The Opelousas courier., 1894-05-26
- OUNTERFEITERS are worry
inn fha Gouornman4 Iatnntiyes

-Wor-~:.~4 ,.o T-.,--r-
- OUNTERFEITERS are worry
ing the Government detectives
~ with a new departure. They
are flooding the country with
small notes and certificates altered
into big ones, the work being so we'll
done as to render them most danger
Gus. Many of them are :Sraised' with
such art as almost to defy scrutiny,
lacking a magnifying glass. They will
pass anywhere short of a bank. Some
of them are produced by FASTING over
the UNCONVENTIONAL numbers other
figures cut out of internal revenue
stamps, with no attempt techange the
value of the piece of money as ex-
pressed in words on the face and back
of it. But these are comparatively
crude. The formidable forgeries of
this kind are turned out by experts
who transform both words and figures
by methods so skilful as to command
admiration.
At the office of the secret service
Chief Drummond exhibited what
looked so much like a $40 silver GER
tifcate that not one man in thousand
would hesitate to accept it. NevefI,he-
less, it was in reality only 81 expertly
altered. The big figure indicating
the denomination was in each case re-
placed by an N taken from a real ten
dollar bill. That is to say, the nu-
neral, together with the oval bit of
lathe-engraving containing it, was cut
out of a certificate for $40 and so art
fully inlaid in the paper of the one
dollar greenback as to leave no traces
of the operation visible to the naked
eye. OF cours the ten-dollar bills
thus mutilated could easily be treated
so as to disguise the purpose of the
mutilation, and then sent to the Trea-
sury at Washington for redemption.
In this simple n plenty of
Uncle Sans engravings could be util-
lied without expense for patchwork.
The words Gone Dollar" on the face
of the bill described were altered by
putting "Ten' in the place of One"
the spot where the rs" ought to
go at the end of the dollar being so
defaced by scratching with a sharp
knife as to make it look as if
the ''S'' had been rubbed off by some
accident. Along the edges of the GER
tificate and particularly in the corners
the ink was carefully smesred in such
a manner as to render the wording of
the denomination indistinguishable.
All this must have required a good
deal of labor, but it represented a
clear gain of SO. This product of
criminal industry was the work of a
man named Freeland and his wife,
who were caught at it and arrested in
Chicago the other day.
In similar ways silver certificates of
81 and 50 are raised to S. and $40;
Treasury notes of 81 are altered to SO,
and National bank notes are changed
from 81 to $50. Ordinary cigar stamps.
in many instances, furnish figures for
the patchwork. Some of these met
amorphosed pieces of money have
been circulated widely before being
detected, and it is probable that thou
sands of them are now passing unsus-
pected from hand to hand. People
ought to be warned to look out for
them Those of them which fall into
the hands of the Government are re-
deemed at their original face value.
This sort of crime has been practiced
to some small extent in the past, but
during the last year it has suddenly
become alarmingly prevalent. It's in
crease is believed to be due mainly to
the difficulties which have been placed
in the way of initiating United States
currency. Counte,feiters cannot sue
cessfully reproduce the fiber paper and
machine engraving of Government
securities they find altering easier.
Another form of counterfeiting which
has obtained a sudden and remarkable
development of late is the gliding of
silver coins for fraudulent purposes.
No sooner did the new twenty-five cent
piece appear than its design suggested
todishonest persons the idea of trans
it into a 80 gold piece by the
process of plating it with gold.
The words SsQuarter Dollar" being OBJ
liberated by means of a punch, the sill
yer piece when coated with the yellow
metal will pass very well as an eagle.
But this method is improved by striking
put only the Quarter and soldering
TO the coin in its place three small
making the word 'sTen," an
rs" being added in the same fashion
On the end of the "Dollar." Then it
only remains to do the plating, and
the profit is about S $50. In like
manner a dime is changed into q S.
gold piece.
False eagles and half-eagles of this
description have already been circu-
.ated in great numbers. AS a rule they
IRE passed without difficulty. Big
profits have undoubtedly been made
BY those engaged in the industry.
The business requires little skill and no
extensive plant. 1t may be carried on
most convenient privacy. ALI that
Is needed is a small tank, some cyanide
potash for a solution, q few feet of
wire and a little battery. How
ever, an ordinary electric light cur
rent will do. The process is simply
hat of plating, the coin being at
;ached to one end of the wire and a
piece of gold at the other end. Both
ends are immersed in the potash So
and the current being turned
.-llo 1901 Woeh;pr4op Cfor