Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-11-13

ri RS. VILLA A. LEONARD Of the
MI Treasury Department is regarded
4V4 as one OF the foremost of authori-
ties in the detection of counterfeit money.
When Mrs. Leonard stamps Heretofore
eauivocal piece of money. good all
doubt which may have previously existed
in the minds of the Treasury officials is
removed If she decides the note is
counterfeit she so marks it, and 1t is for
warded to the secret service division, and
a train of investigation begun which. in
all probability, will lead to the capture OF
the cunning culprits who thus seek to de-
fraud Uncle Sam.
While some of the other experts in the
detecting of counterfeits in the Office with
Mrs. Leonard affirm that they rely largely
upon touch-the average spurious note,
owing to the process employed, having a
somewhat rougher surface-she herself
declares that this test is but a secondary
consideration and only used in conJunc-
ton with other methods of examination.
Some imperfection," said Mrs. Leon
ard, lis bound to exist in every counter
felt, and SyStematiZed examination is GER
tain to reveal it. No matter how skillful
the engraver of the counterfeit, or what
eminent in this wise, there is always a
apse-sometimeS exceedingly slight-from
true reproduction of the original OF
course, many of the spurious notes which
have been made have passed without
question the eyes of some Oh the most
astute business men in the country.
Zone reason why the test by touch is
not in itself. sufficient is the use of gem
uine paper by cOunterfeiters. The method
of bleaching one-dollar bills and engrav-
in nfhorWica raprn6noinr NV nhOfO-
mechanical methods notes of high de-
nominations has been much perfected OF
late, and neceSSitates the closest scrutiny
in order to detect the fraud. Other coun-
terfeits have become very much worn.
flannel rags as we say in the office, and
when paper money is in this condition it
is extremely difficult to make satisfac-
tory examination. Here knowledge,
inks used in the genuine bills wear is Of
assistance.
The coloring of. a note. the size and
the engraving work-especially the Wig
nette portrait-are points which usually
reveal the counterfeit. The ink may be
a fairly good imitation of that used on
the genuine notes. but the counterfeit
may be found to be thirty-second of
an inch shorter or longer, wider mar
rover than it should be. Or it may be
an exact copy in these respects. and
the detection be possible only in the en-
craving. | will venture to say that no
one has ever seen a perfectly engraved
counterfeit note And this despite the
fact that there have been some very ex-
pert engravers among the counterfeiters,
who. If they had followed their craft
legitmately, would have earned large
sums and never have come to the grief
which was the inevitable result of their
wrongdoing.
."rhe MISUNDERSTANDING note. series of
1859, was probably the cleverest of coun-
terfeits. This note was made on genuine
paper. which must have been obtained
bleaching notes of smaller de-
1t required two notes at
that time in this bleaching process as it
was only done in the case of the green
back, while now method has been
found to bleach an entire note. The notes
were split in two, the bleaching effected
and the two blank pieces deity united.
The counterfeit in question was made by
one of the most skillful engravers in the
world This note had only two small de-
fects-the figure of goddess ornament
ing its face had a badly drawn foot. and
in the vignette portrait the genuine note
showed perfectly round buttons on the
coat, but in the counterfeit the buttons
had slight corners on them.
1.-The one-thousand-dollar note. series
of 1868. which was the first issue of
SfeenDackS, Dy the way, leu 10 IL Hotdpie
counterfeit, which was actually accepted
at the. Treasury. The counterfeit notes
of that issue mostly passed in Texas
between cattle dealers. 1t took a long
time for them to reach our Office. for
they had first to go to the subtreasury
at Chicago. The only bad point of this
counterfeit lay in the spacing of the
letters in the word America The gem
uine note had space between two of
the letters, and this was lacking in the
counterfeit 1t would not have been SO
easy to pass such note today. however,
when we use the fiber paper.
"You have probably heard" continued
Mrs. Leonard, "of the OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
and fifty-dollar counterfeits made with