Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-02-12
C0UNTERFE1T MONEY
A SECRET SERVICE 1eENr GIVES
INTERESTING FAcTs.
Some Points by Which Bad Notes May
Be Easily Detected Even
by the Layman.

| ~ SAS AudA~
1T read an article in The Star recently
about the different issueY of counterfeit
| notes." said United States secret service
| man to a Star reporter this morning, land
| it reminds me Of some, additional facts
about counterfeiters-how they work, the
results of our pursuits of these sly crimi-
nails, the blunders they make in executing
their goods, how to detect counterfeits,
both bills and coins, a few useful hints
about genuine and spurious money, which
any one can apply, and some government
tests which Will be Of value to the public.
There was something doing among coun-
terfeiters last year in this country, and the
secret service men gave them good run
for their money. We arrested All persons
for the manufacture and having in their pos
session counterfeit coin; sixty-four more for
having In their possession, dealing in, pass
ing ana attempting to pass counterfeit
paper money, and sixty-two for altering or
raising government obligations. OF those
arrested by our men 253 were convicted at
the trial. and many cases in which convic-
pending.
Some Of the blunders and errors COM
mltted by the counterfeiters of our paper
money are as remarkable as they are anus
Ing, while one common way of raising
notes Is so easy that it should be at once
oetecteo py handlers Of money. On a $40
note the figure may be pasted over the
figure l wherever 1t appears, but the diff
ference In the body Of the note ought to be
enough to make person catch on at once
So many people, in their haste look only
at the numbers that these raised notes
pass through many hands before they are
caught up
Errors Counterfeiters Make.
Some of the counterfeit treasury notes
IN circulation are such accurate limitations
that only experts can tell the difference,
while one issue Of the $40 note was 50 dan
gerous that the Treasury Department had
1t photographed, with the defects noted. A
good general rule to tell a counterfeit by
the number Is this
The number on a United States note Ia
large ana conspicuous. Thus the number
OF the II silver certificate 1 hold In nv
nanc appears in two places, above the blue
seal on the right hand of the face of the
note and below the blue 81 mark on the left
mana slde. All numbers on all notes are
preceded by a capital letter. as A. B. G. d
without periods following
VOW the government follows this rule as
10 10 the numbers on its notes, as well as can
pc explained off-hand. All numbers on
being divided by four and leaving one for
remainder are preceded by the letter A :.
al with have two for remainder. and
al al with have three for a remainder.
AASii ehCic HS HO REMAINDER, or the remain
der Is an even number the preceding letter
IS u. 1t Is apparent, therefore, that ali
NUMBERS on a note which do not conform
" Inns RUE may be viewed with suspicion.
ana may be counterfeits-
NOW, for some of the curious freaks and
breaks made by counterfeiters in executino
notes aside from poor paper, poor execu.
Ion, PAD color, deficient size, ETC. The
great common defects in the execution of
counterfeits are omissions, in smelling and
IN m the misplacins Of words, figures, scrolls,
Look at Your Notes Carefully.
In one issue of the s. notes the word
Treasury is spelled Trashy On one no
counterfeit the word this is spelled this !,
and on another note It appears as TINS /,
The engravers of counterfeits often run q
line or few words Of a line together with
out spacing. In one Issue, several of tho
words In the line. This note Is a legal
note is illegal tender forten dollars.' an ers
ror which ought to be discovered at once
upon even quick examination
Other counterfeits omit such important
words as Series Of while even the titles
OF the Treasurer of the United States and
Register of the United States beneath the
names Of these officials have been left off
Such defect is glazing, but it has been
oLteh ilade, ana II makes one wonder where
the mind of the counterfeiter was at the
time. o. 'Ae
There is $40 counterfeit note which
is very dangerous. but it may be detected
by observing whether the 'X2OX' in the
border Is printed in that manner, or thus.
Xxx. The latter is the counterfeit. This
counterfeit was struck from engraved
plates. and it is SO well done that It Is A
mystery now the engraver overlooked the
intervening '2G on the genuine note
In a very clever counterfeit of the $40
note the counterfeiter forgot to insert so i'm
portant sentence as Act of March 8, $685.
and made other omissions Of Importance
On some issues the words Engraved at the
Bureau of Engraving and Printing and
Bureau OF Engraving and Printing, Wash
lngton, d. c. are omitted, and it is these
errors and omissions In counterfeit notes
that assist In leading to the detection of
counterfeit notes by money handlers. as
they are not noticed by the general public.
Principal Features of Counterfeits.
Some counterfeiters reverse numbers as
001 on the 500 notes. On one IS counter
felt 'pluribus' is spelled 'plurbus,' and on
another dollar is spelled 'ddllar.' The
word Register has been spelled 'Regist,'
while on other bills the comma after Wash
ington' has been omitted, as well as the
period after d. and c. On $40 coun-
terfeit an amusing error occurs in spelling
the word Treasurer as 'Troosurer,' and
Engraved, as 'Engrooved.'
''Other principal features about counter
Ieit nOteS IS tnat the parallel SILK thread
lines In the genuine paper are initiated by
pen and ink marks, and ceverly. done, too.
The treasury seal which appears on all
notes Is an important element in detecting
counterfeits, 1t Is often imperfectly exc
cuted and poorly colored. The printing and
coloring of all genuine notes, both as to the
note itself and the seal. are pretty nearly
alike, as there is large force Of women
experts in the bureau Of engraving and
printing whose sole duty 1t Is to pass upon
the notes when printed, and to reject all
which are printed too dark. too faint or too
light, perfect uniform shade being striyen
for; while the coloring Of the SEAL Impress
ed at the treasury Is perfect on all notes
Counterfeiters will send out these imperfect
ly printed notes, taking the chance of get
ting rid Of them on the unsuspecting. There
fore, where the printing of the body of the
note. and the tint Of the seal fall below
standard, the eye of the money handler
ought to see the difference at once.
1.-THE paper, too, is softer and poorer than