A Valuable Parcel

Cashing a cheque in a provincial bank a few days ago, I noticed a shabbily-dressed old dame placing a large parcel on the counter…

Cashing a cheque in a provincial bank a few days ago, I noticed a shabbily-dressed old dame placing a large parcel on the counter. She asked to see the manager. One of the clerks said that he was busy and that he could not see her at the moment.

"Don't be in such a hurry to get me out, young man," she said as she opened the parcel. "I saw in the paper that these ould notes must be changed for new notes. I've nine hundred an' sixty three pounds here, an' I want bran' new notes for them."

Her collection included old "Bradbury" Treasury notes and old-fashioned bank notes which have been out of circulation for several years. The manager tried to convince her that it would be safer if she placed the money on deposit and allowed it to earn interest. She assured him, however, that she did not think that banks were safe places for so much money.

The Irish Times, February 21st, 1931