146 years ago today, innovation met necessity when James Ritty of Dayton, Ohio patented the very first mechanical cash register.
Ritty wasn’t an engineer or inventor by trade—he was a saloon owner, proudly advertising himself as a “Dealer in Pure Whiskies, Fine Wines, and Cigars.” But running a bar in the late 1800s had its challenges. Ritty suspected that some of his employees were pocketing money from customers instead of turning it in, and he needed a way to stop the theft.
In 1878, during a steamboat trip to Europe, Ritty noticed a device that counted the revolutions of the ship’s propeller. That sparked an idea: what if he could design a machine that counted cash transactions the same way?
From Saloon to Workshop
When Ritty returned to Dayton, he teamed up with his mechanically minded brother John Ritty to bring the concept to life. After several failed attempts, the brothers finally perfected their third prototype—a machine that recorded each sale by pressing keys corresponding to specific amounts of money.
There was no cash drawer or printed receipt yet. The register simply displayed the total daily sales on a dial, with two hands representing dollars and cents. At day’s end, Ritty could compare the register’s total to the money in the till—making it much harder for funds to mysteriously disappear.
Their invention, patented as “Cash Register and Indicator,” was an improvement on earlier designs. The Rittys began manufacturing machines in Dayton, producing models with names like “Ritty’s Incorruptible Cashier.” Each transaction caused a small bell to ring when the drawer opened, alerting the manager that a sale was taking place—an early example of built-in accountability.
The Birth of NCR
Despite its brilliance, the business side of things didn’t go smoothly. By 1881, overwhelmed with running both his saloon and the factory, James Ritty sold his interests. The buyers renamed the venture The National Cash Register Company (NCR)—a name that would become synonymous with cash handling around the world.
NCR continued improving the design, adding features like paper rolls to record sales and later incorporating electric power in the early 1900s. By the 1970s, the electronic cash register (ECR) could store prices and print receipts automatically. And by the 1990s, the cash register had evolved into today’s computerized POS systems, seamlessly linking barcode scanners, credit card readers, and inventory management software.
Why So Many Prices End in .99?
Ever notice that most prices end in 9—like $4.99 or $9.99? That’s no accident. This “odd pricing” practice actually dates back to the early days of cash registers.
By pricing items at 49 or 99 cents, store owners forced cashiers to open the till to make change—ensuring the sale was recorded on the register rather than slipping under the radar.
There’s also a psychological twist: thanks to the “Left-Digit Effect,” consumers perceive $4.99 as being significantly cheaper than $5.00 because we focus on the first number we read. Over time, .99 pricing became synonymous with bargains and sales, reinforcing that perception of getting a better deal.
From Mechanical Marvel to Digital Mainstay
What began as a simple anti-theft device in a Dayton saloon has become a cornerstone of commerce worldwide. From the clang of Ritty’s bell to the quiet beep of a modern POS system, the cash register’s evolution mirrors the story of business itself—innovation born from the need to make every transaction count.