Who invented a cash carrier?

[Manuel]

Who invented a cash carrier?

[Theodore]

Cash carrier system is a vintage trade equipment, which helps to carry payments from customers to cashier and the charge and receipt back again.

David Brown of Lebanon, New Jersey invented and patented the first cash-carrier system in 1875. Probably he was the first person who tried to automate the purchase processes.

It was a basket moved by a wire that stretched on the ceiling across the trading floor. This transported cash and some small goods. The buyer placed the money in the basket for the goods he wanted to purchase, which was transported to the cashier. Then the seller transported back the change and receipt.

Lamson Cash Cable System Moose Jaw Sask. Photo by Joan Miller

For the first time, this cash-carrier system was tested in the big furniture store in 1879 in Lowell, Massachusetts. Afterward, this system became in demand for stores in economically advanced countries. It was most popular in England and the USA.

In 1882, William Lamson bought rights for using this system. He modified it and introduced the cash railway system. One set of rails sloped down from the sales desk to cash office and another set sloped in the opposite direction. His invention attracted the interest of other shopkeepers and was successfully used for many years. In 1882, he founded the Lamson Cash Carrier Company, which manufactured such systems.

 

There were numerous models of cash carriers which differed from each other by working principle, but most of them were unpopular.