Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1890-07-21
LONDON BANK TELLERs.
7 Experts i'm Handling Money-Fcatures of
the English System.
IL III =


Boston Commercial bulletin.
A London bank teller always expert
ences a feeling of relief when he finds
his money correct at the close of Fri
days work, and this feeling IS usually
shared by the rest of the staff. who can
not leave the bank until he either dis
covers his error or satisfies himself rs
to the actual shortage. The great bulk
of the shortages made across bank
counters in England are believed TO oc-
cur on that day.
Next in order of bad days for the
teller, or cashier. as he is designated in
London, comes Saturday, but there the
bad luck is ineligible. Saturday IS
wages day. and no sooner has the teller
filled his till and loaded up his shelves
with silver in 60 and 80 bags than the
days work sets in like Il flood. Until l.
o'clock he is paying away with both
hands; after that hour. if he is receiv-
ing clerk as well. he begins to receive
heevily, for Saturday is also the last day
of the week, and every one elects that
the bank should receive his deposits
rather than that he should keep them
in his own less secure custody over sun
day.
In beginning work on Saturday the
LOudon teller faces an open mahOg-
any counter, of which the portion con-
trollcd by his desk is probably d feet
long and feet wide. He likes to have
good square view of his customer and
it is one Of the canons of British bank
ing that the eve of the staff shall com
mand the counter. With such an open
counter the chief clerk is able to keep
the whole field under his eye al one
time. and to relieve the ovcrstrain at
any particular desk. The effect Of
the exposed condition is beneficial too
on the staff. the members Of which pre-
serve a stcadier dcmeanor aud attend
more closely to business while thus un-
der the eyes of the public.
The London teller is quick manipu-
lator of coin. This is largely owing to
the fact that the smallest note issued
in London is of the value OF g., or S25.
When asked for gold in a greater
amount than his eye can count at 4
glance. She teller, after counting it
quickly with pianoforte action, throws
il with his copper scoop into his faith
full scales. and 50 checks his count. The
weights of these scales are arranged in
suitable numbers. The teller also checks
the gold which he receives by weight,
and here his knowledge of his business
will be- tested One hundred new
soycrcigns are Of full weight, rather
more, in fact, but the same number
taken at haphazard will be found to be
nearly half Il sovereign Tor Is per cent?
short I'm weight, while el00 in ordinary
half-sOvercignS are sometimes POS. Tor l
per cent? short in value. The teller
can quickly satisfy himself as TO whether
the deficiency is caused by Il shortage
in the weight or the count by dividing
the amount and weighing the money
against the other. II they balance
evenly the count is correct and the dil-
ference is due TO undcrweight. II the
latter exceeds the average stated the
coin will need to be- specially examined:
theps is probably something wrong
The edge Of the English bank counter
is provided with lip to prevent the coin
from rolling over and to aid the teller IN
scooping up the money. The teller
usually counts with the first two fingers
of both hands simultaneously. some
times he uses six fingers. and atcllcr has
been known to count $50 SoycrcignS in
one minute, working against time. An
expert teller will count 800 value OF
silver i'm seven minutes. When IL is re-
mcmbcrcd that the coins are always
mixed and consist of siXpenccS, Shill-
Z l.n1 and
with never a decimal convenience among
them, this will reasonably hc considered
as a remarkable feat
The annual loss from wear and tear
of gold coin I'm England by reason OF the
absence OF small notes is almost incrcd-
| ible In Scotland the issue of II notes
| diSplaccs gold 10 "a certain extent. The
/ Scotch teller cXcclS i'm counting paper
money. I'm lingering a bundle OF notes
hc is king of men. Placing the packets
upright against his left palm. and sciz-
ing the top corner between the finger
and thumb of his right hand. he will
turn over the notes so quickly that an
ordinary observer will be as entirely de-
ccivcd as by the thrcc-card trick, and
will probably count only sixteen or
seventeen to the tellcr'S twenty. Then.
| 10 check this count. he will either alter
nate his hands. or. placing the notes
/ horizontally on his counter. he will
count them toward himself with the
same paralyzing tpeed.
The Scotch counter is twice rs wide
as the London one; it is elevated in the
centre and is minus the rim which ia
cilitates the English tcllcr'S deXterity
with the coin. The Scotch teller in
/ Edinburgh is rallied in. His domain is a
| little island by itself; he takes no re-
SponSibility: ne carries no balances in
his head, and will not look at a check
until the ledger clerk, far off in the
corner. has countcrSigned it.
An advantage which the English tell
er possesses over the American and
the Scotch teller lies in the fact that he
issues clean notes only. The Bank Of
England has the exclusive privilege OF
notes issued in London aud within ra-
dius of sixty miles, a right conferred for
a certain valuable consideration granted
to the government in years gone by.
All the notes received by the London
teller are sent into the Bank of Eng
land, and they are not reiSSued. The
average life of - bank note is two or
three weeks. that of 600 bank note
three dayS-that is, the interval between
its issue and return to the bank and
final death.