The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1872-11-27
ventilated Currcney-Hou az ~ BouSh'
and Seia-Detailso of the Business

SpcfsSSfIv Is Lif ItptHtA "
80 Of ways and frequently develops
.,,,,,e, methods of industry. There IS no pet
,sr ,,,ore in the Union to afford o comfte'
t,a,a;wo view of this than New YORK Guy.
.Ia,nst every conceivable kind OF trivial Dust
noes l. practiced in that city, and tens OF
tho,,Sands OF dollars per year flow into the
irockets of the peculiar class engaged ID tnese
rnrs,,;ts. The people who adopt ulesc
'nofles for earning livelihood are, IN the
rn,ipl roes, Of shrewdncSs, who know stai-
tarinr Of almost everything available 10 lheni
in q business way, and who are always
keenly alive to their own interests, never al
Iowinr themselves to be caught at dlsadVan-
tive and never rectifyiDg mistakes.
inst now very brisk and profitable busl,
moss il being carried on in small. way, ane
il based upon the careiessness OF MANKIND.
Th;s i the collection Of nlutilated currency
and national bank notes of every denomina-
fion. A large quantity Of this material is
constantly floating about the money market,
and very large portion OF it goes 70 waste
altogether. The business OF collecting ana
selling this description OF paper nc a discount
now forms the trade of a great number OF
prisons in that city. 1t is well-SnoWn lact
that nearly every person VINO Is I'D thc nao't
Of carrying money loosely about his clotncs
comes mo DOSSSSSluu ri HWY VI tS1S - -
which is in rapid state of decay. ? rms,
nassinp from hand to hand, soon becomes
noutila,ed to such an extent rs to warrant itS
refusal by business people. Tbcn it lInds lis
reslinp.place in the corner OF some unused
COMPARTMENT of q pockct-book or money
denver and in MANY cases remain there
until finally thrown into the waste baS kcl
and burned with other worthless rubbish.
TINS Il very great amount OF money IS an
nrolly lost. The adoption of the idea OF col
lecting it and selling it again to Government
agents, however. has opened new heio OF
trade. and while il will serve as the means oil
otI0r,linc a living, such us it is, TO those en-
rlced in it, it will also be the source OF much
Swing to the general business community.
The collectors, or spectators, - as lhcy
term themselves, only require huge wallet
into which the mutilated stampsand bills are
stuffed promiscuously, withoutuny attention
al, care AS to whether they are further mu-
tiiated or not. The capital stock necessary
10 successful prosecution Of this business Is
not necessarily great. A few dollars in the
hands Of shrewd Spectator will return
very gratifying revenue, as the prices ior
mutinted currency vary in the most irregu'
lar manner, according to the various stages
of decomposition. One Of the operators,
who does large business in that city ana It's
immediate vicinity, estimates his profits
from the business 1T figure which would
afford Il satisfactory living for person
of moderate tastes. This dealer has
established route, which he vsits
with punctual regularity, and the bust
ness people with whom he deals hy
aside all the mutilated papcr-money coming
into their possession until the "stamr.bro
kor" calls for them. Many of the business
men find it a matter OF some proDtto pay III
tenion to the collection OF INITIATED cur
rency. The generality OF people are mo-
aware of the fact that when stamps ana bill;
have become torn and disfiSured, and por
ton perhaps missing, that they can DC re
deemed Mt slight discount, and therefore
in view of their ignorance, lose considerable
money in the way of selling them at almos
any price. Persons who do business will
the broker, being aware Of this, buy III
what they arc able to seize upon ana let'i
to the brokers ut profit.
The prices for currency and bills varies
An average of from sixty to seventy per cent
Is maid. In the case Of stamps and bills bclDS
so mutilated to an extent which renders thcu
denomination almost unrccognZabie, tht
price is very low, yet they are as marketable
is the others. A day or two since the broker
mentioned made some large purchases IN inc
upper part of the city, investing about S2p
The character Of the currency he purchased
and the tightness of the bargains he made
would bring hima profit of upward OF llHt
dollars, which shows that the business, Whct
juticiousIy handled, is of considerable mo
mcnt.
The mutilated currency thus collected Is
sold at the sub-'rreasury in Wall street,
where the discount on mutilatcd bills aver.
ages about 10 per cent. Here it is kept IL
quantities, and then forwarded to Washing
ton, where, at the Treasury buildings, it is
destroyed. The Spectator in majority OF
eases buys delapidated currency at about
eighty cents and sometimes for seventy-tive
this he dispoSes of at the sub-Trcasury fol
ninety, and as this is about the average Of
the business, its lucrative results may be
easily computed on the extent Of ground
covered by the speculator. The business is
iucreasinS in this and neighborinS cities
women, in many instances, having adopted
il, meeting with much success.