Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-01-27

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ANN ~ of false silver and
~-h tE&SO gold--more especially
u U3lt Nh .$SS<S, the former-is a
| .IfNLLTt-Nlyrf$H b more hourishing in
hEH E$a% dustry now than ever
NN ~ before. The imita-
q1 ton of gold pieces is
lM'l tH done chiefly on the
Pacific slope, where
the yellow metal Is commonly handled as
currency. In the east there is comparative
ly little Of it in circulation, and for that
reason such of ii as passes from hand TO
hand is closely scrutinized. No really first
rate counterfeit of a gold coin is at pres
ent extant, says Chief Drummond of the
secret service.
The game practiced by a gang captured
in Chicago the other day was wholly new.
They made money by clipping double eagles
in a manner ingenious as 1t was novel
The process consisted in slicing of a rim
from each $50 piece. as a tire might be re-
moved from a wheel The corrugated
edge. called the "reeding, being removed in
cidentally. the mutilated coin was then re-
reeded in a machine. Thus its appearance
was perfectly restored. only the diameter
being altered. Nothing wrong with 1t was
discoverable by the casual observer. OF
course, the faces were unaltere0.
The persons engaged in this remunerative
enterprise, for the sake of prudence, con-
tented themselves with moderate profits
They took care not to rob any single coin
Of more than 81 of its intrinsic value.
Nevertheless. they were caught after hav-
ing treated and restored to C rculation 900
double eagles. representing $4,000. Five
hundred dollars worth of them reached the
treasury at Washington last week, for
warded by a Chicago bank which desired
paper money in exchange That financial
institution had not noticed anything wrong
about them. or course, they will be re-
deemed as SO much bullion, to be after
ward melted and reminted.
Sweating Gold Coin.
In their aim for modest gains these peo-
pie initiated sweaters of gold coin, who are
usually satisfied with stealing about as
cents worth of metal from each SO piece
Employing the electric battery, this pro-
cess removes a thin coat from the entire
surface of the double eagle. which, to the
average Individual has as good an appear
ance as before 1t underwent the operation.
1t is only the trained eye that takes note
Of suspicious brightness while to the
touch the normal Irregularities seem to be
smoothed down. A method preferred by
other criminals is to cut hole in the edge
OF the coin, through which a part of the
metal from the interior Is taken out by
boring. The cavity is then filled with lead
and the place where the opening was is
concealed with coating of gold. This is
a sort of drift mining on a very small
scale, but yielding sure results, the ore be-
ing 80 per cent pure.
False silver Coins.
While the counterfeiting of gold is not
conducted on an extensive scale, the bust
ness of making false silver coins is going
on continually all over the United States.
The attractiveness of the industry consists
largely in its simplicity. 1t requires little
skill and no apparatus worth mentioning.
Anybody can make a plaster-of-paris mold
from a cartwheel dollar and thus turn out
licensees of the coin. using a mixture of
base metals as raw material Recipes for
mixtures suitable for the purpose are pass
ed about in penitentiaries and other penal
are mostly educated in prisons Having
learned the trade while In durance vile,
new apprentices start in for themselves as
soon as they are set at liberty. In this
way chiefly has knowledge of the art been
| spread.
Criminal Immigrants.
The immigrants whom Uncle Sam so hos
pitably welcomes to these shores are very
commonly criminals in esse or in posse.
Many of them find ccngenial employment
In initiating the natioral currency. This
applies particularly to Italians. Two-thirds
of the foreign counterfeiters In this country
are Of that nationality. They do the work
largely in their bed rooms, melting the me-
tallic composition in a pot on the stove and
filling the molds with a pewter ladle. The
| STUFF" is showed to a great extent by ven
ders of peanuts and fruit. They enjoy ex-
ceptional facilities for getting rid of bogus
dimes and quarters. In dealing with these
peddlers one does well to scrutinize ones
change closely. Recently a number of such
peripatetic merchants were brought to JUS
| tice in Chicago. The district attorney
there procured some of his evidence by
handing a dollar to a banana man in pay
ment for a ten-cent purchase. The entire
lot OF silver returned to him was counter
felt.
The Doodle Carrier.
| safer method, commonly adopted by the
Italians for passing bad silver, is that In
which the Doodle carrier figures. His title
sufficiently describes the part he takes In
the performance. Following along behind
the man who acts as shower" he keeps the
latter supplied with a single coin at time
The shower" having got rid Of one, meets
his confederate at the next corner and re-
ceives another. If caught, he has no other
counterfeit money in his possession and can
plead ignorance No wonder that these sons
of Italy get rich and return to their native
land after few years, to spend the rest OF
| c.
| Missouri has as many petty counterfeiters
as any state in the Union, but in that part
of the country this business claims the at
| tention of native Americans almost ex-
clusively. False money is largely circulated
in the south, where almost anything that
bears a reasonably close resemblance to the
national currency is readily accepted
Dangerous Counterfefts.
Several dangerous silver counterfeits are
in general circulation in this country at
present. The most successful OF them all is
the hard dollar" as 1t is called. 1t is such
a perfect imitation of the original coin that
its appearance will deceive an expert on
close examination. Even the acid test It
withstands. Though a couple Of grains
light, abrasion might be supposed to &C
| count for that. In short, there is no way of
proving 1t bad except to cut deep into it and
then apply the acid. Obviously, 1t would
scarcely be practicable to employ this meth
cd of inquiry with every "plunk" that one
handles. This piece, which may be consid-
cred the finest coin counterfeit ever pro-
duced. was struck with dies and afterward
plated in silver. OF the latter metal IL ha :
a coating worth 20 cents. In imitation silver
powdered glass Is ordinarily utflizad 70 ,,va