Melville Elijah Stone: Difference between revisions

===The penny myth===

On the March 3, 2008 edition of ''The Rest of the Story'', [[Paul Harvey, Jr.]] (substituting for his more famous [[Paul Harvey|father]]) related the story of Stone being responsible for the common use of pennies. The ''[[Chicago Daily News]]'' was not an initial success, as pennies were not widely used in 1876. According to Harvey, Stone convinced local merchants that employee theft could be reduced if the price of item was sold for 99¢ instead of $1.00 etc., forcing employee to make change for sales and less likely to steal money since it required further calculation. Merchants began experimenting with a penny price drop in their goods, meeting with success among their patrons. An increase in pennies, thought Stone, would help the circulation of his penny paper. When merchants began running low on pennies, Stone purchased several barrels of pennies from the [[Mint (coin)|Mint]], further increasing their use within the Chicago area.<ref>{{cite episode|title=The Rest of the Story|airdate=2008-03-03}}</ref>

This story is also related in Scot Morris' ''The Book of Strange Facts and Useless Information'', though there is some doubt as to its veracity.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.straightdope.com/21341889/why-do-prices-end-in-99 |title=Why do prices end in .99? |first=Cecil |last=Adams |website=[[The Straight Dope]] |date=1992-02-21 |access-date=2021-04-09}}</ref>