The Pioche weekly record. [volume] (Pioche, Nev.) 1877-1900, 1892-08-25
sKILLFUL CONTEMPLATING.
Queer Instances Gathered in the
Treasury Department.
How the Spurious Bank-Notes Are De-
tected by the Sense of Touch-Mis-
takes which Have Led to the
Discovery OF Bad Bills.


tcmber of 1880. 1t was in that month |
that one of the counters in the redemp-
zion division threw out q note for after
consideration The fingers OF these
women become SO sensitive to the feel
ing Of the government paper that they
throw out instinctively every bill which
t!oes not feel right. Such rejected bills,
.ays Kate Fields Washington, are after
ward closely examined, SO that the pub
lie may be warned. This was a two
dollar note with the check letter A,
Treasurer Jordans signature, and
large seal. Shortly after people were
told to look out for all two-doliar ollls
of this description which should lack
dot over the ''i'' in Register OF the
Treasury and the period at the end.
The general public is not able to tell
the difference in the paper, ana does not
carrya microscope about with II TO look
for minute defects in engraving, there
fore it has to be given something dis
tinctive, when possible, which 1t can
see.
say ''when possible" advisedly, for
as soon as the counterfeiters learned OF
this official bulletin they proceeded to
get out another issue with this error
corrected. 1t was still two-dollar
note with Hancock's head and Jordan's
,innature. The seal, too, was large,
and of the proper shade to belong with
check-letter Il. Presumably the only
ehnnge was in the check letters. Again
deft fingers detected the difference in
paper, but this time the most notice
able mechanical defect was microscopic
al. Each corner of the note, it Will bo
remembered is embellished with a
iirurc two, but it is not generally
| known that each figure two is in its
! tarn adorned with several printed
"two's" in microscopical letters In the
| counterfeit the engrayer had some OF
tho minute words backward, so that
they read ''owt." The public was
warned of this.
Again the counterfeiter went patient
" to work His next effort differed
from its predecessor in bearing the check.
letter G and it's accompanying small
seal. The microscopical words were
fixed by blurring the ST. and the 20
50 that only the "w" was plain, and II
took u strong glass to show this de-
feet but it bore the name of Treasurer
Jordan.
Another warning was followed BY
another change. This time the name
of Treasurer Jordan had to be changed
to HYATT, and the tail of the could MOI
be wholly eliminated from the margin
without risl1ing the total destruction O
the valuable plate, so the counterfeiter
left it in, and now we have brant
new variety of two dollar notes.
Of course no one knows how long l
takes to make a twenty-dollar bill will
pen and brush, for none OF these won
derful penmen have ever been caught
but one would think that so sl1illful
workman could make more money o
an honest trade. One thing seems
be ain-counterfeiting runs in fam
lies In one of the pictured groups
four persons out of sixteen are OF on
name and five of another, and am toll
q that the two families were nearly n
lated. One branch of the Smith famil,
| regret to say, has been q source
special anxiety to the government
Their work was mainly done in Canad
and all the scolds of this branch fro
I the 0reat-grandfather down-male ar
female-have distinguished themselv
in their own peculiar line.
One OF the pen-and-brush bills Is
twenty-dollar note with Hamilton
head. There are two specimens OF IL
one is quite fresh and not easily {
tected, the other is worn, and sho'
plainly that it did not wear SO well a!
genuine note should.
Another method of counterfeiting
the raising of note from one demo
nation to q higher. A few months
there died in the Columbus penitentit
Peter Mccartney. Many years ago
was arrested for counterfeiting and 8
,s fenced to this penitentiary for fifts
49, wears, He served out his term, and
soon as it was over went straight
New Orleans and commenced to rs
one dollar notes to one hundred doll
Within four weeks from the time he
the prison he was back in 1t again
another fifteen years. This time he q
before his time was over.
0. Thus countereiting seems not only
inherited but an ungovernable pass
1t is pity that no legitimate use
vet been found for such wonderful
ents.
Everybody knows the tale Of the
who was in the employ of the gov
- ment and was u counterfeiter. 1t
years ago, when the government put
part Of it's work by the piece to /
note companies. This man had the
of making the plates for printing
United States bonds. While ma
ri the ordered plates he made dupli
~ set for himself, printed the bonds,
very nearly got them on the maj
When caught he gave up all his pl
dies, ETC., valued at thousands OF
n lars, in exchange for his liberty.
II since he has been at large undel
CA check of suspended sentence. ST
.sk he ever be caught coupterfeiting 9
N the government has only to clay
la into prison without further trial.
a Foreigners unacquaintcd with
5H thing but the general outlines o
,.aI paper money are frequently taken
what are called flash notes."
are usually made originally for a
Using purposes and only becor
source of danger when unscrup
and ignorant persons meet in the