The Princeton union., 1880-09-09
COUNTERFEIT MONEY.


Increase of Initiated Currency-Some Facts
About CounterfeitinS and COunterfeiters.
'When you want to know whether
lock can be broken, you don't want to go
to the maker Of that lock TO find it out.
The burglars the man you must 90 to.
You ask him: See here; can this lock
be broken?' and he tells you at once:
why, certainly it cam And then you
get from HIM its weak points. If want
to find out whether a notes counterfeit
or not I don't ask to know anything
about counterfeit notes; I want to know
about good notes; want to be familiar
with every detail of them so that I may
know them at glance. If man comes
IN and offers me counterfeit bill, then
I know it at a glance. Why? Because
it is not like the other notes." Thus
spoke John Bye, of Dyes government
Counterfeit Detector. Mr.. Dye sat in his
Office. Around him was curious collec-
ton. The fruits Of forty years. counter
feiting 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-
ly punched together in neat wooden
frames behind glass work, told of the
days of wildca 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 ap.
pear through the glass cases. What is
the matter with them9 They are all dim
and black, copper colored and brass. A
man laughs as he 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 a warning, they have
come here to serve a moral purpose.
'Here," said Mr.. Dye, reaching his
hand into his pocket, care the most dan
gerous pieces that have been seen.' -
He drew out two S. gold pieces-one
Of date 1874, the other of date 1859,
"The great rouble,'' said the old coun.
| terfeit detective, In counterfeiting gold
pieces is to get the counterfeit to the
right weight. I only want to feel a colo
piece anywhere to tell whether it's gooG
or not. I can tell 'em in the dark by the
heft. Here" said the old man, gazing
with sharp gray eye On one of the golc
pieces as he danced it on the palm O
his hand, "this Is piece would have
been deceived on any day. Its just tn
right weight. Joe, bring me the scales.
The young man addressed brought
forth a queer small steel scale, such as il
used in the mint for weighing coins
There were apertures in it for placln,
coins or all denominations. In one o
these marked "Five D." he placed tn,
gold piece. The beam tilted up; it bal
anced exactly;lt was to all appearance
a genuine coin. .r..r.r.s .. g
"See that,'' said the old man. ssIt'
the exact weight of IS gold plece.''
| But around the edges was noticed sew
eral little blotches of white metal pro
truding through the gold. The plec
was nothing more than platinum bod
with gold plating. It was worth abou
So so, that being the value of the plat
mum in it. The cost Of plating it wa
about fifty cents, making its worth s.
Old Mr.. Dye impaired this information
with professional gravity as he took tn
coin out, and having restored it to hi
pocket, told of the mischief it mad al
ready done.
about two years ago man, trave
) ing on the isthmus to California, trade
about 1900 of these pieces to the car
tain of a schooner for English sovereign
The counterfeit was not discovered unit
the captain reached San Francisco whe,
having got into circulation. it was d,
tccted by the authorities of the Sa
Francisco mint
Counterfeiting has increased to sue
an extent that it is claimed the govern
ment will shortly have to take some MOI
vigorous measures than it has ever take
yet toward checking it. The one draw
back the officers of the secret servie
have to encounter is the smallness {
the appropriation which Congress allow
for this particular work. A less sum
appropriated for this purpose now, it
said, than has been allowed heretofor
despite tie fact that counterfeiting hs
! increased just as the resources and cap
tai and population Of the country hay
$ increased. The sum granted amounts I
!, about $4,000 annually. Persons WI
: are familiar with the extent to whic
counterfeiting is carried on in this coul
7 try and have had long experience in tr
ing to break itup, declare that $4,000
e a year would not be any too much to ps
!, for securing more perfect means and f