Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1891-04-02
S0RELY PUZZLED.
Treasury officials Annoyed by the
Latest Counterfeit.
The Bogus Two-Dollar Silver Certif.
icate Remarkable for Its Ex-
ceient Workmanship.
HARD TO DETECT.

w AShiNGION, April line otncerS
of the secret service are at their wits
ends over the recent discoveries of
counterfeit silver certificates Aside
from the dangerous character of
these particular counterfeits the
fact has been brought out
that no one knows how much coun-
terfeit money Is afioat There may be
$1,000 900 and there may be $4,000, 600.
Bills which are circulating from hand
to hand and from bank to bank may
be counterfeits. As one of the secret
service officers said, the periec-
ton of counterfeiting has been
reached and banks can be de-
ceived as readily as individuals.
There are some peculiar features con-
nected with the counterfeit two dollar
bills which have just been brought to
light They are the issue of 1886, bear
ing the face of Gen. Hancock. 1t was
only by an accident that one of the
bills was detected in Kansas City. Then
another was found in the redemption
bureau here. Since that time careful
scrutiny has brought to light about
twenty more of the bills.
But the peculiar feature of the mat
ter is that this acme of counterfeits
should be practiced on bills which are
next to the lowest ones issued. There
are but two paper-mills in the
United States which make the
special kind of paper I'd in the
printing of money. Both of these
mills are under close COVE nment super
vision and it is not possible that the
leak should come through them. If
the counterfeiters had their o plant
for furnishing tn per it asst have
cost them at least $1,000 according to
the statement secrat-service Off
GER This has IL. ne conclusion
that the coun must be
sent here from "a. The Off
GERS say that it woulo nardly be likely
for men to go to the expense of $3.50, 900
in producing paper and then turn out
Kills 2 lais1l were nc~l to the smallest
ones issued. The question was asked
of one of the officers if there were any
means of preventing the issue of many
millions of counterfeit money by mar
keting it quickly in various parts
of the country. He replied that
there was none.
Counterfeiters now have at their dis
posal every facility which the govern
ment has. Their engravers are as skill
full as the government engravers. The
only defense has been in the use of spe-
eial paper containing hair lines, but now
this defense has gone, for the special
paper used by the counterfeiters in the
bills just brought to light is as good as
that turned out by the two mills in
MASSACHUSETTS, under government con-
troll. The counterfeit has the same deli
cate thread running lengthwise, which is
discernible only by the aid of the micro
scope. Secretary Foster viii retire the
two dollar bills which have been coun-
forfeited as soon as new plates can be
made for another issue. Instead of the
head of Hancock the new bills will have
that of the late Secretary Window.
In the counterfeit the vignette of
Hancock is as fine as the original, and
the lettering and latheworlz is an exact
copy OF the treasury note. In fact, the
only difference is too minute to be
visible to the naked eye. In the
upper left-hand and lower right
hand corner Of the genuine note is a
figure q and on its face is en-
graved, in characters so minute that.
they are not legible except under a
magnifying glass, the word two" re-
peated three times. In the counterfeit
the word two is similarly engraved
the same number of times, but in two
cases the eounterfeiter has made the
letters read ''owt" But, as intimated,
this mistake is not visible without the
use of a glass