The evening times., 1896-07-08
COLD BRICKS WERE BOGUS
Ancient Bunco Game Involving
Well-Kn0wn Men Here.
TEST MADE AT THE MINT
Hackneyed Tale of Woe Related by a
Steerer's Victim Who Was Hardly
Able to Believe the Bars Were
Brass-He Got Them From an Art
zona Miner for Money.

Twos shining goid-colored bars each about
two feet long, supposed to tie worm about
$50 900, were yesterday taken to be test
ed At the Philadelphia Mint by w. II. Pen
nell, a consulting engineer, and another
gentleman II. whose name cannot be learned.
both of this city.
They departed some time later from the
mint, one Of them a Poorer and wiser mar,
with faith shaken in mankind and one
Arizona minerin particular. whoh had worked
upon him the ancient but ever new gold
brick game TO the tune of considerable
money.
The bars are not gold; they are simply
ingots of brass, covered with several coats
of ordinary gold paint, and If sold would
not bring enough money to buy their
owner suit OF clothes.
In this case the victim was not an un-
sophisticated farmer. but q man weIiknown
in this city. well dressed, intelligent and
well off. Mr.. Pennell is his friend. and
was as confident that the bars were bogus
as the other man was that they We're pure
gold.
Mr.. Pennell, who was willing to wager
sixteen to one, proved to be right.
Into the mint the two walked yesterday
morning, carrying the gold bars, which
were carefully wrapped in cotton flannel
and oil cloth covers. The latter were for
the purpose of keeping the dumpness from
tarnisi.ng the gold. They took the bars to
the acting assayer. who pronounced them
bogus while the covers were being removed.
NOT so HEAVY AS GOLD.
The two men were astonshed at this state
ment, in view of the fact that they had not
even disclosed the bars to view. How do
you know they are Not gold when you
haven't seen them?" was the natural. query.
because you couldn't carry gnld par the
size of that" was the instant reply. .'Ir
tint bar was gold it would be tno heavy for
you to have brought to this office in your
arms
This bad news confirmed Mr.. Pcnncirs
fears. but the owner OF the bricks could not
lave had his hopes thus quickly dispcled
He was sure the bars were gold. To satisfy
him thorough test was made. Porings
from the liars were placed in glass vessels
and the usual chemical was poured On them.
The vessel was then subjected TO heat, and
presto! the gold in the glass was nil.
the man who owned the bars stood
watching the test with eager eyes. And
then, when the falsity OF the metal WIS
proven he was brought to the unhappy
realization of the fact that he had teen
buncoed. He requested permission to leave
| the bars at the mint until he sent for hem,
and left the place q sadder. wiser man
When asked how the bars came into his
| possession he told a story similar to that of
many another victim. He said that miner
| In Arizona had borrowed money from him to
| use-in improving his mining property and
had given the supposed gold bars as col
| lateral.
When the time came to convert them
| into money he took them to Director Pres
| ton. at the Mint Bureau, in this city. The
| assayer there was not i'll his office at the
| time. and Mr.. Pennell sa VS. that Eorings were
| then sent to Columbian University. where
they were examined by chemist and said
| to be Z . per cent pure gold.
BARS NOT NUMBERED.
This was reported to Director Pres
ton who told the men that if they had
| gold to dispose of the mint was the proper
place to take it.
Mr.. Pencil was not willing to believe
that the bars were genuine, however, end
reported the circumstances Of the case to
SctItt De men tutD
! took the bars to Philadelphia, with the
above result.
| The bars are not shaped like government
bricks, but are long and barrow. They
! do not bear u Dumber, as every govern
ment bar does, and while the color is de-
| ceptive enough to make the average Oh
| servant believe them genuine, it did not
take the mint officials long to see that
| they were not.
1t is q singular coincidence that nearly
| all the brass bars brought to the mint
and they come every five or six months
| have the same size holes in them, where
/ they have been bored. They areipvariably
brought, too, in the same sort of cover
ing, and these facts make it look as though
the same party was working many vic
Tins. notwithsta nding the alertness of the
secret service officials. The Arizona
miner story is one OF the standby tales
There is evidently some Arizona miner
real or fake, who knows a thing or two
aside from the best way to handle pick
/ and shovel.