The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1886-08-12
COUNTERFEIT COIN.
How the Spurious Money Is
Made in Now York.
Devices for Passing it Undetectod by Itali'
ans, Who Ale the Principal Offenders.

ans, VINO Ato In5 TrlnClpal UuonuerS'
Counterfeiting United States coins and
bills is SAID to be carried on now as
much as formerly, but there have been
many changes in its methods and the
manner of getting rid of the ''queer''
when made. The days of the hidden
nook in the mountain, where, in a hut,
the expert maker of base coins carried
on his nefarious trade with door care
fully barricaded and rifles and revolvers
lying about within easy reach, arc over.
Now the coin is made mostly
in cities, and that too in crowded neigh
borhoods.
In the making of bad coins in this
city the Italians have monopoly, and it
| is against the italian workmen that
Chief Drummond, of the secret service
bureau in this city, is kept busy procur-
ing evidence and bringing them to court.
Almost without exception, every Italian
counterfeiter arrested in this city during
the last three years-and there have
been many of them captured-has said
that he came from Sicily. They are, as
rule, dull looking ignorant fellows,
Notwithstanding their skill in furnishing
and manufacturing the coins. Most fire.
qucntly they have little knowledge of
the jewclry trade, and apparently they
take as naturally to counterfcitng as fish
to water. A number of Italians in this
city who are not makers of bad coins are
always ready to pass those made by 9TH
ers, and the skilled dcviser
Of illcgitimate money is to them a
hero.
The workman hires flat in tene-
ment, into which he moves his family,
reserving one room as workshop. He
lays in stock of antimony, plaster of
paris, moulds, lathe and other appli-
ances, and is ready for business. Rarely
do his neighbors suspect that anything
is wrong. He takes good coin for
pattern and soon has the room filled with
the coins in various stages Of construc-
ton. Never docs the maker attempt to
pass the money himself. He either sells
it to the passcr, or, more frequently, to a
middle man. For this reason it is diff.
cult to get at the makers, and the secret
service detectives are always happy when
they find a workshop with a kit of tools
and good supply of stock. The mid
die men sell to the man who does the
passing. Bad coin can be bought at the
rate of 81 for ten bad dollars, though
higher prices are usually charged at first.
When the passer gets the coin he usually
frequcnts the side streets, where in small
cigar stores and confectionery shops he
passes off his spurious dollars, etc, in
payment for small articles, thus rcceiv-
ing good money in change.
The law requires that "intent to de-
ceive" must be proven against the Of
fender, and for this reason the counter
felt money-passcrs go often in pairs. One
man carries the coin; he deals it out one
coin at time to his companion, who
enters the shop, while the other remains
outside. Thus, if the passer is arrested,
no other bad coins are found on his per.
son, and he can assert that he did not
know that the coin he offered in pay
ment was bad. Many escape conviction
by this method.
The fruit stand Italians are usually
unscrupulous in working off bad money,
though they seldom have stock of any
thing of larger denomination than dimes
and quarters. More than half of the
small coin that is bad works its way into
circulation through these fellows. Yol
tell the vcnder that the coin is bad, an6
he will Immediately cry ont: "Me nc
tell bada money; me just come from
Italy" Comparatively few arrests arc
made on complaint Of the police. Whcr
bad money is received unwittingly, few
hesitate to pass it on. There is a cheal
: restaurant keeper on the old Chatham
street who, every few weeks, brings al
| the bad coins he has taken in down t.
the secret service bureau in the post
Office building. Very few take this
trouble.
3 There is an erroneous idea abroad thai
the government makes good the ba(
money received This is mistake. Th
government confscatcs all bad coins, ,ane
| the only relief of the person imposed
9 upon is a civil suit in one of the distric
courts against the passer for the value o
the money lost.
+ The passcr of counterfeit money, whel
convicted, may receive as heavy SEN
. tencc as ten years in state prison and
fine of $1,000. Apparently there is n
a attractiveness about making the coin
n and when discharged from prison th
f manufacturer almost invariably goe
v back to the old business. ss.-Nep Yor
Commercial