Evening journal., 1898-01-04
DANGEROUS COUNTERFEIT.
IT IS A 500 SILVER CERTIFICATE,
WITH HEAD OF MONROE.


THE WORK is VERY CAREFUL |
AND WHILE THERE IS NO AP-
PREC1ABLE DIFFERENCE TO
THE CASUAL OBSERVER, A GLASS
REVEALS SEVERAL.
Local bankers and business men are
on the lookout for one of the most
dangerous counterfeits that has ever
been discovered. 1t is a 500 counter
felt silver certificate, head of President
Monroe. Their general appearance is
excellent, and after close examination
the officials of the Treasury cashroom,
at Washington, were undecided as to
their genuineness, and only after the
notes had been soaked in hot water
when the two pieces forming tho front
and back Of the note came apart, were
they convinced of the fraud On exam
ination of the days Treasury cash an
other of the spurious notes was dis
covered. The notes taken to Washing
ton by John Cramer, of the sub-treas-
ury at Philadelphia, had been turned
into the sub-treasury by two leading
banks and the Philadelphia Custom
House, who had received them as
genuine. Agents of the secret service
everywhere have been wired a de-
scriptiOn of the notes, with instruc-
tions to be on the lookout for persons
attempting TO pass them. Inquiries
have also been sent to all the leading
cities as to whether any Of the notes
have appeared other than in Philadel-
phia and Washington, and the best
men in the service will be put on the
case.
Following is a description Of the
note as furnished by tho secret service:
The note is of the series of 1891, check
letter d. face plate 1, Tillman, regis
ter; Morgan, treasurer; portrait, James
Monroe. All numbers so far seen
begin with 345. The most marked diff
ference between this note and the gen
uine, however, is found in the seal
and the numbering, the former being
shade lighter than in the genuine
and the latter slightly different in for
nation. Especially is It's true of the
and 4. In the figure the lower loop
does not extend up as far toward the
centre Of the figure as in the genuine,
and in the figure the space between
the base and the centre cross line is
narrower than in the genuine. One Of
the principal points of difference,
however, is that the new counterfeit
IS 1-16 of an inch or less shorter than
the genuine.
The chief engraver at the Bureau Of
Engraving pronounced the counter
felt a very dangerous production It
was engraved on steel and printed ON
two pieces of paper pasted together
after cOlored silk fibre had been dis
tributed between them. The work, he
said, was that of a very careful and
| excellent engraver. and while there
was no appreciable difference between
the genuine note and the counterfeit
to the casual observer, under a glass
many slight differences were discoy-
cred These, however, were extremely
difficult Of description
In view of the dangerous character
of the counterfeit, Secretary Gage yes
terday decided to stop issuing and to
call in all 500 silver certificates, OF
which there are about S26,O00,00 out
standing. These will be exchanged for
silver certificates of smaller denomina-
tions. and the plates destroyed. As
soon as new plates can be engraved a
new series will be issued. Assistant
treasurers at all of the sub-treasury
cities will be required to send to the
Treasury in Washington an 800 silver
certificates i'm their pOssesisOn, and to
request all banks, trust companies and
other mOneyed institutions TO do the
/ same.
Secretary Gage desired the state
ment made that, in his judgment, it
was unsafe for business men or others
to accept silver certificates of this de-
nomination, and in case any were now
on hand they should be sent to the
banks for transmission TO Washing
| ton.