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


these punched coins in circulation
now that people are getting dowr
on it, and they won't have it if they
can avoid it."
w. Fl. Sweeney, of Sweeney
Brothers, Nassau street, who do al
extensive business as coin brokers,
said: "Thcre is certainly large
amount of coin now IN circulation
which is ,nutilated in this way, and
it is very likely that persons are
punching the coins for profit, but
there is another reason to account
for the recent increase. The gov
ernment is drawing silver coin
from circulation, and all the coins
it receives are unmutilatcd there
fore, from scarcity of silver coins
these mutilated ones are generally
accepted"
"Here, you see, customer sends
us $4,000 of silver, and out of that
$67 is mutilated. That is about the
way it runs. The percentage was
not formerly SO great at that by
any means. We receive this mu-
tilated coinage at depreciation,
and there are one or two Hebrews
to whom we arc able to sell it
They are the only men who will
buy it. II we had to melt it down
it would not pay more than seven
ty-fve cents on the dollar
care the gold coins mnch tam
pered with 2"
"Not in the way you mean. No
body would receive a gold coin
with hole in it unless at de-
preciatiol,, and this stops the prac-
lice. But there is skilfuliy filled
twenty-dolar piece now in circu-
lation. We get them occasionally.
Except that they are a little thicker
than the ordinary pieces no one
would recognize them as counter
felt. Some Of the tive-do!lar gold
coins have been filed, too, but in
a different way, and these will not
ring"
''Is there much Sweating of
gold going on now Z"
mo; very little. l have been
getting gold coin from the bank,
and it is all new, tins years coin
age. The old gold has been with
drawn from the market, and it is
deprecated in value two per cent.
The trouble we have is with bills,
in which there is great scarcity.
People will not have coin to any
amount it is so inconvenient to
carry about. | may say that there
are not so many filled gold coins
as six months ago. Out of bag
OF 81, 900 we would then get a
dozen or so o; but l think the fel-
lows doing tins kind of business
have been pretty much scared ont
OF it."
j. F. Tandy, the coinage expert
at the snb-treasnry, whose duty is
to scrntinize all coin the govern
ment receives, gives some interest
ing information in regard to coin
age funds in general, but as to the
method OF stealing a portion by
punching hole in it he had little
to say. Il have no doubt it is done
to large extent" he said, "but l
get none of it here. They know
that the government will not re-
ceive it. Now here is a package
from Messrs. Colgate Of $4,000 E;
$4,000 of what was in silver, and
$40 of it was mutilated and had to
be returned. But not single one
of these pieces had hole in it.
The one difficulty we have with
the silver coinage is that it has nc
liked weight, as in other countries
The gold coins have, however. A
now double-eaglc, for instance
weighs SIG grains, and the mini
mum weight at which they are re-
ceived is one-half of one per cent
less. All gold coins are receivet
at that much under their standard
weight. Now some of the new
gold coins have been brought dowr
to just this minimum artificially
as one might say. The diffcrenc,
between the legal and STANDARD
weight is TO allow the legitimate
wear, and these swindlers bring
down the new coins to this attri-
ton. They shake them mp in
buckskin bag or in sand, and wea
them down in that way. The,
then burn the bag and so get tn
! gold that has been rubbed off tn
coins. Another way they hav
" with $5 pieces is to bore hcles fror
the edge into the coin, and afte
:. taking ont the gold they insel
copper wire. They make mp tn
weight accurately in this way, br
J the coins will not ring. But tn
is no great dctriment, for many ar
n turned out Of the mint that vi
1 not ring because they are fawed
Il CHOW here is a coinO said M