People's party paper. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1891-1898, 1897-01-22
COUNTERFEIT MARKET.
Paris Has Regular Exchange Where
Walters May Buy False Coin.


Walters May Buy False Coin.
Any counterfeiter can, after few
experiments, succeed in turning out
of base metal coins. more or less
perfectly resembling the valuable
currency of any country. This is
the easiest part of the whole fraudu-
lent business. The most difficult and
the most dangerous part of it is to
get the spurious tokens into circula-
ton, and for this purpose he is
bound to have recourse to the serv-
ices of accomplices. There is no
business that affords such facilities
for the disposal of bad money as
that of the restaurant or cafe waiter.
1t is so easy when changing $40
bill to surreptitiously substitute a
bad dollar, SO cent piece or quarter
among the change, for as rule the
customer merely glances at the
coins and slips them into his pocket
without verifying them.
In Paris there is a false money
market where walters procure their
store of bad coins. It is, OF course,
held secretly There is regular
traffic, and the sharpers know ex-
actly.what they will receive for the
real money they are prepared to in
vest. Thus a spurious 5 franc piece
fetches from 2 francs to 2 francs 30
confines, according to the excellence
of it's imitation. Two franc pieces
cost from so to rs centimes and 1
franc pieces 25 confines.
Bad gold coins are rarely seen
there. The explanation of this is
that, apart from the fact that the
manufacture of them is very costly,
it requires considerable scientific
knowledge, and this the ordinary
counterfeiter rarely possesses.
European continental walters are
past masters in the art of passing
off false OF demonetized coin. They
rarely seek to dupe habitues of the
establishments where they are en-
ployed, but generally select foreign
ers or casual customers as their vic
TINS.
The traffic is carried on especially
in restaurants that are open all
night. When the customer partakes
freely Of wines and liquors at sup
per after the theater and the bill
is presented, he always pockets the
change mechanically, and even if
he keeps a cool head he does not like
to examine the change in front of
the lady or ladies he is entertaining,
This the waiter knows full well
and profits accordingly.
Should the customer return after
once leaving the place and complain
to the proprietor the waiter natural
ly denies his guilt, and there is an
end of the matter. In this case,
however, the rascal knows that the
proprietor will keep an eye upon
him and is careful not to try the
trick again for some time or else to
leave and take another place where
he can continue his swindling oper-
atoms.
Extra waiters-those engaged for
a day or two during the "rush' or
holiday periods--are the most auda-
cious utterers of false coins. During
international exhibitions the I'M
scrupulous thieves reap a rich har-
vest. In the cafes at the last Worlds
fair in Paris many of them had the
temerity to procure a quantity of
little gold colored tin checks, about
tho size and thickness of a 20 franc
piece, that were given away as an
advertisement by one of the places
of entertainment the grounds and
use them to cheat the public.
On an average two false coins are
received every day for examination
at the Paris mint. Those that are
not too greatly spoiled in testing are
added to q collection in the museum
of the mint. This collection is said
to be very large and very curious,
but access to the museum is prohib-
tied to the public. York Her
aid.