The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-07-18
LEAD HALF DOLLARS.
Matson Charged with
Passing Counter
felt Money.
FAIRLY GOOD PRODUCTIONS.
Coins Lighter Than the
Real Article and Bear
the 1895 pate.
FAIRLY GOOD PRODUCTIONS.

John Matson, formerly a clerk in the
Finlanders' Grocery Union, and now
employed at the Grove street works Of
the Washburn & Moen wire company,
was arrested last night by Sergt. Hill
and Officer Joseph Barker on a charge
of passing counterfeit money.
Eight half dollars from a compost
ton of lead and some other metal were
also collected by the officers as evil
dence against Matson.
Matson lives at 80 Lincoln street, and
until two months ago was. in addition
to being a shareholder in the Finnish
Grocery Union, a clerk at the store on
Grove street. Sergt Hill and officer
Barker claim that Matson has been
using his position as clerk in the store
as means of getting rid of the spuri-
Gus money.
Alexander Halon was probably the
first man to discover the counterfeit
half dollars in Matson's possession and
told the officers yesterday afternoon
that about two months ago he went
into the Finnish Grocery Union store
and asked Matson to change a 50 bill.
Matson took the bill and instead of
changing it from the till, put his hand
in his pocket and gave Halon back
81 bill and two half dollars.
Halon took the half dollars up in his
hand and after looking them over
thought they didn't look like the real
production turned out of the United
states mint. He placed one of them
between his teeth, and as he succeeded
in sinking his molars into the coin on
both sides, he passed the coins back to
Matson, and remarked that it was a
bad idea for him to attempt to pass
them en- any one, as he might get into
trouble.
Matson took the coins back and gave
Halon a bill. Halon did not give the
matter another thought until last Sat
urday. when Matson and several other
members of the Worcester Finnish
Temperance Society sat down to play a
game OF cards for cigars. Matson lost
the game several times, and always
paid for the cigars with half dollars.
Several members of the organization
remarked that it was strange that he
should always pay for the cigars with
half dollars, but Matson replied that
he was a wealthy man and could af-
ford to spend money.
Later in the night, when the man in
charge ot the cigar case counted up his
receipts Cor the night, he found that
he had four bogus half dollars in his
possession. Halon was told about the
matter, and after seeing the coins no.
ticed that one of them showed where
1t had been bitten. He recognized it as
the one Matson tried to pass on him.
Halon asked Matson up to his house,
on Orchard street, a few days later,
and accused him of passing the money.
At first Matson denied that he passed
any bad money, and later said that he
did pass lead half dollar on a Turkish
barber on Thomas street. Halon
talked the matter over with him for a
while and finally Matson admitted that
he did pass the four half dollars on the
man in charge of the cigar case. Off
Ger Barker was informed of the matter
and with Sergt Hill started out to look
for Matson yesterday afternoon.
He was located at his work in the
Grove street mills, and was taken to
station /, where he was booked for
passing counterfeit money. The off,
GERS afterward went to the Finnish
grocery store and there secured four
more bogus half dollars from Manager
Anderson, which they took along With
them A search of Matsons home was
made by the officers with the inten-
ton of getting hold of the mould tine
coins were made in, if possible, but the
search was without success.
The coins are fairly good productions,
but are lighter than the genuine coin.
Every one of the eight found bears the
1895 date, and this leads the officers to
believe that the coins were all made in
the same mouldA 1t is supposed that
many of them have been passed on uE
suspecting people.