Bristol news. [volume] (Bristol, Va. & Tenn.) 1867-189?, 1874-09-08
COUNTERFEIT MONEY.
Some Ofthe Drawbacks of fPaper
Money.
The Result Of Ten Years Work
by the Manufacturers of
'Qucer CurrencY.v

1he Washington correspondent of
the Ne'C York Journal Of Commerce
furnishes list of National Banks.
whose notes have been counterfei,ed.
The list shows that surprising NUN.
Der OF base limitations Of our ma
tlonal promises to pay have been
issued and are now in circulation.
The Ne,v York EUenjmy Post has an
article OF the sam. subject which
gives some interesting information.
1t Is hardly necessary to recall the
trying time OF 1861, says The Post.
when the morning papers we're bought
with postage stamps, and the office
boys occupied their spare moments
in cieaing punches of dirty paper for
their employers. as the Inconvenience
/, fresh la the minds of the most peo-
pie. While postage stamps we're
good ouly for The purpose for which
they 'cre made, counterfeiLs were
unkuown, and attem, ITS to Use can
celCd stamps rare. AS soon, how
ever, as they began to be looked
upon as Uoney, exchangeable for
trips to HaTlHm. or seats at theatre,
a surprising number of spariou-
stamps found their way into circula-
ton. Ia desperation the Govern
ment adopted the suggestion which
had been offered by the sudden con-
version of postage stamps to money
and issued vast quantities OF pes
tage currency" 1t was taken Up
with ayidity and the demand for pa>
per for long time exceeded the sup
ply. The cupidity of designing m, n
detected in the new "shinplaster'
an opportunity for profitable frauds
Almost simultaneously, it seemed =,
with the appearance of the green and
brown Lotes came the base inita-
tious.
While the genuine notes we're still
scarce, aud before people away from
the great cities had had opportunities
to compare postage currency with
anything but local substitutes for
monev-baker's checks, corporation
promises, grocers' orders, and the
like-the counterfeiters piled their
trade industriously, and before the
government detectives had made
their first seizure the baser paper was
SO plentiful that It was deemed ex-
pedient to issue another form of cur
rency in order to relieve the peop'e
Of the mass of bad money. Since
that time it has been found necessary
to renew the currency at short inter>
vals, partly on account of the vigi
lance OF counterfeiters. and also in
consequence Of the cheap and flinisy
character of some Of the notes is>
sued.
A COLLECTION OF CoUNTERFEITs.
Mr. Phillip D. Gulager, of the
sub treasury in this city, has been in
the employ of Uuited States Treasury
in connection with the fractional cur
rency redemption department for
more than ten years. For most of
that time he has been engaged in
sorting and examining packages Of
mutilated or soiIed money deposited
for redemption. In the course of
his work he has developed what
would seem to outsiders TO be almost
an instinct for the detection of
spurious paper. He says that coun-
terfeit is hct in his hand, and he
drops it mechanically, so familiar has
he become with the peculiar texture
Of the genuine article.
1t is customary when a package of
currency is deposited for redemption,
to examine it first, with the view Of
rejecting counterleits, if it contain
any. The bad money is then stamp
ed across its face with hot iron, and
returned to the depositor with the
word counterfeit scorched upon it
in bold characters which would rem
der it uncurrent even in the ale-hOuse
or ''bucket shops" where, it is un-
derstood. they are not all particular
about fine lines in currency.
Out of the vast number of coun-
terfeits which have passed through
Mr.. Gulager's be has selected up
wards of a hundred specimens,
representing every imitation Of every
issue which has yet appeared at the
New York sub-treasurY.
POSTAGE CURRENCY.
These specimens are contained in a