Mints Pressed to Meet Public Demand Something has happened in America which makes Mr. and Mrs. Citizen use more coins than ever to transact their daily business writes John H. Crider in the "New York Times" This is ihe seemingly simple but significant fact reflected by the recent announcement of Mrs. Nellie Tayloe Ross, Director of the Mint, that two of the three mints have gone on a 24-hour production schedule and the third on a 16-hour production basis.
So great is the demand that even though the mints produced 811467000 coins during the year which ended June 30, the largest output in their history. production had to be stepped up still further to keep pace with requirements. And the mints delivered during that year 43,374,000 coins more than produced, virtually exhausting their reserve stocks. Mint officials have told Congress that unless additional funds are provided they may not be able to meet the demand.
The fact that there could be a shortage of coins is the more astonishing when it is realized how great a quantity is already in circulation. At the end of June there was about $400,000,000 in half dollars, quarters and dimes outstanding, and $169,000,000, in nickels and pennies. This is the equivalent of $2.91 in halves, quarters and dimes for each man, woman and child in the country, and $128 in nickels and pennies.
In addition, there were some 46,000,000 standard silver dollars in circulation, but these are confined largely to the Wes The best index to demand for coins is the deliveries made by the mints to the banks. The 811,467,000 pieces referred to consisted of 476,065,000 pennies, 180,675,000 nickels, 99. 077,000 dimes, 43,331,000 quarters and 12,319,000 halves.
Over the years there has been a noticeable trend away from heavy and cumbersome coins. While the deliveries of the smaller coins, pennies, nickels and dimes, increased, the demand for quarters and halves stayed about the same or slightly diminished. Indeed, the seemingly simple fact that so many more coins are necessary is a significant commentary upon our national habits. It reflects a transition in methods of trade.
In this connection it is interesting to note that in December, when American business was going at a rate which economists say was comparable to that of 1929, the American people required $590,000,000 of silver and minor coins (nickels and pennies) to carry on their business, while in 1929 there was only $432,000,000 of such coins in circulation. In 1929 there was an additional $348,000,000 of gold coins serving the purposes of trade and savings. If paper money is included, total money i circulation in 1929 was only $4,746, compared with $7,598,000,000 last December.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.