Daily Republican., 1888-01-17
sAOKEULs OF PENNIES.

load OF coin, which he carried on his
shoulder tied in one end of stout
grain sack, entered the rotunda of the
Sub Treasury yesterday. de was di d.
rected TO the small coin department,
presided over by Mr. r. c. Half, where
all the nickels, pennies, three cent
pieces and fractional currency are Is
sued and exchanged.
The Italians load consisted of 100
pounds of United States pennies. The
bag and its contents were passed
through the little window over the
marble counter, conditional receipt
was given TO the swarthy deposition,
who placed il carefully in his inside
pocket and stalked contentedly out OF
the building.
"What are you going TO do with all
those peEniesg" was asked Of Mr..
Half.
1.-The same as we do with all such
deposits" he replied; I'VE count them
over, sort out the counterfeit pieces
and tokens, bag the good ones up for
reissue and the uncurrent ones we set
| one side TO be returned to Washington
for recoinage. Tomorrow or next
day the depOstor returns, presents his
receipt, and we give him bills TO the
amount OF his deposit less the tokens
and counterteits, II there are any"
"Where does the man pick up such
a quantity o! penniesr'
II suppose be gets taem from the
groceries, saloon keepers and small
tradespeople down in the neighbor.
hood OF Mulberry street, where they
are received in great quantities. He
buys them up at a small discount, then
brings them here for exchange, re.
ceiving their full face value, and the
difference between what he receives
and what he pays for them remuner.
ates him for his time and trouble"
"Do other people exchange pennies
very oiteny"
"Yes, some large firms very otter
send large amounts for exchange. Re
tail stores where the odd cents are
charged, such as Ridley's, who brought
in about $4,000 just after Christmas
The street railroads make exchanges
almost every day. The Dry Dock
Railroad, for instance, brings In on All
average $500 a day in cent pieces
and nickels; the Broadway Road abou
$500 day, and the Elevated Railroat
from $500 TO $500 in b cent pieces"
"What do you do with all this guam
tity of small stuff"
"There Is almost always demand
for IT, Almost as many come after i
as there are depositors. Small chang,
is rather scarce than otherwise. TheI
again we ship great deal to the Yves
and South, where up to two or three
years ago pennies were unknown ant
five-cent pieces were rarely used. Blu
lattcrly they have come into very gen
eral use.
give years ago you could not pas
a one cent piece in New Orleans. TIL
people there did not know what the,
were, and the nickel was the smalles
coin in circulation, and even thos
were not much used, as five and ten
cent silver coins were the staple small
change. This increased demand keep
the coin moving pretty briskly now
and we seldom have any great am .un
on hand.
Yesterday we had 80, 800 in 5 cen
pieces, and that is lair average o
the amount on hand at this season {
the year. Before the present deman
in the south and west we often ha
larger quantities. ] have seen tn
time when we held $l20.O0 in fiv
and $40, 900 in one.cent pieces"
"YOu speak of this sc son. Whs
has the season to do with the circula
ton OF small cOinf"
"a great deal. Just before the hol
day season the demand Increase
greatly, and at times we DIRE unable t,
supply ii, so We are always short iror
October to January. But after thai
and especially during the summe
when trade is dull, the coin come
back to u.s."