Wichita eagle., 1886-09-12
COUNTERFEIT COIN.
How Spurious Money is Mcde IN n. Y. City

Countclfeiting United S aies coins and
bills il to be carr ed on now as much
as forniery : vs. the New York CONNER
cial Adve ti.e but there have been
many chang S in its methods and the
manner OF ge ting rid of the "Gueer
when made.
The DAYS Of the hidden nook in the
mountain, where, in a hut. the exp 1T
maker OF base coins carried on III ne
farious trade with door carefully barri-
caded rifles and reviewers lying
alb nut within easy reach, are ever. Now
the coin is made mostly in cities, and
that 100 "a crow o ncighborhOods.
IN TIE making Of bad coins in this city
the Italians We :; monopoly, and it il
aga Il t the II Ian worEmen that CHIEF
D um nond, Of the S cret Service Bureau
in this city, is kept busy, procuring evil
dence and bringing them to count. Al
most without exception. every Italian
counterfeter arrested in this city during
the last three y ar5-and there nave
been many of them carturcd-ha5 SAID
that he came from 81 lily
They are, as a rule. dull-looking. ig-
norant fellows, notwithstanding their
skill in furni h nS and manufacturing
the coins Most frequently they have u
little knowledge CT The leWe.ry trade, and
apparently they take a. h*ta ally 10
counterfciting a, fish TO water 4 num-
Der of Italians in tiiis city who are not
makers OF bad coins axe always ready TO
pass those made by others, and the
skilled devi-cr Of illegitimate money is
to them a hero.
HOW THE COINS ARE MADE.
The workman hires fiat in a tene-
s,,%a oh 10, &c fo mi
reserving one room as workshop.
He lays ina stock OF anthony. plaster
Of paris, moulds, lathe and other APP
plianceS. ard is ready for business.
Rarely do his neighbors suspect that
| ANYTHING is wrong. He takes a good
coin for a pattern. and soon has the room
| filled with the coins in various stages OF
| construction.
Never does the maker attempt to pass
the money himself. He either sells it to
| the passer, or. more frequently, to
middle man. For this reason it is dill-
cult to get at the makers, and the Sc
cret Service detectives are always happy
when they find a workshop with a kit of
tools and good supply of stock. The
middle men sell to the man who does TIE
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
frequents the side streets, where in small
cigar stores and confectionery shops he
passes off his spurious dollars, ETC.. in
payment for small articles, thus receiv-
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 passers 60 often in pairs.
One man carries the coin. He deals it
out one coin at a time to his companion,
who enters the shop. while the other re-
mains outside. Thus if the passer is ar
rested no other bad coins will be found
on his person, and he can assert that he
Gid not know that the one coin he had
offered in payment was bad. Many es-
cape conviction by this method.
THE MEN WHO PASS THE CoUNTERFEITS.
The fruit stand Italians are usually
unscrupulous in working off bad money.
though they seldom have . took OF any
"a n ~ ~ er denomination than res
ia~ - More thy" bat Or iae
mai con hit j. d woro is va. i .
ci Ti,tinn throgga thes- II .~S.
Nod tell thc vendcr / ii the ce!l is
bad, and he vii Immediately cry out:
Me 70 teil bad& moavy; me Just
cea,e from I ay."
CoiGpar ltively few arrests are made
on con. liant Of the police. When bad
money = reeve! ,nwi;tingly, tcy1 hsoi-
tate L na-. on. There is Il chea;, res
taurant Ike PER on The old Chatham Get
who, every few weeks, brings all the bad
coins he has taken in down 10 the Secret
Service Bureau in the Posi- 0nice build
iu-. Very few take this tIoGtlc.
There is an erroneous idea atroad that
the Government makes good the bad
money received. This is mistake
The Government con sci.es all bad
coins. and the only rel eli of the person
imposed upon is civil suit IN one OF the
i District courts againstt the passer fer the
value of tie moaey lost.
The passer OF counterfeit money, when
con, icted. may receive as heavy SEN
tence as ten years in State prison and
fire OF Sl,o00.
Apparently there is an attraetiveness
about making the coin. and when dis
charged from prison the manufacturing
almost invariably goes back to the ola
business.