Morris tribune., 1880-09-09
COUNTERFEIT MONEY.

COUNTERFEIT MONEY.
Increase of Initiated CurreRcy-Some Facts
About CCunterfeitin2 and Counterfeiters.
"When you want to know whether
lock can be broken, you don't want to go
TO the maker of that lock 10 find it out.
The burglars the man you must 90 to.
You ask him: See here; can this lock
be brokeng and he tells you at once:
why, certainly it can And then you
get from HIM IT'S weak points. If want
TO find out whether notes counterfeit
or not don't ask TO know anything
about counterfeit notes; want to know
about good notes; want to be familiar
with every detail Of them so that l may
know them Ut glance. IT man comes
IN and offers me counterfeit bill, then
I know fiat a glance, Why? Because
it is not like the other notes" Thus
spoke John Dye, OF Dyes government
Courte1feit Dstector. Mr.. Dye sat in his
Office Around him was curious collec-
ton. The fruits Of forty years counter
letting at least, looked down from the
walls, or out from the cases, or repOSed
beneath lock and key in numerous small
drawers. Thousands of dollars artistical-
" punched together in neat wooden
frames behind glass work, told of the
days of Wild cat bonds and state scrip,
thousands of dollars more told OF the at.
ter period of silver and gold, the trade
dollar, the half dollar and the quarter.
Look at those trade dollars as they APP
pear through the glass cases. What Is
the matter with them? They are all dim
and black, copper. colored and brass. A
man laughs as be looks at them at the
idea of his being deceived by such base
limitations. Yet men have been deceived
by them in their better days, and now
that they are like old shoddy garments,
worn threadbare, their true nature stands
revealed, and, as q warning, they have
come here to serve a moral purpose.
''dere," said Mr. Dye, reaching his
hand into his pocket, "are the most dan
gerous pieces that hav. been SEEM
He drew out two S. gold pieces-one
of date 1914, the other of date 1859.
"The great trouble,' said the old coun-
terfeit detective, in counterfeiting gold
pieces is to get the counterfeit to the
right weight. only want to feel gold
piece anywhere to tell whether it's good
or not. I can tell EN- In the dark BY the
heft. Here" said the old man, gazing
with sharp gray eye on one of the gold
pieces as he danced it on the palm OF
his hand, ''this Is piece I would have
been deceived on any day. It's Just the
right weight. Joe, bring me the scales.
The young man addressed brought
forth queer small steel scale, such as is
used In the mint for weighing coins
There were apertures in it for placing
coins or all denominations. In one Of
these marked Five d. he placed the
gold piece. The beam tilted up; it bal.
anced exactly; 1t was to all appearances
q genulne coin.
''See that" said the old man. "It's
the exact weight of SIS gold plece.''
But around the edges was noticed sew.
e1ai little blotches of white metal pro
fFudlng through the gold. The piece
was nothing more than platinum body
with gold plating. 1t was worth about
50 30, that being the value of the plat
mum in it. The cost of plating it wa'
about fifty cents, making its worth So
Old Mr.. Dye impaired this information
with professional gravity as he took thu
coin out, and having restored it to his
pocket, told OF the mischief it had al
ready done.
About two years ago man, travel
ing on the isthmus to California, traded
about 1900 OF these pieces to the cap
tain of schooner for English sovereigns
The counterfeit was not discovered unit
the captain reached San Francisco when
having got into circulation, it was de
tected by the authorities of the San
Francisco mint"
CounterteitiDg has increased to sucl
an extent that it is claimed the govern
ment will shortly have to take some NOR
vigorous measures than it has ever takel
yet toward checking il. Toe one draw
back the officers OF the secret servic,
have to encounter is the smallness o
the appropriation which Congress ALLOW
for this particular work. A less sum j
appropriated for this purpose now, 1t il
said, than has been allowed heretofore
despite tie fact that counterfeiting ha
increased just as the resources and CAPT
tai ami population of the country hav,
increased. The sum granted amounts Il
about $4,000 annually. Persons win
are familiar with the extent to which
counterfeiting is earned on in this coun
try and have had long experience in try
ing to break itup, declare that $3.50, 00I
year would not be any too much to pa,
for securing more perfect means and ia
cities for protecting the national currenc,
Counterfeiting, by all accounts, was neve
carried on with such perfect system as j
is now. The work the counterfeiter
turn out in many instances SURPRISES tn
work produced by the government, ant
80 perfectly have the counterfel
notes been executed that they hav
been taken by experts for goot
money. The latest counterfeit ou
is q 500 bill upon the National Elk
change Bank of Baltimore printed fron
q re-touched plate of the National BAN
OF Commerce Of Pittsburg. The onl
way in which this bill differs from tn
genuine, is in the superiority of tn
workmanship. Although this counter
felt was originally on the Bank of Pitts
burg, as above mentioned. the plate ca
be easlly modified so as to counterfeit
the issue of any national bank. Nc
only Is the engraving of superior char
Rcter, but the bill is printed on an ez
cellent quality Of counterfeit fiber paper
There is not the slightest clue as 10 til
locality where or the persons by whor
this work is done, nor is there an
knowing to what extent the governmer
Issue has been counterfe1ted in th,
single case The only way in whic
the matter Can be femedled, it
claimed, is for the treasury departmer
to call in all the notes Of this denomin,