Coffee, Sugar and Cocoa Exchange facts for kids

The Coffee, Sugar and Cocoa Exchange (CSCE) was an important place where people bought and sold things like coffee, sugar, and cocoa. It started in 1882 as the Coffee Exchange in the City of New York. Later, in 1914, sugar trading was added.

On September 28, 1979, the New York Coffee and Sugar Exchange joined with the New York Cocoa Exchange. This created the CSCE we know. The Cocoa Exchange had started earlier, in 1925.

In 1998, the CSCE became part of a bigger group called the New York Board of Trade (NYBOT). The CSCE still worked as its own unit within NYBOT. It traded special agreements called futures and options for coffee, sugar, and cocoa. It also traded the S&P Commodity Index.

Trading happened through a method called open outcry. This means traders stood in a pit and shouted out their offers to buy or sell. This happened from 8 a.m. to 2:45 p.m., Monday through Friday. In January 2007, NYBOT joined with IntercontinentalExchange (ICE). The CSCE then became a part of ICE.

People Who Shaped the Exchange

Benjamin Green Arnold, the first president of the Coffee Exchange.

Many interesting people were involved with the Coffee, Sugar and Cocoa Exchange over the years.

Early Leaders and Founders

• In April 1902, H. M. Humphreys left his job as the superintendent of the Coffee Exchange. He became a vice president at a new company called Mutual Alliance Trust Company.
• Joseph J. O'Donohue was a coffee broker and one of the people who helped start the Coffee Exchange. He was also a City Commissioner of Parks in New York and helped create the Brooklyn-New York Ferry.
• The famous financial company Lehman Brothers became a member of the Coffee Exchange very early, in 1883. This was five years before they joined the New York Stock Exchange in 1887.

A Story of Loss

• In 1909, a writer named Vincent O'Sullivan lost all his money from his family's coffee business. His brother, Percy, made a very bad investment in coffee futures at the New York Coffee Exchange. This caused their family to lose everything, and Vincent struggled financially for the rest of his life.

How Trading Became Safer

• Some big U.S. exchanges, like the New York Coffee Exchange and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, started using something called clearing houses later on. Clearing houses help make sure that trades are completed safely and correctly. The New York Coffee Exchange began using clearing houses in 1914.

See also

• New York Produce Exchange
• Economics of coffee
• History of coffee