Sullivan republican. [volume] (Laporte, Pa.) 1883-1896, 1891-01-09
LOOK LIKE PERFECT COINS.
SOME DANGEROUS coUNTERFEITs
IN CIRCULATION.

SOME DANGEROUS coUNrERFEITs
IN CIRCULATION.
How the Government Stops Them at
the Sub ub-Treasury-"Plug and
Sweating" Gold Coins.
On an average, about $50 to 800 of
silver counterfeit coins are stopped each
month on the counters of the Sub-Treas-
ury in dollars, half dollars and quarters,
out of over 81 900, 900 received monthly
in such coins; this sum, of course, is
Independent of dimes and coins of a
smaller denomination. There are nine
clerks in the coin rooms employed as ex-
pert tcounters" of silver, In addition to
Mr.. Winchell and his assistant, Francis
H. Meyers, who together handle all the
gold received-about 81 100000 a
month
Among the first counterfeit gold coins
which Mr.. Winchell remembers was a
"flled" double eagle of 1850. These
counterfeits were made in the following
manner: The counterfeiters commenced
at the "reeding," or small raised lines on
the edges of the coins," and cut the
s'faces" OF ''heads" of the coins out of
the rest of the coins, leaving sort of
shell. The gold at the back of the
s'face" was then distracted and the in
side of the shell was filled in with plat
mum. To these filings the faces were
then affixed and the coins were rereeded,
touched up, and were then ready to be
passed upon the unsuspecting. This
work was so neatly done that there was
only four to five grains difference between
the counterfeit and the genuine double
eagle, and only about one grain differ
the bogus half eagles. In all these coun-
terfeits the "ring" or sound given forth
upon being thrown down upon hard
substance was perfect.
Another of the early counterfeits was
two -and-a-half dollar gold coin made
out of a mixture of gold, silver and cop
per. 1t was worth about 81. so, and was
dated 1S43. Quite number of them
were circulated, and they were considered
to be the result of fine workmanship.
Or the other hand, some ten-dollar coins,
evidently made by the same gang of
counterfeiters, were not nearly SO good
limitations of the genuine coins.
About fifteen years ago a number of
"dipped" or plated ten-dollar pieces
made their appearance. These coins were
made of platinum, and were afterwards
plated with gold. They had poor ring
and were light. The counterfeiters of
these coins, like the makers of a majority
of other counterfeits, were never captured.
Most of the "dipped" and ''filled" gold
counterfeits came from the Southern
States and from California, probably be-
cause the counterfeiters found these Sec
tions of the country safer to work in and
the populations -colored people in the
South, and farmers, ranchmen and cow
boys in the West-easier victims than the
inhabitants of the Eastern States.
The s'plugging" of double eagles was
a favorite business of the counterfeiters
of the past. They would begin at the
''reeding' of the coin and bore, say,
three holes, about the size of pins
head, right through the double eagle, ,and
then refill the cavities with copper or
brass wire. The coins would then be re-
reeded and touched up. A profit for
the counterfeiters of about forty eight
grains of gold, in value about S1.75,
would result on each coin from this ras-
cality. Was it worth their whiles Yes,
when they made business of it and
plugged" many coins.
"Sweating" gold coins was another
pastime of the oldtime counterfeiters.
They would take twenty dollar gold
piece, dip it in acid, and draw about ST.
or $1.50 worth of gold from it while
leaving the "sweated" coin in apparently
good condition and still possessed of good
ringing power. ThiY''sweating process
was conducted on about the same basis
as that on which the present system of
gold plating is managed. So extensively
was this process used, that, upon one oc-
casion, about five years ago, the Sub
Treasury received the sum of $50, 900 in
gold from prominent bank in this city
to find in one bag of $4,000 about $500
of "sweated" gold. The bank, of course,
had to stand the loss AS rule such
CoiuS are Stullpeu Will VIC IcIIcI ~,
"Light, at the Sub Treasury, and are
sent back to the banks, which turn them
into the Assay Office, from which they
receive their value as bullion.
While upon the subject of gold coins,
it may be added that gold dollars, while
they were in active circulation, were ex-
tensively counterfeited. These counter
feits were made of a metal composition;
they were too small to fill.
The old silver dollar of 1884 was
counterfeited on a large scale. The
counterfeit coins were, as rule, made out
German silver and brass; the present sill
yer dollar is also counterfeited to great
extent, for, as previously stated, at the
Sub b-Treasury alone, they 'stop" from
$50 to $50 of these counterfeits every
month. AS this amount has previously
been ''strained" at the banks, etc., and
it really only represents the amount
which has escaped the vigilance of the
expert counterfeit coin detecters of
those institutions If NAV he imapinpd