San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1889-03-15
BOGUS MONEY MAKERS.
HOW COUNTERFEIT COINS ARE
MADE AND CIRCULATED.

Dimes, Quarters and Dollars That Glisten
and Ring-The Severe Penalties Pre-
scribed by Law-Italians Predominant
as Showers of the Queer"
Complaints are daily lodged in The Journal
office about counterfeit money that is being
circulated in New York. Smcn st0rekeep-
ers are the loudest in their lamentations
Dimes quarters and silver dollars are the
coins with which they are chiefly victimized
In many instances correspondents inclose
the bogus money for The Journals inspec-
ton. One of these coins-a cleverly counter
feited 10 cent piece-was taken by reporter
to the assay office.
THAT'S an excellent example Of the style
of money in circulation just now" said an
employe, swapping the dime in two. Its
made of lead, antimony and glass. The anti
mony produces that brilliant appearance,
while the glass helps to harden the lead and
to give it a resonant quality"
What is the process"
HOW IT IS DONE.
THE counterfeiter-who in nine cases out
of ten is an Italian-takeS plaster cast of
coin and from this cast makes mold.
Then glass is poured into a crucible and
melted While it is in molten condition
lead is dropped in and as soon as these two
ingredients aSsimilate antimOny is added.
The compound is run into the mold and
spurious coin is the result. Before being
foisted on the market it has to be subjected
to finishing process. In the first place, all
irregularities on the edges are adjusted. The
coin is then put into bag of sand and shaken.
This removes any undue sharpness of outline.
If the result is not considered perfect the
counterfeiter resorts to the potato process
that is to say, he sticks the coin into raw
potato and leaves it there for several days.
Those shiny, slippery peculiarities noticeable
on all spurious money are removed by potato
juice"
According to the assay Office there are more
| bogus dimes than dollars in circulation.
Dimes do not excite suspicion SO much as dol
lars. Day after day street car conductors
are victimized by the bogus dime.
A counterfeit silver dollar is very easy to
| detect. Although it may deceive the eye,
the hand and the ear, a close inspection of its
| lettering will prove it to be false. The reason
is that the making of a mold from plaster
| cast results in blurring the inscription For
eigners suffer most from the bogus dollar.
| Small hotels and emigrant lodging houses
are favorite stamping grounds for the coun-
| terfeiter and his accomplices. Since the
comparative curtailment of the bobtail car
bn Of bod niolyalS hac
perceptbly declined.
United States Commissioner Shields re
| ceived The Journal man with characteristic
| urbanity and told him all he knew.
''Is counterfeiting on the increases"
Not in this district"
what is the punishment for counterfeit
ers?"
| imprisonment at hard labor for fifteen
years and $1,000 fine for bills, and ten years
with $1,000 for gold and silver. A nickel
| coiner gets three years and fine of $1,000. "
From what class is the counterfeiter gen
orally recruitedg"
Our records show that in nine cases out of
ten the accused is an Italian or has got his
supplies from an Italian, and most of these
Italians come from the island of Sicily"
| DIFFICULTY OF TRACING.
1t is no easy matter to trace counterfeit
money to its source, and no one has explained
the difficulties to be contended with more
lucidly than the late chief of police, George
W. Walling, in his memoirs. In the first
place, he says, it is necessary to discover
whether the circulation of spurious coin is
restricted to one locality. The coin or bill
may pass through great many hands before
its spurious character is discovered, and even
then no one is quite willing to bear the loss,
and so tries to pass it on This is human
! nature.
Then again, man may take a counterfeit
coin from a customer who has received it in