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Show Life of a Five Dollar Bill. Paper money wears out rapidly and has to be replaced frequently. The life of a $5 note, for example, Is on the average about ten months, and in New York city is about two months less than the average, owing mainly to the more rapid rate at which it circulates. This same tendency is seen in the higher rate at which bank deposits de-posits turn over in New York city than In other parts of the country. The work of keeping the paper currency cur-rency in good condition is done very largely by the Federal Reserve banks, which in the course of their daily business bus-iness handle all forms of currency aud coin, eliminating that which is unfit for further circulation. This service is a large item in their annual costs of operation. Last year, for instance, the supply of currency and coin caused an expenditure at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York amounting to about $2,875,000. of which somewhat more than one-third represented the cost of printing new Federal Reserve currency cur-rency to replace worn notes in circulation cir-culation and to increase supplies unissued un-issued and on hand. Federal Reserve Monthly Review. |