The San Francisco call., 1897-05-29
SILVER,
I AND YET
SPURIOUS,
An Alarming Increase of
Counterfeit Half
Dollars.
GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS
NONPLUSED.
Pure Metal Used and Enormous
Profits Are Reaped
Thereby.
MEXICO THOUGHT TO BE THE
SOURCE.
Great Diffcu ty Experienced in Dis.
tinguiShng These Coins From
the Genuine.
MEXICO THOUGHT TO BE THE
SOURCE.
Great Diffcu ty Experienced in Dis.
tinguishng These Coins From
the Genuine.

The Government Secret Service officials
are confronted just now by a problem
which, though not altogether new to
them, has developed to such magnitude
and threatens such alarming results as to
intiict upon them considerable worry and
anxiety.
This disturbing problem is the discov-
cry thatthe flooding of the country with
counterfeit half-dollars-but half-dollars
made of pure sllver-is on the increase.
The exasperating feature OF these coun-
terfelts is their remarkable resemblance
TO the genuine article, and, in conse-
quence, the innocent handling of them all
over the country without detection of
their spuriousness- Being of silver they
naturally have the proper ring, the slip
perry feeling so noticeable in bogus coins
is conspicuous by its absence, and to any
but a trained eye they appear to be all
right. The banks receive them without
quest ton, and pass them out again into
the worlds traffic
1t was some two years ago since Uncle
Sam Hawkshaws first tlearned of this dan
gerous scheme for robbing the Government
OF It's profits of coinage, and the cleTerness
OF the scheme fairly staggered them.
They had found it comparatively easy to
get on the scent OF counterfeiters who
turned cut limitations in cheap metals,
and to run down the culprits. The bogus
coin was always so quickly detected and
invariably left ,tell-taIe tracks behind ii.
But here was a conspiracy of higher Or
der-so perfect, in fact, in its details as to
b ffle all efforts to trace il to its source.
during these past two years the Secret
Service AGENTS V9riOns of no
country have labored indefatigably to run
down the gang engaged in turning out
these half-dollars, but have met with
little or no success.
Several months ago they thought they
had a t1ew, which led them across the
broad Pacific in search of the supposed
Counterfeiter's den. Their information
was that it was located IN CHINA, but If it
was they ooaId not find it. Their latest
'tip' was to the effect that he spurious
mint was situated in Mexico, but they
have as yet been unable to develop any
thing definite out of it.
a rough estimate by those in authority
puts the amount OF these spurious silver
halt-doliars in circulation to close upon
$1,000 600. and that being the case the
profits OF the counterfejters must be tre-
mendous. These coins are spurious only
IN the sense that they are not authorized
or manufactured by the United States
Government. In other respects they are
pure enough. They have been assayed by
the ! cal Sub-Treasurer and have been
1OCnd 10 differ but slightly from the genu-
Inc haIf-dolIaT.
Where the ccunterfeiters' profits come
IN lie in the fact thai enough silver bullion
can be purchased right now in open mar
ket Tor a cents to make q haf-doIlar.
The consplrators have not a;tem pied to
turn out ary dollars, because there is so
much more In 1t Tor them TO stick to the
half-dollars. In the ordinary dollar there
are tnirty-two more grains of silver than
there are IN two half-d ollars. The coun-
tertelterS profits in issuing the latter are
a least 100 per cent on every coin
The Tact that the interj .ctIon of this
spuTIoas coin into general circulation has
developed alarming increase OF late is
worrying the authorizes most
al his Is one OF the most exasperat;ng
schemes we have ever had to deal with
said one OF the local Government agents
yesterday. The bogus character OF the
coins i so difficult TO detect that they pass
from hand to tand daily and the results
that when we get hold of them We find it
absolutely impossible to trace them back
TO their sources. 1t is only when they fall
into the SUBJ treasury that we have an OPP
portunltv to destroy them and put them
ou OF circulation. Bet, as you can read
lily see, it is only small percentage OF
them that ever reaches that place. We do
not know where the bogus money is being
manufactured and, tor that matter. do not
care-alI We wants 10 10 cate the den and
break up the business"
AT the sub-treasury it was stated yester-
day that not as many OF the spurious sill
yer half dollars received there nova
days as was the case some months ago
Formerly the. bulk of them were re-
ceiyed frem he banks and had been gath
cred in the course of collections from
everywhere, so ;hat there was no such
thing as tracing them back again to their
respective sources, even il that would have
done anysgogd. In these cases the SUBJ
treasurer would cancel the coins by multi
ating them i'll such a way that they could
not be used again. and they were in con-
sequence worth after that out their bull
lion. weight TO the bank-a loss of fifty per
cent The banks, finding that the coins
passed readily back into general circula-
tion, ceased 10 risk the loss incidental to