The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1886-09-17
COUNTERFEIT COIN.
How Spurious Money is Made in n. Y. Ci

How Spurious Money is Made in n. Y. City.
Counterfeiting United States coins and
bills il said to be carr ed on now as much
as formerly, says the New York CONNER
ciaI Advertiser, 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 hi ne
farious trade with door carefully barri-
caded ard rifles and revolvers lying
about within easy reach, are ,ver. Now
the coin is made mostly in cities, and
that too in crowded ueighborhoods.
In the making Of bad coins in this city
the Italians have a monopoly, and it i
against the Italian wOrknen that Chief
d ummond Of the s, cret Service Bureau
in this city, is kept busy, procuring evi-
dence and bringing them to court. Al
most without exception, every italian
cOunterfeiter arrested in this city during
the last three ars-and there have
been many of them captured-has said
that he came from Sicily.
They are, as a rule, dull-lOOking, ig-
nOrant fellows, notwithstanding their
skill in fuTni h ng and manufacturing
the coins. Most frequently they have
little knowledge of the jewelry trade, and
apparently they take as HHtu. ally to
cOuuterfaiting ~ fish to water. 4 num-
Der of Italiais in this city who are not
makers OF bad coins are always ready to
pass those made by others, and the
skilled devi er of illegitimate money is
to them hero.
HOW THE COINS ARE MADE.
The workman hires a fat in tene-
ment, into which he moves his family,
- r-servinC one room as a workshop.
H lays astock of anHmOuy, plaster
Of paris, moulds, a lathe. and other ap-
pliances, and is ready for business.
Rarely do his neighbors suspect that
anything is wrong. He takes a good
coin for pattern, and soon ha7 the room
filed with the coins in various stages Of
construction
Never does the maker attempt to pass
the money himself. He either soils it to
the passcr, or, more frequently, to a
middle man. For this reason u is diff
cult to get at the makers and the Sc
CrcJ Service dett ctivgs are always happy
whom they find a workshop with kit of
tools and good supply of stock. The
middle 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 harged at first.
When the passeT gets the coin He usually
frequCn.s the side streets, where in small
cigar stores aud confectionery shops he
passes of his spurious dollars, etc, in
payment for small articles, thus Tcceiy-
ing good money In change.
The law requires that 90 intent to de-
ceive' must be proven against the Of
fender, and for this reason the Ouuter-
felt money passers go 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 tGer re-
mains outside. Thus 4 the paSSer Is ar
rested no other bad coin viii be found
On his person, and he can assert that he
OId OF know that the one coin e bad
oI,rad in Yaymeut was bad. Many es-
cape convict tiou by this method.
THE MEN WHO PASS THE CoUNTERFEITs.
The fruit stand Italians are usually
INSCRIPTIONS in working off bad money,
though they seldom have stucI. OF any
thing or larger denomination than dimes
and quarters. More than half OF the
small coin that is bad works it- way into
circulation through these fellows.
You tell the vender ttat the coin is
bad, and ne will Immediately cry out:
Me no tell bada money; me Just
come from Italy"
Comparatively few arrests are made
on complaint of the police. When bad
money is received unwittiugly few hesi-
tate to pass il ON. There is a cheap res
taurant keeper on the old Chatham e. Get
A-b- 'NfAN i'ff ''Its9 AL 30 tAAA l-l- htlNA
coins ne has taken in down 20 the Secret
Service Bureau in the Post Office build
ing. 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 conascates all bad
/ coins, and the only relief Of the person
/ imposed upon is a civil suit in one of the
I District courts against the passer for the
yal.e Of the money lost.
The passer of counterfeit money, when
/ convicted, may receive as heavy a SEN
/ tence as ten years in State prison and a
/ fine OF 81, 900.
/ Apparently there is an attractiveness
/ about making the coin, and when dis
! charged from prison the manufacturer
| almost invariably goes back to the old
/ business.