Hard currency put together by a scavenger (5)
I believe the answer is:
hyena
'scavenger' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'hard currency put together by a' is the wordplay.
'hard' becomes 'h' (abbreviation used in pencil classifications).
'currency' becomes 'yen' (Japanese currency).
'put together' says to put letters next to each other.
'by' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'h'+'yen'+'a'='HYENA'
(Other definitions for hyena that I've seen before include "Wild animal" , "Creature" , "He's sometimes spotted" , "Scavenging animal" , "Dog-like scavenger" .)