The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1883-05-24
GOVERNMENT PROFIT ON COINAGE,
Somo Curious Fucty Relating to Unre-
deemed Obligations of tho Gcvornment.

A considerable source of profit to the
United States Government is tho amount
OF paper money and coin which is never
presented for redemption. Much of this
Is destroyed by fire. Some of it is buried
or hid i'll places known to no person
alive. large quantity of tho coin is
melted to make sterling silvcrware. Con-
siderable amounts Of both paper money
and coin nro exported, never to return.
Not long ago United States bond, is
sued about 1919, wnB presented at the
Sub-Trcasury i'll n. Y. City. Tho interest
on 1T had ceased over fifty years. 1t had
come back from Europe through Barring
Brothers.
The outstanding principal OF tho pub
lie debt of tho United States last yoar
was nearly two billions Of dollars, chiefly
represented by bonds and Treasury
notes
1t would be. of course impossible to
say how much of this will never be pre-
S"ntcd for redemption, lut some idea
may he formed from the fact that S57, =
G65 Of it was issued 80 long ago that the
dato is not recorded. It appears in the
report rs "old debt" that may safely be
put down as profit.
There ia on item Of $50, ,525 of Treas
ury notes issued prior TO 1916. Some Of
them wcrO issued nearly fifty years ago
;Nd will not, in NIl probability, ever he
presented for redemption. Ono thousand
ono hundred and four dollars of the Mex
lean indemnity Of 1916 has never been
claimed. Tho last Of tho fractional cur
rcncy WAS issued under the net Of Juno
=, 1864, yot, although nearly twcnty
Years have elapsed, $7,077, PAT has not
boon presented for redemption. Somo
of this is held as a curiosity Some Of it
is still used 10y banks and merchants for
transmitting small sums by mail. Sew
cral New York banks have considerable
sums OF new fractional currency which
they Distribute for the accommodation of
their customers.
AS to the coin the Government de-
rives considerable profit from it. The
silver in ono thOusand silver dollars
costs, Oh al nnvcrn"c about $S03.75. The
coinage of a silver dollar costs about II
cents. Tho total cost Of 1000 silver
dollnrs to tho Government is therefore
$sS1G25.
Since tho organization of tho Mint, in
1893, 1877, 100, ,6lS silver dollars have been
coined, on which the Government has
received n profit of over twenty-thrcc
millions Of dollars.
In the samo period 1922, 75S, $40 was
! c,imcd into half dollars. At the same
! rat" of cost for coinage the Government
lr"titcd SO 1895, TG9 on these. The total
! silver coinage Of the Government since
! J79} is $3l7, 7G6, 792 Estimating the
! prOht ON tho halves, quarters, and sub
! .si'liary Colms Mt the same ratio ns on tho
dollars, the total profit received by tho
! Government on its silver coinage has
! been about HiXty-four millions Of dollars
! In the coinage of the tivc-ccnt nickcls
the Government reserved to itself the
liberal profit of nearly 50 pcr cent.
| This Gnvo to the Government last year
! The handsome revenue of over 500, 900
! from nicllclB alono. The wide margin
| between the intrinsic value Of the five
| cent niCllol and its face vnluo led to cx-
tr"mc countcriciting.
Several years ago Nh assay was made
! Ot some of the counterfeit nickcls, and il
! WIS discovered tlut the coWntcrfcitcr5
! had put into thcir coins moro valuable
mctal than the Government uses in MAX
| ing the genuine COINS.