Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-07-19
PENNIES IN HONOLULU
ADVENT OF THE COPPER COIN IN
HAWAII.
Circulation Of the Cent Promoted by
the Post Office Au-
thorities.

The insidious penny has made a land
lions are pretty we'll confined to the pos,
office and its circulation limited to the diff
ferent departments of that edifice, blu,
pocket books that a year ago were never
shamed by carrying any meaner metal
than gold and silver often contain nova,
days stray penny, the copper cent OF
commerce." little known and less valued
this side Of the Rockies, but dear to the
heart of every New England housewife.
Penny wise and pound foolish has
never been Hawaiian motto. 1t has
been look out for the nickels" not the
cents. Copper coinage is not unknown
There have been several editions of pen
MES of various sizes used for trade and
advertising purposes and sailors have
brought the bulkier copper coinage of Eu-
rope into port. They have all been regard
ed as more or less of a curiosity, however
and never seriously entertained money
Kalakaua Coinage.
When the Kalakaua coinage was adopted
the "nimble dime" the collection box
coin,'' as some wit has dubbed it, was the
lowest value considered. AS in the days of
Leadville and Deadwood, when nothing less
than a quarter was passed in currency or
from the outside world. In the western
half of the United States the nickel has
been usually recognized by the traveller as
the equivalent in purchasing power of the
English penny or the French ten centime
piece. Street toys, cheap drinks and slot
machines were operated or purchased with
the nickel In one country, the penny in the
others.
The thrifty English split his penny into
four farthings and marked his goods at
one shilling and eleven pence three far
things yard or pound, as the case might
be, knowing we'll that it sounded and looked
far less than two shilings, and soon the
equally thrifty merchant and citizen of the
eastern states took up the same procedure.
Two dollars and ninety mine cents attracted
two customers to one at So Marked down
to $ll49 seemed much cheaper than $1150.
Penny Circulation.
The superfiuous pennies were first given
to the children for their banks, then saved
for the family purse. Cheap car fares
helped along the circulation with three
cent fares. The west stoidly refused to
lose It's reputation for openhanded liberality
and general breadth and the only compro-
mise effected was to sell certain minor arti-
Giles at two or three for a nickel. Even to-
day San Francisco is but little affected by
the penny except in the post Office.
In the earlier days. before Uncle Sam
played letter carrier for the Hawaiian Is
ldIuS, Two lWO-cenl stamps accompanied
by a nickel would bring back a one-cent
stamp from the window in change. Now
the law demands that monetary change be
given and the scantiness of the local sup
ply caused a requistion to be issued to
Washington. This has gradually scattered
and another reauisition is now on the way
in the shape Of a sack of pennies.
At the Stamp Window.
These are issued principally from the win
dow of the money order and registry de-
partment and after a short circuit come
back to the stamp window again. Occa-
sionally a few pennies are passed over the
counters of local stores by customers and
are placed in the stamp drawer to be late-
taken to the post office again Some of them
get lost and others relieve the strain on
the parent, uncle and sisters beau who can
respond to the appeal of give me nickel
with greater alacrity if a lower coinage is
deftly introduced. Still others rattle with
the assurance of silver into the collection
boxes and are only shamed by an open
plate.
None of the stores has at present com
menced introducing pennies. Where there
is a fraction the customer or the store gets
or the usual package of needles and pins
fills the deficiency. The still prevalent Gus
tom and manuahi forbids any suspicion of
sttnginesS on the part Of the dealers On
the other Islands there are sufficient Of the
coins to meet the postal demands, but des-
pfte the acquisitions of the department.
there is little fear of the marked down to
1.99'' becoming a prevalent local practice
for some time to come