Discussion so far has been confined to the collection of checks, notes, and drafts, but it should be remembered that customers deposit also coupons which the bank must present for payment. They may be classified the same as any other collection items. If the coupons have already matured they are regarded as cash items, and if still unmatured they are held for collection. Coupons are usually payable in New York City, where most bond issues are financed and where the fiscal agents of large corporations and municipalities are generally located. Coupons are collected in much the same manner as other instruments, but as they are of various sizes and forms, it is customary to place them in special envelopes in which all necessary data are written by the depositor. Coupons cut from securities other than those issued by the federal, state, or municipal governments must be accompanied also by a certificate of ownership required under the federal income-tax laws.

In summary, the purpose of any collection depart ment is to present credit instruments for acceptance or for payment. In this respect there is no essential difference between the work of a bank's city-collection and clearing-house departments, on the one hand, and between the country-collection and transit divisions, on the other hand. The city and country collection departments, in handling noncash items, have an additional duty in "timing" or holding these items in the interval between their deposit and actual payment.