Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1890-04-25
LONDON BANK TELLERS.
Experts In Handling Money-Features OF
the English system.

ences feeling of relief when he finds
his money correct at the close OF Fri
days work, and this feeling is usually
shared in by the rest of the staff, who
cannot leave the bank until he either
discovers his error or satisfies himself
as to the actual shortage. The great
bulk Of the shortages made across bank
counters in England are believed to &C.
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 tel
Ter filled his till and loaded up his
shelves with silver in f5 and f10 bags
than the days work sets in like o
flood. Until II o'clock he is paying
away with both hands; after that hour,
if he is a receiving clerk as well. he be-
gins to receive heavily, 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 Sunday.
In beginning work on Saturday the
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counter. of which the portion controlled
by his desk is probably six feet long by
three feet wide. He likes to have a
good, square view of his customer, and
1t is one of the canons IF British bank
ing that the eyes 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 at one
time, and to relieve the overstrain at
any particular desk. The effect of the
exposed condition is beneficial, too. on
the staff, the members of which preserve
a steadier demeanor and attend more
closely to business while under the
eyes of the public.
The London teller is a quick manip-
ulator of coin. This is largely owing
to the fact that the smallest note issued
in London is of the value of Is or $25.
When asked for gold in a greater
amount than his eye can count at a
glance, the teller, after counting it
quickly with a pianoforte motion,
throws it with his copper scoop into his
faithful scales, and so checks his count.
The weights of these scales are ar
ranged in suitable numbers. The tel
Ter also checks the gold which he re-
ceives by weight. and here his knowl-
edge of his business will be tested.
One hundred new sovereigns are of
full weight, rather more, in fact, but
the same number taken at haphazard
will be found to be nearly half sover-
eign Tor 1-2 per cent, short in weight,
while 100 pounds sterling in ordinary
half sovereigns are sometimes Dos. Tor
per cent. short in value. The teller
can quickly satisfy himself as to whether
the deficiency is caused by shortage in
the weight or the count by dividing
the amount and weighing one moiety
against the other. If they balance
evenly the count is correct. and the
difference is due to underweight. IL
the latter exceeds the average stated
the coin will need to be specially ex-
amined; there 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;
sometimes he uses six fingers, and a
teller has been known TO count $50
sovereigns in one minute. working
against time. An expert teller will
count 100 pounds sterling value of
silver in seven minutes. When it is
remembered that the coins are always
mixed. and consist of sixpences, shil-
lings, horins, half crowns, and crowns.
with never decimal convenience
among them, this will reasonably be
considered as a remarkable feat.
The annual loss from wear and tear
of gold coin in England by reason of
the absence Of small notes is almost in
credible. In Scotland the issue of one
pound sterling notes displaces gold to a
great extent. The Scotch teller excels
In counting paper money. In lingering
bundle of notes he is king of men.
Placing the packets upright against
his left palm, and Selling the top cor
ner between the finger and thumb of
his right hand. he will turn over the
notes so quickly that an ordinary OBJ
server will be as entirely deceived as
by the three-card trick, and will proba-
bly, count only sixteen or seventeen to
the teller's twenty. Then, to check his
count. he will either alternate his
hands, or. placing the notes horizontal
ly on his counter, he will count them
toward himself with the same paralyz-
ing speed.
The Scotch counter is twice as wide
as the London one; it is elevated in the
centre and is minus the rim, which
facilitates the English teller's dexterity
with The coin. The Scotch teller in
Edinburgh is rallied in. His domain is
little island by itself, he takes no re-
sponsibility. he carries no balances in
his head. and will not look ut a check
until the ledger clerk, far off in the
corner, has countersigned it.
An advantage which the English tel
Ter 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
note issues in London and within o
radius of sixty miles, a right conferred
for 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
England, and they are not reissued.
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