There was a time when banks would send soiled paper money that they felt was worthy of reclamation back to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing where it would actually be washed, dried, ironed and then returned to circulation. This 1910 article from the New York Times describes the process: http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9B06E7DD1230E233A25755C2A9609C946196D6CF And here's an excerpt from the August 1916 issue of the Numismatist describing the same process: http://books.google.com/books?id=qJ...fHhp1Y&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=4&ct=result
just think of the jobs created or saved. Lots of folks would take a paycheck to do such work. those poor nickles though lol and job or not, ironing the notes would have to be tedious!
On a related topic, is it me, or is well worn coinage in circulation a thing of the past? I can't speak for the US, but here in my neck of Canada it's rare to see a coin with any amount of wear on it (as say when compared to a well circulated walker, for example). Most of our coins are steel now, so I suspect that everything else is being slowly but surely reclaimed and melted down.
It's certainly not like it was before 1965. Back then it was common to find coins worn almost smooth. Of course, the silver coins were softer and more prone to wear than the clad coins of today and they remained in circulation for a long time because there was no incentive to remove them from circulation (because their face value was greater than their melt value). Another difference is - - - Back then people USED coins. They didn't toss them in a jar at the end of the day. They got coins in change and they SPENT them later. You know - they would give the cashier a $1 bill, 2 quarters, a dime, a nickel and 3 cents for a $1.68 transaction rather than giving her $2, pocketing the change and tossing it in a jar that evening. This meant that coins CIRCULATED. Now the Mint has to keep making new coins to replace the ones sitting in jars and drawers so cashiers can make change for those that only pay with currency (and so that change can end up in a jar somewhere). Many of the 1960s quarters are showing a lot of wear after 40+ years of use but nothing like the wear Standing Lib Quarters had in the 1960s. (90% silver wears much faster than clad.) I also see an occasional well-worn nickel. But it is RARE to see dimes and cents with much wear because, unlike quarters, they don't circulate except from the cash register to a pocket to a jar.
I don't know if it is still done, but in the '40s-60s most of the Vegas casinos ironed the $100 bills used at the Baccarat tables.
That's because back then the change had a LOT more purchasing power than they do today. Tossing four quarters into a jar back then would be like tossing a five dollar bill into the jar today. I don't know too many people who do that
I've been finding a lot more older cents, nickels and dimes in circ than I have in a long time. I imagine that quite a few people are digging them out to use due to their unfortunate circumstances.
