The Calhoun chronicle. [volume] (Grantsville, W. Va.) 1883-1984, 1898-01-04
MOUNTAINS OF PENNIES,
UNIQUE FEATURES ABOUT THE
CENT AND ITS CIRCULATION.

Bometiling Like / 100000. 900 OF tho Liz
Coins Distributed-PIay. an Humble
But Imp rtant Part In rrade-IIow
Their Uss Has Been Increased.
The most useful aud Woodworking
member of the coin family, according
to the Washington Star, consists of
mnety-iive per cent. OF copper and five
per cent. tin aud zinc, aud bears on its
face the legend Zone cent" The rise OF
the cent to this position of supremacy
has been rapidly going on the past few
| years. Ii doesn't require n person of
advanced age or long memory to re-
call the time when the humble coin
was practically unknown west of the
| Mississippi. Now its use is well-night
universal, aud the demand for i; il in
creasing so rapidly that the Ph:laiel-
phiH mint Is compelled TO turn out one
cent pieces ut the rate of nearly !. 900. =
900 per month to keep up the supply.
According TO the estimate of the di-
rector OF the mint, there are at present
something like 1000, 900, 900 pennies
In circulation, engaged in carrying on
the small business OF the country.
Two recent devices have been large
| ~ re ,ponsiDle for the increased use of
our only copper coin. One i the
penny-in -the-slot machine, which has
spread over the land like the locusts
OF Egypt within the past two or three
years. A single automatic machine
company in Ne" York City takes in
have million pennies day. As
there isn't Il crossroads VILLAGE in the
country that hasn't chewing gum.
| microscope, music or weighing ma
chine operated in this way tn. mum
Der OF coins re luired to keep them nll
| going Is enormous. The other iuven-
ton responsible for the rise of tn.
cent - the bargain counter. The
craze FOR forty-niae cent and ninety
nine cent bargains makes work for a
loS OF pennies. Superintendent Mil
man. of the New York sublreasury.
said the other day that it was no IN
usual thing for one of the great de
partment stores which make q spccial-
ty OF bargains" 10 take SO. 0Ol
worth Of cents i 900, 900 pieces at Il
time The penny newspaper ana in
some places three-cent street car fares
have also Increased the field of opera
tious Of the one-cent piece.
The cent. is really the most inter
estnS and least known OF our coins. 8"
SAID Mr.. MIlmaH, 'aud ia re are some
very curious facts about it, The snb-
treasury is the clearing house for the
pennies III circulation in the metro
| poIitnl district. apl the penny is for
us barometer. calendar and ac-
cura!e index of business conditions.
There is no better indication Of
lively trade conditions chan the cent
Daring periods of dullness they al
ways accumulate on our hands. and
when trade revives they begin to cir
culate rapidly again. They come to
MS from the slot machine companies.
the newspaper Offices and the street
railways, and they go ont to the de
partment stores, the toy and confec-
tionery shops and the small ira Ter
| generally OF course. some of them
come and 90 through th- banks.
Come this way said Mr.. Milmau
''lt you want TO see the way we han
die pennies, " aud he led the wav to
the minor coin division. where half n
dozen clerks were busily at work. In
the corner OF the room was stack of
canvas bags reaching nearly 10 the
ceiling AMI making gooI-si5el
pyramid. CHOSE are all pennies. ="
said the director. II suppose there
are some 100, 900, 900 pieces there
and we have more below" In another
corner OF the room there waa stack
OF loose coins piled high above the
heals Of the clerks, who were busily
counting them of Into the canvas
bags. The pennies are kept in bars
oi 1000 each. nnd when they come in
they are all counted over. An eY-
press wagon drew up az the door, and
behind its grated door could bc seen
the canvas bags pile high. There's
n sample lot of half million or so
from the the slot machine company. "
said the superintendent. "anl here's
p boy with 500 bill who will get
ten bags Of pennies for il. That's
the way they come aAd go.
There are several unique features
about the coinage of pennies, and the
work IS managed in somewhat diff
ferent fashion from the turning ont of
gold and silver coins.
Though the United States Govern
'''..'' - t't' Dii t'tlilblllf tlllllNl To
indulge in the manufacture Of coins.
our Uncle Samuel does not prerars
the blanks from which pennies are
maize. iIe finds It cheaper TO let ont
the work by contract than to do il
himself, aud it is ut present IN the
hanis Of Cincinnati firm. They
prepare t5a copper blanks jim streets
large enough TO- turn ont 100 pieces
ct"h 70 is NOT known exactly how
| much the Government pays for these
h'aut-. but the price is ju Che vicinity
ol Sl.2j per 1000, or iri1a over one
miII for each uusauped cent.
'pthe di parity between thereal and
ftrs value Of the cent there is CON.
siderable profit for the Government.
FOR Tue reason that % great psor ,r,i,n
%. the pennies coined will never bs
presented f1r final redemption. An
enormous number OF cents are lost i'm
one way or alJtbercvegy year. Tpey
work iueir way into th, sewers or the
ground, children place them ON rail
way tracks A, be Hatteue out or other.
wise mUtlIiatel So that they will moi
pass current. Ole hunlrc thousand
per year is small estimate of the los.
D ,ire war. Another source of prof
ipf ihe Government is ju the recoinag,