The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-02-27
"FLASH MONEY"
sorHERs THE Q. S. TREASURY
MORE THAN COUNTERFEITs.

asorlp" Notes and Trade Checks"
sweating Coins by Electric Process.
Counterfeits Produced by Lunatic
IN an Indiana Asylum.
From the Wdshfn0ton Star,
Flash money!. e., limitations of United
States currency for advertising purposes
Gives more trouble to the treasury than
,ounterfeiting. The latter has been almost
entirely suppressed In this country. but this
comparatively innocent evil seems TO be in
crsasing, Notwithstanding the utmost efforts
of the secret service to put it down. How
extensive it is may be judged from the fact
that within eight years. from 1881 to 1889. no
lass than $128, 100000 worth of such stuff
was captured and destroyed by the govern
meuk
One Of the newest fancies in this line is
al imitation wallet. with IS and a $40
bill sticking out at both ends. Anybody
who saw 1t on the sidewalk would stoop and
nick it up, thinking that he had found a
prize On unfolding it he would discover
that ID was a single piece Of thick paper, the
inside Of it bearing an advertisement. The
TIPS Of supposititious bank notes shown by
shis ingenious device make it an infringe
ment OF law because they reproduce por-
tions Of the designs on national currency.
A thing quite aimilar, though not legally
forbidden, is q fake bank book made in
the same fashion with the ends Of checks
showing.
OF course neither of these articles could
be palmed off as real money The obiec-
ton to flash" currency generally is that it
Is apt TO be passed as legal tender. Those
who suffer are mostly the poor and igno-
rant. Much of this stuff, however, is 80
artistically made that 1t might well deceive
anybody. A while ago the treasury re-
oeived a 500 note which had been SO long
in circulation as to be nearly worn out
Both face and back were excellent imita-
tions Of a real 500 bill the usual blank
spaces on the reverse containing ADVERTISE
ments of an Egyptian hair tonic. This note
was actually sent in for redemption, and
great deal of such bogus cash finds its way
every year to the redemption bureau.
Large quantities of it are current in the
south. The older it gets the more like
money it looks. It is the same way with
counterfeit notes, which the maker
Crumples and soils as much as possible.
NUTILATING GOLD AND SILVER COINS.
There exists widespread and irrepressi-
bic mania for mutilating the silver and gold
coins Of the United States by turning them
into lockets, charms. bowls for spoons and
other articles OF ornament and personal
adornment. Happily, the fashion of at
taching them to bracelets as bangles has
gone out. The demand for bangles few
years ago brought into existence all over the
country, as If by magic, gilt and gold pieces
in imitation of the gold dollar. These found
a ready sale and in some instances became
current as genuine money. A vigorous
crusade against the manufacturers induced
them to alter their designs. Clusters of
coins for paper weights and for the tops of
candy boxes to make them look as if they
were OVERLOOKING with money are always
popular. OF the latter the secret service
captured and confiscated several thousand
during the last year. The counterfeiter has
found use Of his own for these clusters
When caught in the act Of making false
coins he Is provided with number of clus-
ters already put together. He points TO
them as evidence that he is simply engaged
in making clusters of coins for ornamental
purposes.
Among the limitations Of United States
money captured during the last year were
harness rosettes in the likeness Of the OBJ
verse of the standard silver dollar, tin
labels reproducing the reverse of the stand
ard dollar, hat sweat bands bearing notes
and coins and pocket book clasps of similar
patterns. In New York a large business is
done in the manufacture of lead disks for
use in cheating the nickel-in-the-slot mas
chimes. Some of these used to
bear an impression somewhat re-
sembling the diverse of a real scent
piece, but the authorities quickly put q
stop to this method Of ornamentation. So
the leaden pieces are now made plain, and
they have caused great loss TO the proprie-
tors of the machines, which few bits of
worthless metal will empty of several dol
lars worth of merchandise. 1t being dis
covered that the metal tags which come at
tached to packages of chewing tobacco are
just the size of dimes, many enterprising
persons utilize them for procuring the loan
of an opera glass at the theaters. With this.
of course, the government has nothing to
do. At one time great quantities o. paste
board money were circulated ia the south
and the secret service had much trouble to
gather ii in for burning
A PICTURE OF A 80 NOTE.
Quite recently the treasury detectives
grabbed picture of 81 uoUe in Newark.
It was reproduction on a large scale of
the face offs silver certificate, being two
feet long and executed with brush and
India ink by Philadelphia artist. A boot
maker had it on exhibition, with a sign
which read, ''$2 buys any shoe in this win
dow" Photographed down to the proper
eAAe IL WOulQ nave Deen very good 1mita-
ton of a real bill. A short time previously
there was captured an oil painting OF a silver
certificate for 81. The copying of the designs
on Uncle Sans currency seems TO be q
most fascinating employment, and no
amount of effort on the part of the govern
ment a7alls TO put stop 60 it OF ''fiashn
money there was confiscated during the last
fiscal year S2087 900, while Of criminal
oounterfeits only S25, 1000 was seized. Men
travel about the country with engraved
plates and solicit orders from business firms
Ior printing advertising hand bills bearing
al imitation OF part of a United States
note on one end These are turned out by
Tens OF thousands, one-third of each
land bill being an accurate repro
auction of bank bill while the
other two thirds are occupied by the
advertisement. One of these for S. was
passed on Chiraman not long ago. 1t was
issued by a cheap restaurant and bore q
printed bill of fare, including steak, 10
cents; ham and eggs, 10 cents; pie, ) cents;
coffee, cents, etc. Some time back there
appeared a base ball bank note with a
picture of the Chicago team on the back.
At one period dealers in postage stamps
published illustrated catalogues giving fac
smiles Of all the stamps issued by the
nations included in the postal union. One
ehterprising merchant counterfeited the
Isrer stamps on large scale. Great num-
Sefs OF d .eR and plates utilized for this pur-
pose were seized. However, the production
VI lake postage stamps for advertising pur-
poses still goes on, some Of them being ex-
eellent licensees of the originals and even
provided with rnuoiIa0a