Daily Kennebec journal., 1910-11-10
VANISHING PENNIES.
Millions Disappear to Never Be Seen
Again.

What becomes of the pennies that
YOU Jingle in your pocket and toss to
YOUR little boy? Where do they go!
Uncle Sam has just delved in ms
trousers pockct for the few pence that
the several hundreds of banks, depart-
mcnt stores and his own subtreasuries
have been asking for, and he is
scratching his head in thought.
The philadelphia mint coined l46,-
600. 900 little coppcrs last year, and
now there are not enough to go COM
foreobly around. To set things right
and still keep friends with the kiddies,
Uncle Sam has ordered that brand
new supply be made to hop from the
mint Director Of the Mint George r.
Roberts expects that the big plant In
the Quaker city will turn out another
100, 100000 before the year is over.
Several reasons are given for the
penny famine. One of them is the nip
Of winter in the air, which is turning
the maple leaves to scarlet and which
is reminding thrifty folk that Christ
mas will soon be here. Small unopen-
able banks are very fashionable just
now. And SO are china pigs, COWS or
elephants. anything supplied with the
seductive slot capable Of gobbling
small pennies. nickcls and dimes into
its earthcn nav.
Yes. We find that pennies are
awfully scarce just now" lamented a
paying teller at the National Shawmut
bank, when asked if he left the pau
city. In months time from August
13 to Sept. 13 we have lost more
than $4,000 in pennies. By lost l mean
the coins which we have had to pay
out. Other small coins come in to us
about as fast as they 60 but for some
reason pennies don't come back. FcW-
er pennies have been coined in the
last few years than there were coined
in previous years. Now we cant get
any new ones east of san Francisco.
Just at this time of the year Wo
find it hard to get pennies because
people are saving them up for Christ
mas"
The penny the-slo machines and
the 6-ccnt car fares are two of the
reasons that Chief Clerk Lincoln of
the Subtrcasury department gives for
the increadei demand in the small
coppers. "Of late we have felt the
low tide regarding pennies. | cannot
say, though, that the number of coins
in circulation during the whole year
is less than the number of coins in
circulation during previous years.
Definite figures are very hard TO OBJ
tain.
In our last shipment from the mint
we received $4,000 in pennies. or 500
900 actual coins. Sometimes we have
n great many on hand and sometimes
our supply runs low. At one time we
had between $4,000 and $4,000 in
pennies That was several years
ago We have not had as many in
our stock of late years.
Not half the pennies that come TO
BoSton, or even, a quarter of them.
come through the sub treasury. The
large banks send direct to the, mint
1or them. Some of the department
stores receive them in that way. II
don't know whether Boston uses anv
more coppcrs than other cities or not
guess she does her share though.
A tremendous number of nennies
go int" the slot machines But they
90 not drop out of existnce by a good
- 'is once ana so often the
agent comes along and makes Tho
machine disgorge. The good nennioc
.'idheed lor larger coin, and the
m.n PENNIES are all brought here for
you nave no idea how great a fas-
clhatl"n the penny in the slot machine
cScftS over the American small how
"A large part of our business here is