The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1872-12-28
MUTILATED CURRENCY.
How it ia Bought and sold-DetaiHs OF
the BusiEess.

How It ts Bought andl sold-DetniHs OF
the Busiress.
Necessity Ia the mother of invention In o
variety Of ways, and frequently develops novel
methods of industry. There is no better place
In the Union to afford q comprehensive view
of this than New York city. Almost every
conceivable kind of trivial business is prac-
ticed in that city, and tens Of thousands ofdol-
lars per year how Into the pockets of the Pc
cuar class engaged in these pursuits. The
people who adopt these modes for earning
livelihood are, In the main, men of shrewd.
ness, who know smatteriDg OF almost every
thing available 10 them In business way, and
who are always keenly alive 10 their own
interests, never allowing themselves 10 be
caught at disadvantage, s,ud never reclfylng
mistakes.
just now very brisk and profitable busi-
ness is being carried on In small way, and
Is based upon the carelsssness OF mankind.
This Ia The collection of muliated currency
and national bank notes OF every denomina-
lion. A large quantity o. this material Is con-
staDtly floating about the money market, and
q very large portion OF 1t goes to waste alto
.asther. The business OF collecting and selling
this description Or paper at q discount now
forms the trade OF grea number OF persons
In that city. 1t Is Vell.knoWn tact that
nearly every person who Is In the habit OF
carrying money loosely about his clothes
comes Into possession pf more or less ot1t
which Ia in q rapid state of decay. This, pas
sing from hand 10 hand. soon becomes muti-
lated to such an exteng as 10 warrant Its re-
| fusal by business people. Then 1t dnds its
restlDg-place 10 the conner OF some unused
compartment OF pockel-book or money
drawer, and In many cases remain there until
finally thrown into the waste-basket and
burned with other worthless rubbish. Thus q
very great amount OF money is annually lost.
The adoption OF tha idea of collecting 1t and
selling lt again to Government agents, how.
ever, has opened new field OF trade, and
while 1t will serve as the means Of a6Ordlng q
living, such as 1t Is, to those engaged 10 It, IL
will also be the source OF much saving to the
general business community. The collectors,
or 'sspeculaiors," as thsy term themselves,
only require huge wallet, into which the mu.
tllatsd stamps aud biD are stuffed promis-
cuously, without any attention or care os to
whether they are further mulllated or not.
The capital stock nece ssRry to successful
prosecution of this business Is not necessarily
great. A few dollars In the hands oil q Bhrewd
speculalor will return very gratifying re-
venue, as tine prices for mutilated currency
vary In the most Irregular manner, according
to the various stages OF decomposition. One
of the operators, who does large business In
that city and Its immediate vicinity, estimates
his profits from the business at figure which
would afford satisfactory living for person
of moderate tastes. This dealer has established
a route, which he Visits with punctudl regu-
larity, aud the business people with whom he
deals Law aside all the mutllated paper money
coming into their possession until the 'slamp.
broker' G cal!s tor them. Many OF the business
men find it matter of some profit 10 pay at
tentlon TO the collection OF mulilated currency.
The generality of people are not aware OF the
fact that when stamps snd bills have become
torn and dis6gured, and portion perhaps
missing, that they can be redeemed at slight
discount, and therefore, In View OF their lgno-
rance, lose considerable money In the way of
selling them at almost any price. Persons who
do business with the broker, being aware Of
this, buy up what they are able to seizs upon
and retail to the brokers at profit. The
prices ior currency aud bills varies. An aver.
age OF from sixty to seventy per cent. ID PAID.
I1 the case OF stamps and bills being go mu-
tilated to an extent which renders their demo-
minallon almost unreeognlzaole, tne price ehs Is IS
very low, yet they are as marketable as tne
others. A day or two since the broker men-
toned made come large purchases In the upper
part of The city, Investing ABOUT $2o. Inc
character of the currency he pnrcnased, an9
Ihe lIghtness of the bargains he made, would
bring bril- g him a profit Of upward OF five dollars,
which shows that ths business, when 1u-
dicIously handled, is of considerable moment.
The mutIlated currency thus collected Is sold
at the sub-Treasury 10 Wall street, where the
discount on mutllated bills averages aboutten
per cent Here 1t Is kept In Quantities, and
then forwarded to Washington, where, at the
Treasury building, 1t III destroyed. The spe,,
culator in majority of cases buys dilapidated
currency at about eighty cents and sometimes
for seventy-dve; this he disposee Of at the sub.
Treasury ior ninety, aid as this Is about tne
average of the business, its lucrative results
NAV be easily computed on the extent or
ground covered by the speculator. Tne Dusl-
ness ia increasing in this aHd neighboring
cIIirs. women, In many instances, having
adopted it, meeting with much success.