We are locked in an awkward stare. A bead of sweat glides down my temple and I try not to wince. He knows. I know he knows. He gives into the pressure of the building queue and turns to count my change.

The guilt is overcome by an overwhelming feeling of success as I collect my change and step back out onto the cracked pavement.

A regular day to day transaction has taken place but I fell like I have won something. I have a bottle of wine and a handful of change. A rewarding exchange in any situation. However i am in Buenos Aires where the change sacred.

Monedas in Buenos Aires are like monogamous relationships in Latin America. Scarce. One could say there is a shortage. It is a problem which has been gripping the Argentine capital for years and is only just showing signs of clearing up.

Coins are important everywhere you go. In every country coins break down the currency and feed everything from slot machines to parking meters. In Buenos Aires they are especially important for anybody who rides the magnificent 'colectivo' buses which link the entire city. One of the most comprehensive and simple transport systems covering a city of its size in the world. You can catch a bus from every block and somehow you are always within a few blocks of a route which is heading where you are.

The whole thing is made possible by the genius little 'Guia', pocket size guide and A-Z map available form every news stand in the vast metropolis. A neat grid system on the maps with lists of buses on the opposing page make cross referencing easy as you track down the bus you need.

Once you are on board the drivers don't mess about either, making the whole system efficient and fast. In fact the drivers couldn't give a flying duck. They stop for nothing. They roar around every block leaving customers dangling off the side as they scramble on board. If you are not standing in the exact correct spot when the bus comes tearing down the street you wont even get so much as a glance from the driver. In short this means you get where you want to go in good time, traffic permitting. Almost every Porteño (persons heralding from the illustrious capital) uses this transport system. It serves every part of the city and all its 10 million or so inhabitants. However, you need one thing to ride these buses and that is Monedas. Precious little Monedas.

The shortage of coins in a city where they are such a necessity causes many problems. One of the most significant of which is; you simply cannot buy certain small, cheap things. For example you may walk by a newsstand on your way to the bus. You are a little peckish. it's been a hard day. You deserve a reward. You see a chocolate bar you fancy or maybe a packet of crisps. They guy wont break your 2 peso note. You have change but what you want to buy is no longer worth the Monedas in your pocket. Besides you need them for the bus. Maybe now you can start to see the enormity of the problem. The shopkeepers suffer from the lost business. it's only a small thing but it all adds when you are working a news stand in a developing country. Besides, you suffer too on the way back on the bus with no snack. A few other victims to bear in mind are charity boxes, beggars, street performers as well as all the poor old phone booths, vending machines and parking meters.

People simply cannot afford to part with their sacred little pennies. So people hoard. They hoard coins like precious little gems. The value of each little coin exceeds it´s marked amount. This simple fact leads to some shady dealing. Shopkeepers are happy to accept below the asking price if it's provided in change whilst guilty shoppers spend hours in front of products comparing and calculating the maximum amount of change they can receive. One bus route was actually rumored to be selling change back to customers at an inflated price at one point. 1.10 pesos for 1.00 peso.

This madness leaves you pondering, how could it get like this? Who let it go this far? Corruption is rife in Argentina but the problem seems so ridiculous and the lack of an adequate solution which will not damage the already fragile economy leaves you wondering where are all the coins? I have posed this question to many a Porteño friends who merely shrug their shoulders and screw their faces up whilst making absurd hand gestures. A typical response to practically any inquiry into a Porteno's life. However, here are a few interesting theories I have picked up.

Firstly it's the bus companies. The companies hoard all the coins. I don't know how or why but I have been on a bus whilst it has changed its money box and it was pretty dubious. We suddenly pulled into what looked like a scrap yard and an abandoned warehouse and the driver slipped out of the bus for a few minutes. During this time one man skipped hastily on boar, released the box and left. A different man returned with a new box equally as hastily and hopped off again. Our driver returned and we continued on route. Make what you will of it but I cannot see how they benefit apart from selling it back which can only last so long.

The second one I have heard from a number of sources and sometimes ties in with the first. it's the Mafia. The inevitably Italian influenced underground crime ring hoards the coins somehow (possibly through the buses) in order to gain some kind of upper hand or bargaining tool over the official governing body of the city. A sort of 'release some of ours and we will release some coins' kind of deal. Therefore, here lies potential for a very crafty criminal network of gangster bus drivers. Smart stuff.

Thirdly, the Chinese. I think this is more a reflection of some Porteños animosity toward the ever increasing Chinese population who run a corner shop on every block. Apparently they are slowly accumulating coins through carefully thought out, city-wide pricing schemes which ensure they receive the maximum change possible. But why? Why would they do this? Maybe in order to run the other small convenience stores out of business as they refuse to accept large bills and lose customers. Almost feasible but seems a little daft.

Next up, a little hangover from their economic crisis in 1999. With the whole country shaken to its roots many large industries, resources and production plants were sold off to foreign investors. The Argentine metal industry was one victim and in some cases parts of the industry became inoperable. With Argentina still struggling to recover they cannot afford to mint new coins and even if they did, they no longer have control over the resources or plants. May well be a contributing factor but I have a feeling it's not as simple as that.

Finally, Diego Maradona. Since taking the job as head coach of the national side the modest self styled 'god of everything Argentine' who, may I add, refers to himself in the third person on national TV, has demanded his salary entirely in coins. Delivered to his vault in his house built solely from coins. For those who struggle to find a reason why, Maradona aims to increase his legendary status to something of a saint by one day cruising through the streets of his home town, tossing coins into the hands awestruck Porteños.

In conclusion it's an incredibly irritating problem for everyone who intends to live in or visit this charming and unique city. A problem which often leaves you dumbstruck until you are brought back down to earth again as you beg a shop assistant to accept your 2 peso note for an onion. Just one onion. it's all you need.