Green’s Dictionary of Slang

greedy for money; scavenging.

1761		Nancy Dawson’s Jests 2: I’ll tell thee, Ned, I can dance a hornpipe, and thou canst make a wry face [...] but as to any thing farther, I am a bunting w—e and thou are a dirty son of a b—h.
1830		Egan Finish to the Adventures of Tom and Jerry (1889) 192: I would much sooner [...] tip you, and your whole bunting fraternity, a bunch of fives.
1844		J. Overs Evenings of a Working Man 185: ‘Bunting Sal’ proposes to ‘Hoppy Jack’ to ‘goo and fetch a drain o’ gin’.