Maryland independent. [volume] (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1874-current, 1886-08-20
COUNTERFEIT COIN.
How the Spurious Money 10
Made in New York.

How the Spurious Money IN
Made in New York.
Devices for Passing it Undetected by ltali-
ans, Who Are the Principal Offenders
Counterfeiting United States coins ana
bills is sand to be carried on now as
much as formerly, but there have been
many changes in its methods and inc
manner Of getting rid of the queer
when made. The days of the hidden
nook in the mountain, where, in nut,
the expert maker Of base coins carried
on his nefarious trade with door care
fully barricaded and rifles and rcvolvers
lyinq about within easy reach, are 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 1t
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 sad
that he came from Sicily. They are, as
rule, duh looking, ignorant fellows,
notwithstanding their skill in furnishing
and manufacturing the coins. Most fire.
quently they have little knowledge OF
the iewelry trade, and apparently they
take as naturally to counterfeiting 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 deviser
of illegitimato money is to them a
hero.
The workman hires a flat in a tene-
ment, into which he moves his famil y,
reserving one room as a workshop. He
lays in stock of antimony, plaster of
paris, moulds, a lathe and other appl-
ances, and is ready for business Rarely
do his ncighbors suspect that anything
is wrong lie takes good coin for a
pattern and soon has the room filed will
the coins in various stages Of construc
tion. Never docs the maker attempt t
pass the money himself He either sell
it to the passer, or, more frequently, to
middle man. For this reason II ia diff
cult to get at the makers, and the secre
service detectives are always happy VIZ
they find a workshop with a Kit ,sc -
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 arc usually charged at first
When the passor 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 Gntent to de-
ccive" must be proven against the Of
fender, and for this reason the counter
felt money! -passers 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
mscrupulous in working off bad money,
though they seldom have a 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. You
tell the vender that the coin is bad, and
he will Immediately cry out: one no
tell bada money; me just come from
Italy" Comparatively few arrests are
made on complaint of the police. When
bad money is Neceived uuwittngly, few
hesitate to pass it en-. There is a cheap
restaurant keeper on the old Chatham
street who every few weeks, brings all
the bad coins he has taken in down to
the secret service bureau in the post
office building. Very few take this
trouble.
There is an erroneous idea abroad that
the government makes good the bad
money received. This is a mistake. The
government confscates all bad coins, and
the only relief of the person imposed
upon is a civil suit in one Of the district
courts against the passer for the value ol
the money lost
The passer of counterfeit money, when
convicted, may receive as heavy SEN
tence as ten years in state prison and
fine of $1,000. Apparently there is an
attractiveness about making the CON-
and when discharged from prison the
manufacturer almost invariably goes
back to the old business. Ne" I@S e
Commercial. P
p