“Many people take no care of their money till they come nearly to the end of it”*…
(Roughly) Daily has taken a look at the obscure corner of the U.S. Treasury once devoted (literally) to laundering money (“Cleanliness is Next to Godliness“); today we visit that operation’s forensic cousin…
The colorfully named Mutilated Currency Division at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing is a small office of crack forensics that spend their days poring over all manner of defaced dollars. Provided for free as a public service, the Mutilated Currency employees labor to identify bits and fragments of identifiable denominations that can be redeemed at face value.
Established by Congress in 1866—less than five years after the government started issuing paper money—the Mutilated Currency Division handles about 30,000 cases a year, returning currency valued at over $30 million. As long as more than half of the note remains, or the Treasury can be satisfied that the missing portions have been destroyed, the Mutilated Currency Division will redeem the amount of money that has been damaged by fire, water, chemicals, and acts of god…
Cash in your burnt, moldy, or soiled greenbacks at “The Mutilated Currency Division.”
* Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
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As we take it to the bank, we might recall that it was on this date in 1928, after more than 130 years of trading, that the New York Stock Exchange finally had its first day on which more than 5 million shares trade hands, as total daily volume hit 5,252,425 shares. Just over a year later, on Black Tuesday, volume spiked to over 16 million shares… as traders dumped their holdings and the Wall Street Crash of 1929 began (presaging the Great Depression).
Average daily volume (over the last three months) on the NYSE today is 880,564,865 shares.
Trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange, 1929