Western sentinel. [volume] (Winston [i.e. Winston-Salem], N.C.) 1856-1886, 1880-06-10

| MANI SllN Eh COINS ClRC
WITH HOLES PUNCHED IN THEM
DEVICES OF SWINDLERS
! AND COUNTERFEITERS.
Secretary Sherman some time
ago drew attention to the large
amount of dcfaced coins in circn-
latioh, and the subject was pracri-
cally brough: to the notice of a
Tribune reporter recently. He
rendered bill to the cashier at
the Sinclair house and received in
change silver dollar, half-do!lar
and quarter. Each one of these
had hole punched through it,
the one in the silver dollar being
large enough to allow the reporters
pencil to he passed through. Now
the occasional appearance of any
of the smaller gold coins with a
hole through them excites no sus-
picion, as they are frequently used
on bangles an.l watch chains, but
few people ever think of making
ornaments ont of such coins as
dimes and quarters, or the pom
dcrous silver pieces of larger valne.
And if these were used for such a
purpose it would not account for
the loss of from ten to fifteen per
cent. of the metal in the shape of
an ubsightlv hole. When people
want to make All ornament of the
coin, jewcler drills in it a hole
just large enough to attach a thin
wire ring to it. In each OF the
three coins alluded to rearly one
tenth OF the metal was missing, and
the holes had hot been neatly
bored. but punched ont
"Ot course it has been pnnched
out" observed the cashier. "Thcre
is no doubt somebody bnys tht m
up for that purpose, and makes
quite a good thing out OF it. It's
"a regular nuisance"
"Has it increased of la.c?"
"To the best of my belief it is
increasing every day. l receive al
this desk from seventy-five to Ice
per diem, and there must be more
taken at the other cashiers desks
because the payments made are in
larger amounts, as rule. l have
pieces offered with the entire cen
ter punched out, and which, like
the Japanese coins made to thread
on string, were more of ring
than coin. OF course, if a gooo
customer offers them we canno
we'll refuse them, but they are o
no use TO us except for change
We get rid of most OF them in tha
way, and the rest We sell to bro
kers at discount OF from ten t,
fifteen per cent, for the banks re-
fuse them"
| The reporter afterward made IN
qnlrles at various places wher'
silver coins we're received largely
At Danicll's and several othe
stores or Broadway, and at variou
restaurants and bar-roolns, tn
same story was told of the incon
vcnience arising from this whole
sale mutilation of coin. Til
cashier at Nash & Crooks said =
''lf the Tribune could draw atten
tion to the matter in such way Il
to induce people to stop tskin
these coins the whole commcrci,
community would be grateful.
don't know how much we receiv
e here. but it is a good deal. W
used to enoeavor to pass them OF
again, but now we don't take til
J, trouble. We simply separate
from the silver we send to I'll
+ bank, and sell it to a broker at
depreciation. 1t has largely in
creased lately, and somebody mn
be making profit out of it.
It everybody could be induced to RI
fuse it, the thing would quick
STOP"
,. The cashier of the restaurant
Ill the Tribune building said I
. have good deal OF it, but l ma,
sss age to pay it out to the soda wat
us man, or the butcher or those pc,
n pie. / offer it in change, too, al
it gentleman refuses it I imme6