Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-09-28
LOADS OF THE QUEER
Being Showed Onto Local Merchants
Who Find it Hard to Detect.
SILVER CERTIFICATES PLENTY
Fine Workmanship Displayed in the Make
of the Bad Money.
MORE OF 1T COMING TOWARD THE CITY.
Tbs East Now Flooded With All Denominations Of the
Green Goods.

There is more counterfeit money on the
market in Pittsburg now than there has
been for long time. The two-dollar silver
certificates seem the most numerous. though
many others are found in small numbers.
There are several different counterfeits OF
the 50 certificates, but the latest is the most
liable to deceive. and even will sometimes
pass the critical eye of the expert bank ac-
countants. This bill came out within the
last two weeks, and the Eastern cities are
fairly flooded with it, but only few OF
them have appeared in this city, so far. 1t
is a very dangerous counterfeit. It's check
letter is G, and it bears the small, round
carmine seal.
The bill was discovered by Miss A. G.
Smith. of the redemption division of the
United States Treasury Department at
Washington. The blue figures, or Treasury
numbers, are clear cutand resemble closely
those of the genuine. The color is e1-
cellent, the black and green inks are
good, but comparison with
the genuine shows that they are little
off color. The portrait OF General Hancock
is well made, as are also the geometrical
lathe work and parallel ruling. The check
letter G is wrong, and it should be A.
The second bill in circulation is not
nearly so we'll made as the first The "i"
in Register is not dotted, nor is there a
period after Treasurer, as on the genuine
note. The portrait of General Hancock is
not so good as the genuine. 1t has very
ragged appearance, and the mustache curls
up on one side instead of dropping, as it
should.
NOT TROUBLING THE BANKS.
DISPATCH reporters succeeded yesterday
in finding quite a number of the spurious
bills. Some of the banks said they had
seen them, but had not had any rendered
them. Others had caught some of the bills
and Immediately returned them.
The reason that the bills are stopped so
readily is that as soon as new counterfeit
is heard from the Treasury Department
sends notices to the different banks of the
Thus ali the money is easily detected by a
bank accountant when the average handler
of cash would let it slip in unnoticed.
Messrs. J. G. Hill & Co., the wholesale
grocers of Wood street, took in one OF the
bills, and it was offered in the Tradesmen's
National Bank III deposit. They imme-
diately refused the bill and it was stamped
counterfeit. This bill is slightly off color
The markings are not distinct, and the
curved lines on the under side have numer-
Gus very sharp angles. The check letter is
B, where it should be A. The numbering
is darker than that on the genuine. In the
word Register the 'i' is not dotted. tits
signed by James w. Hyatt, Treasurer sThe
counterfeit is smaller in size and the plates
are smaller, but not so much as to put the
average man on his guard.
One OF the bankers visited yesterday was
asked why check letter would be made
wrong, when there was no need of it. He
repliedi "You see, these fellows are usu-
ally pretty slick rascals. They use one
check letter until it is announced that bill
with that letter is not good. Then they i'm
mediately change to the correct letter, and
thus throw you off your guard again. The
check letter is found by dividing the last
two figures of the number by four. The re-
mainder is the number of the check lstter.
If there is no remainder the letter is D.
Thus if we divide the Sc on this bad bill by
4 we find no remainder, and D should be the
letter. This shows that the letter B on
the bill is wrong. There are worse bills
than that one in circulation in Pittsburg.
One of them that have seen I would have
taken as good without saying a word if I
had not been shown the points. 1t keeps us
awake trying to keep posted on the floating
counterfeits."
TALK WITH AN EXPERT.
Thara is opa oonf1ap,oD IL D;tt,b,,.
is great stumbling block to the "shovers
of the queer" Mr.. John Stranger, the
bank note expert, now stopping at the Hotel
Schlosser, makes it his business to teach the
common sense method of detecting bad
money. He has travelled in all parts of the
country from east to west. and often runs
across the counterfeit money before the
Treasury Department detects it. He carries
with him counterfeit money of all denomina-
tions, and with it can soon show the differ
ence between that and good money.
In q conversation on the question of
money, Mr.. Stranger said: Eyes, I have
found considerable bad money in the city,
but the two mentioned are the most numer-
GUS OF course there is always some OF the
bad nioney floating around, aud it is never
entirely wiped out. Once in awhile l run
across very old bill, one that has been in
circulation long time. There is verita-
BILE food of bad money in the East
just now, but it hasn't struck Pitts
burg quite so heavily. I travel around
to the smaller cities and make Pitts
burg my headquarters. 1 don't often
find great deal of counterfeit in these
places, but only short time ago found one
town that was flooded with the worst kind,
mostly these twos. The counter eiters don't
usually like to work these little cities. They
do their business in the large places on the
street car lines and in saloons.
"The study of money is fascinating one,
but it don't take long for man to learn the
ways of telling the good from the bad. I
can tell bad bill the instant take hold of
it. Long experience in handling this money
has taught me SO that the slightest differ.
ence is easily detected"
II would be well ior every person in the
city who is in the habit OF handling large
sums OF money to be very careful just at
present, as the bad cash now in the East is
liable to strike the city in large amounts.