The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1898-10-22
THE PENNY Is. POPULAR.
Our Smallest Coin Is In Great Do
mand In BUSINESS



The 1-cent copper coin Of the
United States is enjoying an increased
popular demand. It is a significant
fact that the coinage of this piece has
of very recent years taken up more OF
the time of the Philadelphia mint than
ever before. Three presses are now at
work there on copper coinage, turning
out 10000 cents day. This rate has
before been equaled or exceeded, but
it is worthy of remark now in view OF
the previous great output of the copper
coins within the past dozen years.
Since the foundation of the mint in 1893
1905, SIT, ,50S one-cent pieces have been
struck, and it is estimated that some
7SO, ,OOO, 900 pieces are now outstanding.
But the great bulk of this coinage
has taken place lately. From 1898 to
the beginning of the civil war the coin
age of the cent piece did not average
much above 5000 worth year, or
100000 pieces. Just prior to and dur
ing the war the coinage became un-
usually large, but fell of during the
time of inflated prices to marked ex-
tent. But in 1880 the penny coinage
rose suddenly to an unusually high
figure, and has kept there ever SINCE
. Within the past Is years almost one
half of the entire penny coinage OF the
whole country has been executed. Vi
the amount outstanding of 10000, 900
pieces, no less than 504 100000 pieces
have been struck in the Is years. And
the public demand for the coin appears
to be unabated and rather on the in
crease.
The explanation Of this is doubtless
to be found in the more general prac-
tice of cash payments in the retail
trade and the great fall in prices which
has come about in the past 20 years.
Not long ago the smallest coin known
in the general circulation west OF the
Mississippi river was the nickel Scent
piece. Only within few days the
larger St. Louis papers were charging
| cents copy for their issues, when >
cents, 2 cents and even cent were the
prevailing rates farther east. Now pa
pers costing only the fraction OF q
nickel are the rule rather than the ex'
ception in the west The growth OF
the country and the competition II
business would of themselves finally
bring the cent into active use therea
but the downward course of prices hai
operated all over the country to make
it a much more active coin than evel
before Odd prices are now frequent
even where purchases are for rounf
amounts or considerable SUMS. Penny
bargain counters in some of the big de
partment stores have lately been intro
duced. A Scent street car fare is no
unknown; and no doubt is to become
better known.
In fact, so closely is the trade OF th'
country calculating it's prices that a de
mand may not be far off for the rein
PRODUCTION of the half-cent piece. Frac
tional parts of a cent are now YER,
common in even retail quotations
England finds use for such coin il
the bronze farthing, France in the sou
which is, however, more nearly tn
value of a cent than half-cent. Oul
own coinage laws have authorized TIN
coinage of half-cent piece, and from
1893 to 1911 large number OF thes
pieces were struck. At two other pc
| RODS before the war there was som
coinage of this coin; but in 1857 it wa
discontinued, and has not been sinc
revived. The 2-cent piece was droppet
in 1873, and the Scent piece in 1890.
The growing Importance OF tn
penny or, more properly, the cent, ha
an important bearing on the econom.
of the people. 1t gives to the nickel
the dime, and all pieces of money
higher value in the eye of the possesso
than they had before. and teaches car
in all expenditures. No one now need
to feel ashamed to wait at the stor
for the change to be brought bacl
amounting to only cent. That penn.
has come to possess an important pur
chasing power, greater than it has eve
had before. And it is in the way OF be
ing advanced to second place above tn
lowest in the divisions of the monetar,
circulation.-Springfeld (Mass.) he
publican.