The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-07-15
EMPTYINC OLD SOCKS.
HeaTdOd Money Finding lis Way to
Washington.
Odd Currency Sent Uncle Sam-Hard
Times Compel People to Draw on
Ancient Reserves.

n
Washington, July 6.-The hard times
are forcing people to rake in every odd
corner for cash. They are extracting
ancient hordes from stockings and tea
pots, and much queer and out of date
money thus put in circulation is now find
ing its way to Washington. Suspicious
looking notes, doubtful coins and even
fragments of old greenbacks are received
by the treasury every day from owners,
who want to know if the money is worth
anything.
The cash thus transmitted includes Ca
madam paper money. Confederate notes
and wildcat" bank notes of ante bellum
date. The treasury has received many
counterfeits of the $50 notes issued by
the federal government during the war
between the states. They are made from
rude wood cuts, some of them printed
only on one side, and a few apparently
have been torn out of old scrap books. 1t
is imagined that they were executed by
confederate sympathizers in war times.
MUCH FRACTIONAL CURRENCY.
During the panic of last summer almost
no money was sent into the treasury for
redemption. People were hiding away
and saving whatever they had. OF late
good deal of the old fractional currency
has been received. Only the other day a
lot of it arrived which has been found by
workmen in tearing down dwelling at
Beaver Falls, Pa. Though partly rotted,
enough of the pieces were put together to
credit the remitter with So. A good deal
of money is lost in that way. Persons
secrete big wads in the walls of houses
and ithen die.
During the last twelve months the
treasury has received and destroyed
3d. 67 in fractional currency. This ex-
ceeds the record of the previous year by
nearly S400. Most of that sort of cash
comes from the estates of old people, who
leave small quantities of it stuffed away
in disused pocketbooks and other odd
places. The heirs send in the queer little
pieces of money for redemption. Last
week a handkerchief full of this cur
rency arrived, consisting of the earliest
issues in fine condition, each note signed
by Gen. Spinners own hand. The col
lection was worth far more than face
value, if the owner had known it.
Sometimes the fractional currency
reaches the treasury even now in the
shape of blocks of sheets from banks
which have held the money unused for a
quarter of a century, perhaps. II was
issued in sheets originally, the notes be-
ing cut apart first with scissors. After
ward they had perforations, like postage
stamps, so as to be torn apart. There is
now outstanding $l5, 273, 79l worth of this
currency. In 1879 congress estimated
that IS, C00,000 worth had been loss and
destroyed, and this sum was transferred
to the funds for the payment of pensions.
1t is now believed that the reckoning was a
mistake and that not more than 81, 900. 900
has passed out of existence. The remain
ing Sl4 100000 is supposed to be held to-
day by collectors and private individuals.
SOME RARE COINS OFFERED.
Among the out of date coins flowing
into the treasury are some of the old
Scent and 5-cent silver pieces, which
used TO be contemptUously designated as
fish scales" 1t was a great relief to the
officials in charge of Uncle Sans Golfers
when they were withdrawn from circula-
tion. Counting them was fearfully hard
work. Assistant Treasurer Meline tells
of how he gnce had to count about peck
of them in the subtreasury in Baltimore.
The labor was much greater by the fact
that nearly every one of the little pieces
had been bent by biting, so that they
overlapped on the fat counting board like
veritabl fish scales. For some reason
unknown people could not resist the
temptation to bite these small silver
coins.
The fish scales were three parts silver
and one part copper. They were created
in 1892 by the first act under the consti-
tuition. The silver half dime and the
cent silver piece were diScon-
tinued in February, 1878. The 3
cent piece was brought into being by the
same act of congress which created the
3 cent postage stamp For some
reason it seemed to be necessary to have
ri of
postage stamp. The treasury will not
sell the fish scales nowadays to any
body. They are sent to the melting pot
as fast as they are received, and on that
account they are likely to increase in
value as curiosities.
ALL GO TO THE MELTING POT.
The melting pot of the mint is the
bourne toward which all the out of date
coins that reach the treasury do travel.
Among them are the silver 20-cent pieces,
which were authorized by an act of
March, 1875. They only ran for three
years, because they made themselves OBJ
noxious, being so frequently mistaken for
quarters. Even more objectionable were
the nickels with big Y on which the
word cents did not appear. OF these
100000 were thrown into circulation be-
fore their dangerous character was per-
ceived. Then they were altered. Persons
OF an initiative lnCllnaJ zion RllQeQ Jnem
and passed them off for $5-golded pieces.
The nickel Scent pieces minted from
1865 to 1880 are rarely seen nowadays.
Three millions of them exist somewhere
unaccounted for. OF 1900, 600 bronze q
cent pieces issued from 1864 to 1873 3,000,-
600 remain outstanding. Yet it is not
often that specimen is found in one's
change. What has become of all the big
copper cents of which 5000, 900 are un-
accounted forl Nearly all Of them have
been lost.
People often apply to the treasury for
gold 81 pieces, the minting of which was
discontinued in 1890 But the govern
ment will not sell them. 1t is desired TO
withdraw them entirely from circulation
because they proved incon venient, being
so easily lost. One day man
wandered into the redemption
bureau and handed to the
official in charge a very much disorga-
nized so note, asking for a new one. The
person addressed said that it looked as if
a railway train had run over it. "You
are mistaken, mister" said the visitor,
who was evidently from rural parts.
"My wife has been wearing that bill in
her shoe all of this week IN Washington"
A great deal OF the money that is sent
into the redemption bureau has to be re-
turned without repayment. Some of is
real enough, but reduced TO ashes or so
far destroyed otherwise as 10 render iden-
LITIGATION impossible. Such rejected pa