Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-05-04

been handled They are some times dipped in
weak coffee to give them a brownish TINT. Oil
mixed with dirt is used to produce the effect
of finger marks and the bills are rubbed lhis
way and that until they are soft and lose their
easier to pass an old counterfeit bill than new
one, and the work of making the bills is no
light matter. One OF the secret
eight months to get up q counterfeit note that
will have any chance Of passing. The engraving
must be done by an expert and good counter
hundreds of dollars. looked over the scrap
books of noted counterfeiters to-day and was
shown some bills. the authors of which have
never been discovered. One. of the best coun-
terfeits in existence is $40 greenback, and it is
not known whether it was made by man or a
woman. It is not engraved but it is drawn en-
with iS 'T ali the A shades Of n green eU'
black and red of the regular so bAE
are seen upon it and the treasury departIsfSt
has been searching for years foF its makese It
often goes through many hands before 1t is de-
tected, and whether it is made by male or femalsl
1t is certainly work of fne art. Another fallf
lily of counterfeiters is the johnson family, TOO
brothers of which are serving their terms in the
pe1itentiary. The women were suspected but
escaped through technicality. They were en-
gagged with their brothers in getting up the s.
silver certificate plate. This was a fine speci-
men of engraving and its bills were first discov-
cred in circulation in Detroit.
SHOWERS OF Bogus SILVER.
The rogues' gallery has number of faces of
women who have been arrested for showing
bogus silver dollars. One of the most striking
of these is Annie Kelly whose face shows that
nip of flesh has been taken out of her nose, the
work of her counterfeiting husband during
fracas over the spoils. Annie Kelly was only
twenty years old when she was arrested
in 1887, and she is now serving sentence ef
four years in the Monroe county jail. She had
been making silver dollars and when arrested
she had some counterfeits in her pocket and
number Of bogus dollars were fonnd IN her
hOnca 0ua hmm rod fhirfa6rl
were hidden away in q bureau drawer and these
were in an unfinished condition. All the tools
of counterfeiting were found in her room and it
seems that she was both making the money and
passing it. The usual method is that the coun-
terfeiters do not pass their own products. They
sell the stuff to others who pay twenty-five cents
on the 81 fol it. Great quantities of these
bogus dollars are captured by the treasury de-
partment. and though in some few cases valu-
aole metals are used, as g rule the countertelts
Sre made up of the poorest stuff, and the mix
ture is not worth the trouble of aSsaying- An
timouy, block tin. pulveriZed glass and sheet
silver are the principal elements of a counter
of are made .rom molds taken from genuine
dollar in plaster of Paris. The milling is the
most difficult process, and it is very rarely that
q counterfeit dollar has milled edges free from
flaws Some silver is always used. and the way
is to take sheet silver and plate the coins.
spoons are often used and The sill
yer from these is taken off by an electric bat
terry and by means of electricity is placed upon
the coin. The base metal of the spoons is then
used as part of the material for other coins,
and the cost of making these bogus dollars is
practically nothing.
The old trade dollar was counterfeited num-
Der Of times and one of the leading passers was
Mrs. Annie Mccormick, who has served her
term in the penitentiary and is now at liberty.
her husband was noted counterfeiter and he is
still in jail.
GOLD com SELDOM couNTERFzrsS
Gold coin is seldom counterfeited Or the rea-
son that it takes some gold to rum he business
and the machinery for doing the work is expen-
sive. Gold coins must be made ftaF dies and
not cast, and while almost any meed1nsEsean
make q silver dollar, it takes good deal Of an
artist to get up a counterfeit S5-goldpiece am,
told that only one bogus sz0-goldpiece has evea
Of 1850. In this case genuine double eazie