The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1889-11-21
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Work of Counterfeiters.

Work of Counterfeiters.
"Here are the bills, these are the
plates, and there are the caps" said the
man who has bebn twenty nine yeats in
the United States treasury department
telling visitors about counterfeitipg and
the people who engage in it. Above the
door of room No. IS, in which be stays
are the words "secret Service" It isa
small room, lighted from the ceiling. On
its walls hang the photographs of ESQ of
the 'chaps' before mentioned. In an
adjoining room, bearing the prohibition
"Private" on the doo:, there are 1000
or 5000 additional Companions in
guilt, formipga veritable "rogues" gal
lery" Only those that are found guilty
of violation Of law are now photograph
ed. Some of these faces are bright and
Intelligent; some are sullen and scowl.
ing some are villianous aud wicked
some are insolent ard defiant; some sad
and detected. One wears broad grin,
with an eye drawn down in Sinking
grimace.
"E[ere's fellow that didn't want TO
leave US anything to remember him by"
said the informant to a reporter, show
ing a faded picture begrlmed with much
handling. The subjects mouth was
gaping and all his features distorted into
an unrecognizable condition. He had
been clutched about the throat and BY
the hair by main force. Many faces OF
women appear in this collection as well
as those of negtoes and foreigners. The
faces of the assassins of Lincoln and
Garfield are also shown.
When the government seizes gang
of counterfeiters everything belong to
their craft is captured. The steel plates
for printing the bills, bonds and revenue
stamps, the molds for molding coin, the
stamping machines for making stamped
coins, the paper upon which bills are
printed, the metals, the weapons for de-:
fense and all the counterfeit on hand.
1trequ Tres four plates to epgravea bill
in the bureau of printing and engraving.
An eugreaver is required for each of the
two borders and faces, hence four en-.
grayers make one bill and none of the
four knows the entire design. Some Of
the cohhterfeiters now serving sentence
are the finest engravers in the country
and some have been in government EN-.
ploy. After the counterfeit bills are
printed from the engraved plaster they
are stained with coffee to give them an
old appearance that they may the easier
| escape detection. A crisp, new counter
felt is never put into circulation.
"Cofee was down, you see, when that
bill mas printed" said our informant,
pointing out a $40 bill that had been too
deeply stained.
Its often only by the closet exami-
nation that "a counterfeit can be detect.
ed. One bill had absolutely no defect
excepting that on one foot of the God.
dess of Liberty that adorned the face
there were six toes, and tais fault could
only be detected by the use of q magni.
fying glass. Another bill had the minute
fault, only discoverable by the trained
expert, Of having one button on the coat
of a soldier slightly imperfect.
Some counterfeiters photograph bills
and tetoach them with pen and ink.
These are easily detected and can only
be passed of on the unobservipg and
careless.
"Here is perfect piece of work-one
ofthe best We have ever taken in" said
the'exhibitor, and a very old and much
mended $40 bill was shown.
"That work is done with pen," be
continued. Every bill is made separate.
That man has been at work on these bills
nine or ten years. We've been hunting
for him for the last seven or eight years.
We haven't found him yet, but we'll get
him, that's sure"
Attention was called to another piece
of pen work that is only shown as GU
riosity, as no one wss ever deceived into
thinking it was genuine money except
the poor, distraught creature who makes
the bills.
tits 500 note. On the face is the
picture of very daft.looking lady in.
tended to represent Martha Washington.
She has long cockacrew curls and red
eyes that start up into her temples. On
the reverse face was picture of the
Capitol with train of cars ca The Balti-
more & Ohio heading for the dome. An
inmate of an insane asylum occupies
himself making the bills and paying his
physicians for his service with them.
a great deal of counterfeiting is done
by raising" Genuine bills are used for
this purpose. By erasing the figures in
a two or Eve and substituting the de-
nomination desired the work is rendered
very simple, although readily detected
by any close observer. Revenue stamps
of every description have been counter.
feited, but postage stamps have never
been initiated.
Some very good counterfeit paper WAS
shown, for the crime of manufacturing
which the offender has fifteen years at
hard labor.
Foreign notes are fre quently counter.