Travails of a coin collector in the 1870s 1 1

[RWB]

Mint had not one uncirculated 1871 nickel for this collector.

[RWB]

The nickels in circulation were almost entirely cleaned and reissued pieces.

[DWLange]

Few people realize that U. S. paper currency was likewise cleaned and pressed before being reissued, but this practice came much later. I know it was performed during the 1910s, but I believe it became impractical when the volume of paper currency swelled in the 1920s. So far as I know it hasn't been done since.

[Henri Charriere]

[Upon information and belief, money laundering is done by continuing criminal enterprises--and the occasional spinster with a phobia to germs.]  😉