Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1883-01-04
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DETECTING COUNTERFEITS.

1t is Il good rule III receiving Ddilh HoIeo W
carefully examine the general appearance OF
the note, the geometrical lathe work, shading
of the letters, ruling engine work, vlgnettes
and solid print, carefully noting whether they
compare with standard work. The ink, print
ing and paper must be considered. The char
acter number appears on all bank notes issued
since 1876 All national bank notes are sign
ed by f. E. Spinner, treasurer, prior to 1919.
All genuine notes Of the United States treas
ury bear check letters, A, B, G or d, and are
numbered consecutively, commencing with
one. thus A isl; b is 3; @ 3 and d 4 or a
number, which if divided by four, will show
the number to he evenee
Genuine bank noteS are usually ted ax
paper Of good quality though var much
in thickness some being quite Tim. 1t il
not impossible for sonaterfeitels TO procure 3
good qtiafrtJ o. paper, yet counteIiefts
nine note has not but will cleave to the fin
gers. The paper, though important in ques-
tion. is not infallble, and it will not do to re-
ly too much upon the quality. All notes IN
the United States are now printed on ilber pa
per, the fiber consisting of silk threads Which
are in and form a part OF the substance.
The government are now also manufacturing
the note paper, having two silk threads Which
extend the whole length of the note, one red,
the other blue, which are discernible by hold
ing the note to the light. These the counter
feiter has endeavored to initiate, by drawing
two parallel lines Oh the surface. Ihls Will
be found in the counterfeit United States Sill
yer certificates.
Water and sky, when done with the ruling
engine, cannot be successfully initiated. III
is rare to see fine Yignettes on counterlel9
notes, yet many very dangerous lmltatlohS
L.. -, R,t however nprt1pt-
counterfeit cannot be the same as the original
or genuine.
Then there is the geometrical lathe Work.
All designs, such as circles, oyals, squares,
etc., and upon which the denomination IS
usually placed composed Of a network OF
fine lines crossing each other at such angles
and distances as to produce the desired effect
is called the geometrical lathe work, and is
produced by the geometrical lathe, wonder
full as we'll as beautiful machine. The pat
terms produced by the lathe are of every con-
ceivable variety of form and shape. Ihe
fine lines is the characteristic Of this descrlp-
ton of engraving, and in the genuine note
can be traced throughout the design. never
breaking or losing itself in another line, or
having any irregularity whatever. Inc line IS
usually white on black or green ground, or some
times red but may be a black, green or req on
white In the -cnuntefeit engraving the de-
sign is engraved upon the plate and fails IN
various ways. First, it is Impossible to pro,
duce the perfet line as in the genuine, and
the effect to the eye will be more or less dull
or sunken in appearance as well as haylnsts
scratchy look. The design will also be uaihel e
or light in spots, as the lines are sometimes
heavier and sometimes lighter. as well as tne
spaces between are sometimes WIDE ana again
near topether Lcing Irregular IN size ana
something's broken. Second, it is impossible
fop-tre counterfeiter to produce two designs
exactly alike. AS the counterfeit is engraved
by hand and separately, 1t is Impossible to
produce two exactly alike. On examination
of the genuine bill the design of the geometrl-
cal lathe work will show the beautiful clear
raised impression produced by the correct and
regular lines in the engraving. Sometimes
the whole face of a note except the vlgnettes
and dies will be tinted. The tint is composed
of fine curved or looped lines running across
the whole face on the bill. -,
Genuine bank notes are always printed with
great care. The plate is covered with INK,
which is then carefully wiped off, except what
remains in the lines of the engraving. The
engraving is then taken with powerful press.
Should any irregularity appear on the note 1t
is Immediately cancelled, and not issued.
Thus all genuine notes have clear and beau
tiful impression, which is very unusual for a
counterfeit. The ink used in bank-note PRINT
ing gives clear impression, without any smut
ty appearance The green ink, and also that
used for the numberingOf United States notes,
is with great difficulty produced by the coun-
terfeiters. The ink usually used by them 1or
printing counterfetS has a heavy, dull look !;
while the numbering has bricky appearance