The second factor was the situation described by Halstead in 1898: the centavos were a burden, no one wanted them because they were too heavy, so that they were not accepted in all possible currency transactions. The effect of this national disrespect was that copper pennies were devalued in proportion to silver and people could be induced to get rid of them for under their nominal prices. Bacon bought the pennies by exchanging them into silver: 1 silver real was 10 centavos, 1 peseta 20 and 1 peso 100, but it is probable that Baldy did not pay those prices, but less. By accumulating a large quantity of copper pennies in his “shack,” he could create a scarcity and raised demand, which allowed him to sell them back at a premium, “with a percentage.” In this way, he interfered with a free service of the Cuban state, an abuse he could commit among other things because he was American: he could look at Cubans’ emotions concerning their money as a foreign observer and had a plentiful supply of silver pesos and dollars. He could also profit by the inexperience of people working in the recently founded fiscal institutions so as not to get caught too soon.