The Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1855-1875, 1873-09-06
COUNTERFEIT GOLD COIN.

COUNTERFEIT GOLD COIN.
HoW Dangerous Counterfeifs are III
covered by Slkillful Experts.
Some statements have recent,
found their way into print concern
ing an alleged secret circular from
Secretary Richardson TO the sever
al United States sub treasures, i,
which it was announced that th,
five dollar gold piece had been sue
cessfI,lly counterfeited; and otheI
statements to the effect that in re
coming the light gold. coins sent t,
the Treasury an unexpected hrg,
loss has resulted, from the presenc'
OF some as yet undiscovered allo.
In tho metal. To learn what amour
OF truth lay in these assertions O,
whether they had any basis but il
the brains of their authors, re
porter Of the New York Times cal
led on MIR. Ashley, at the Sub Treas
ury Building on Tuesday. IN re
ference to the practice Of counter
feiting, Mr.. Ashley remarked Cha
there were sfilled" coins of the de
nomination of $40, and then added
81 suppose You don't know what {
filed coin is!' On receiving an affir
native response to his query, Mr.
Ashley took from a small drawer .
double eagle, which to all appear
ance was perfectly genuine. The
minutest examination of the sur
face and of the milled edges failed
to disclose any marks of fraudulen,
manipulation; the weight was cor
rect to the decimal of grain, and
when struck on the counter the
coin gave loud, clear ring, true az
any that were taken from q neigh.
boring pile of the genuine article.
Nothing seemed wanting in this
skillful counterfeit; but it was q
counterfeit nevertheless.
''This is filled coin.' continued
Mr.. Ashley, as he balanced it on
the tips of his fingers. "The weight
is correct, it appears good and the
acid test would fail on it, and the
sound is true. It is one of the
most dangerous counterfeits ever
made. Here is another cut through
the center t. show the filing. You
see that the inside of the coin is
filed with a composition of platina.
To fill in this, the milled edge has
been carefully removed. the coin
sliced in two. and the inside of it
pared away, leaving the two faces
intact. An amount of the compo-
sition of the same weight has been
substituted for the more valuable
metal removed. and the several
parts OF the coin have been skillful.
ly put together again; and none but
an expert can detect the signs of
the work. From double eagle
the amount of gold thus removed
amounts to $14-so you see q man
could make a living if he only made
one OF these filed coins day.
In response to an inquiry how
these fraudulent coins were detect
ed, Mr.. Ashley stated that there
was clerk in the building who
could pick one out of q heap of
genuine coin as unerringly as q
could pick her children out
Of a schoolful of others. You shall
see, he continued, and, taking the
filed piece, he placed it edgewise
among some 40or more pure ones.
Then, laying the pile down, he cali
ed from his place, some distance
off, one of the clerks and said: "Mr.
fancy. will you please separate the
good from the bad of these coinss"
The gentleman thus addressed
scrutinized the upturned edges of
the coins, and threw out the coun-
terfeit in an instant MIR. Ashley
then spread item out on the coun-
for orI &Lo-o,,~L1--.., ~
A,a;n tho o.uu oa s .niAeo .ncm up;
!. ! ! .,sa 80 ~ leu was decectea
~. ~ : : - l VIZ, ":1e ,ue experiment.
Sa '. 10 s 'e' anu WIZ .ne same result
lion for an instant, and Mr.. Ashley
quietly removed the counterfeit
coin, and once more asked fhe or.
!" ~, S,,t :. se".'n M 'ne mass he did
~, ~, ."s 49, woe nos uece1veo' though
.a,' - S IN Pu.1leo- nc pro
,nd NJ ~ a.h,o luz sc.n 20 oe genuine
IL 49, ~ AZ nsn,ey !I,utnPhantiy threw
.onld Mt I eo;e.,s''. oou,a;a n MI ! iancy
.be E falso Co. n;aaaa ,a'f t,,.ts noM he oetected
.thar Wi 5;d | ~. ~, an ..e snah 'nat'
|. I sh1s. 'r s..nI,. LII .ooA ~ l.sh1' ana MIR.
,a,,iS -. uAy cUnlesseu tnat he
1ona % no;.,,a nHs n'use,i ,, ,ell now II was
g 'e, a. netSnel emsss coaia ne 90 IT, Some
y