Omaha daily bee., 1897-01-02
SPURIOUS COINS or VALUE.
Information About silver Dollars Not
IssucI hN the Mint.

1t is generally the case that false money
Is worthless money, says the New YORK
Times, but the Treasury department of the
United States is experiencing trouble with
silver dollars which in value come nearer
being genuine dollars than the coins struck
off at the federal mints. This Is due to the
fact that the silver in the standard dollar
is worth only about 80 cents which leaves
a tempting margin of profit for counter
feiters.
Only a few of these coins have reached
New York City, so far as Is known to the
street, or to the secret service office of the
United States. quite a number of them
may, however be In general circulation as
they are of such perfect workmanship and
of such fineness and weight that it is very
difficult to detect them
The combination of metals of which most
spurious coin Is made has false ring and
is softer than silver. drop on n marble
counter, or n bite of good strong teeth. will
often serve to show its spurlousness. There
is a tremendous profit i'm making silver
dollars out of lead and other cheap metals,
but the danger of detection has proved so
great that the counterfeiters are availing
themselves of the opportunity afforded by
the difference between the theoretical and
the actual dollar. Here the secret service
pople say was good chance, and 1t was
The new counterfelts are counterfeits
only In not having the sanction and au-
thority of the government They ring az
true and are as hard as the minted coin of
the nation, and have more silver In them
than the dollars that are issued by due
why, they are not counterfeits at ALL"
SAID one OF the employees at the Assay
office "If they are as good as our money.
how can they be countcrfeits?"
Ihls argument puzzled fellow-employe.
who scratched his head and finally sug-
gested that "lf Uncle Sam doesn't make
em, they are counterfeit, anyway; see?"
We'll, it's pity they wasted the extra
BIZ of silver they put in EN-" said tho
"Oh, they have so much of II out there
they don't mind putting in little extra"
andrew Mason, superintendent of tho
Assay office, said that most of the spurious
coin Is uttered In the extreme west and
he added that the danger was one the gov
ernmcnt would have 10 guard against so
value and the coin value of silver remained
30 great.
Experts say that the only reason the zoe
silver dollar has not been duplicated by
countcrfeiters before is because the ex-
pense OF getting heavy dies and rolling ma
chinefy Is very great, and the machinery
Is hard to conceal IT, II requires n very
heavy pressure TO make "A ccan-cut coin,
and II would be necessary TO operate the
noisy machinery Underground, or In some
remote place TO escape detection. AS soon
ns these difficulties could be met, and the
difference In value between the bullion and
the coined metal became great enough to
warrant the expense, the counterfclting OF
the silver dollar was begun. The spurious
limitations have been In circulation In the
west for several years They are grad
ually finding their way through the south
and Central states and some of them
occasionally get into the treasury at WASH
lngton,
one OF the experts said this is by far the
most dangerous form OF counterfeiting, be-
cause the money Is really good TO all ap-
pcarances, and offers TO the receiver OF IL
even more silver than there Is In the gov
ornmcnt money. II will be, he added. a
terrible lesson on the peril OF maintaining
tisan can duplicate with profit Of nearly
80 per cent.