Bellows Falls times. [volume] (Bellows Falls, Vt.) 1856-1965, 1873-09-26
5fiscellany.
Counterfeit Coin,

subject Mr.. Ashley, of the sub-treasury'
recently gave reporter of the New
York Times some valuable information
Referring to the practice of counter
feiting, Mr.. Ashley remarked that there
were filled" coins of the denomination
of twenty dollars, and then added Il
suppose you don't know what a hiied
coin is?" On receiving an affirmative
response to his query, Mr.. Ashley took
from q small drawer q double eagle
which to all appearance was perfectly
genuine The minutest examination OF
the surface and of the milled edge failed
to disclose any marks of fraudulent
manipulation the weight was correct to
the decimal of grain, and when struck
ON the counter the coin gave loud clear
ring, true as any which were taken from
a neighboring pile of the genuine arti-
Gle. Nothing seemed wanting in this
skillful counterfeit; but 1T was coun-
terfeit, nevertheless.
"This is a filled conn., continued Mr..
Ashley, as he balanced it on the tips OF
his fingers. "The weight is correct, it
appears good, the acid test would tail on
il. and the sound is true. 1t Is one OF
the most dangerous counterieits ever
made. Here is another, cut through the
center, to show the filling. You see the
inside of the coin is filled with compo-
sition of platina. To fill in this, the
milled edge is carefully removed, the
coin sliced into, and the inside of 1T
pared away, leaving the two faces intact.
An amount of the composition OF the
same weight has been substituted for the
more valuable metal removed and the
several parts of the coin have been
skillfully joined together again; and
none but an expert can detect the signs
of the work. From a double eagle the
amount of gold thus removed amounts
to fourteen dollars, SO you see a man
could make living if he only made
one of these filled coins day"
In response to an inquiry how the
fraudulent coins were detected, Mr.. Ash
ley stated that there was a clerk IN the
building who could pick every one out
of heap of genuine coin as mother
would pick her children out OF a
schoolful of others. You shall see,
he continued, and taking the filled
piece, he placed it edgewise among
some forty or more pure ones. Then
laying the pile down, he called from his
place some distance off, one of the clerks,
and said: "Mr. Tandy, will you please
separate the good from the bad in these
coins?" The gentleman thus addressed
scrutinized the upturned edges of the
coins, and threw out the counterfeit in an
instant. Mr.. Ashley then spread them
out on the counter, and thoroughly mix
ed them up. Again the counterfeit was
detected at a glance. Twice the exper.
iment was made, and with the same re-
suit. Some one diverted Mr.. Tandy'
attention for an instant, and MIR. Ashley
quietly removed the counterfeit coin
and once more asked the expert tc
search the mass. He did SO, but waE
not deceived, though for moment puz
zled. He pronounced all the coins tt
be genuine, and Mr.. Ashley triumph
antly threw down the counterfeit. Mr.
Tandy could not explain how he detect
ed the false pieces further than tina
they did not look right" and Mr.. Ash
ley frankly confessed he could not him
self tell how it was done; neither could
he do it. Some of the filled pieces were
shown, which seemed absolutely perfect
particularly one five dollar piece, which
was pronounced "a marvel of workman
ship" To successfully fill a coin SC
small and thin as this, is naturally 6
more difficult and delicate operation
than filling the thick and heavy double-ea
giles but the perverse ingenuity of coun
terfeiters is equal to it, and only the eye
of SO skillful an expert as the gentleman
who admirably showed the coin to the
reporter is competent to detect the
fraud. Of course an assistant possessing
such exceptional skill is too valuable tc
be parted with. 1t need scarcely be
said that political changes do not affect
such as he. Mr.. Ashley stated, however
that he had standing offer of situa
ton in one ofthe principal banks at a
much higher salary than the govern
ment paid-which was not munifcent-
and that he remained in the service on.
ly because the sub-treasurer and he (Mr
Ashley had personally ageeed that his
salary should be the same as that offered
by the bank. 1t may be mentioned
that English sovereigns have been sub
jected to the filling " process, which
the well-known automatic weighing ma
chine of the bank is totally useless tc
detect. The attention of the British au.
thorities has doubtless been called &c