The Portland daily press., 1888-01-25
sAcKFULs OF PENNIES.
In the Small Coin Department OF the
U. S. Sub Treasury at New York.
NEW York Commercial Advertlser.l

New York Commercial Advertser.l
An Italian staggering under heavy load
of coin, which he carried on his shoulder
tied in one cad Of stout grain sack. entered
the rotunda Of the sub-Treasury yesterday.
He was directed to the small coin department
presided over by Mr.. r. c. Half, where all
the nickels, pennies, three-eent pieces and
fractional currency are issued and exchanged
The 1talian's load consisted Of 1GO pounds Of
United States pennies. The bag and Its con-
tentssHere passed through the little window
over tilh> marble counter, a conditional re-
ceipt waAgiven 10 the swarthy depositOr,
who placedSlt carefully in his inside pocket
and stalked c0Qtentedly out Of the building.
what are yolNgoing to do with all those
pennies ?" was askeg OF Mr.. Han.
aThe same as we d0,with all such deposits"
he replied 1--WE count them over, sort out the
counterfeit pieces and toke2s, bag me good
ones up for reissue and the m2elrrent ones
we set one side TO be returned to>sl ashington
for recOinage. Tomorrow or next ntay tho
depositor returns, presents his receipt, Md
we give him bills to the amount OF his de-
post less the. tokens and counterfeits, II
Where does the man pick up such a guam
tity Of pennies?"
Il suppose he gets them from the groceries
salo0n-keepers and small tradespeOple down
in the neighborh0Od of Mulberry street
where they are received In great quantities.
He buys them up at small discount then
brings them here for exchange, receiving
their full face value, and the difference be-
tween what he receives and what he pays
for them remunerates him for his time and
trouble"
.'Do other people exchange pennies very
often?"
''Yes. some large firms very often send
large amounts for exchange. Retail stores
where the odd cents are charged. such as
Ridley's, w-0 brought In about 5000 Just
after Christmes. The street railroads make
exchanges almost every day. The Dry Dock
Railroad, for instance, brings In on an aver
age of $500 day in f-cent pieces and nick
els; the Broadway Road about $500 day.
aud the Elevated Railroad from $500 to 81,
800 in scent pieces.
"What do you do with all this quantity Of
small stuff?'
'"There is almost always a demand for it.
Almost as many come after 1t as there are
dep0slt0rs Small change Is rather scarce
than Otherwiee. Then again we ship great
deal TO the west and south. where up TO two
or three years ago pennies were unknown
and hve-cent pieces were rarely used. But
latterly they bave come into very general
use. Five years ago you could not pass a
one cent piece In New Orleans. The people
there did not know what they were, and the
nickel was the smallest coin in circulation.
aud even those were not much used, as i've
and ten-cent silver coins were the staple
small change, This increased demand keeps
the coin moving pretty briskly now, and we
seldom have any great amount on hand.
Yesterday we had $500 In ive-cent pieces
and S41O0 in one-cent pieces, and that is a
fair average Of the amount on hand at this
season of the year. Before the present de-
man6 Ia the south and west we often had
larger quantities. l have seen the time when
we often had larger quantities, | have seen
the time when we held $4,000 In five, aud
$4,000 In One-cent pieces.
"You speak Of this season. What has the
season to do with the circulation Of small
cOin."
"A great deal. just before the holiday
season the demand increases greatly, and at
times we ale unable to supply II. so we are
always short from October 10 January But
after that, and especially during the sum
mer whentrade Is dull, the coin comes back
TO u.s."