The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1910-12-11
SWEATING COINS
OF THEIR METAL
Nowadays Chemical Baths
Take the Place of Cruder
Plugging System.

A drilled or plugged" coin has be-
come something Of curiosity. Every
one remembers the Inconvenience OF
these mutilated coins. II was mat
ter of daily occurrence to ma one
self in possession OF q silver, gold or
even nickel coin defaced In this way.
Sometimes the hole was hlled with
some baser metal; often II was left
open. This system Of mudlatins coins
had the advantage. however. OF being
perfectly obvious. and no carefui per-
son need be deceived.
Nowadays the work OF defacing coins
r. reduced to a nne art. The old. crude
method OF plugging the coins win not
suffice. since the general public and
the government are far more intoler-
ant OF the practice than ever before.
II the precious metal Is to be robbed
from the coins Il must be done 20
cicverly that even the expert will be
deceived. II no longer pays to mutt.
late nickel or even silver coins, so, ex-
eept In exceptional cases. 1t II only
the gold coins which are mutilated.
This practice. commonly known as
Sweating" requires considerable skill.
and the ingenuity displayed Is often
amazing.
The "swcating" must be done In
such n way that the coin will appear
perfect. even to the closest observer.
The federal government will not per-
nit any gold coin to circulate the
weight Of which II below the point OF
legal tolerance. which is fixed at one
half Of per cent. II coin Is found
to be lighter than this II IL stamped
with q large l., to indicate its light
ness, and IL returned to the bank or
the individual who last handled II.
The only redress OF the owner Is to
have the coins sent to Washington to
be reminted. The owner must stand
the loss In weight, which is often con-
siderable. In cases where the coin
has been "sweated" an investigation
may follow, with criminal prosecution.
One Of tho most insidious methods Of
'sweating" and perhaps the most din
cult Of all to detect n the electroplat-
ing method. The gold coins are placed
in q chemical bath. and part Of the
gold II detached by electricity and de-
posted on some other object. In this
way tho gold II removed with perfect
evenncss from all parts Of the coin.
The letters and general design or the
milling may be slightly dulled in the
process, but only as 1t might be from
general wear and tear. The lightness
OF the coin will be detected by the
scales at the treasury. but In the mean
time such q coin may pass from hand
60 hand for q long time without arous-
ing suspicion. It II obviously exceed.
ingly dif1cult to trace the offender.
Another banning method 10 to split
the coin and remove the gold from
the inner surface. The hole ID then
filled up with some baser metal. SO
that the weight will be the same, and
tho two sides arc then welded together.
It II possible to take dollars worth Of
gold or more In this way from twenty
dollar gold piece. II the work be skill
fully done It In impossible to detect
such Q coin by its weight, and the only
clew will be in some naw In the mill
Ing. Naturally It takes q trained. ex-
perienced eye to pick out such a coin.
Meanwhile the gold piece has prob
ably circulated for days or even
months. and It 10 exceedingly difhcult
10 trace the offender.
One Of tho commonest methods Of
ssweating" n to shake up. number Of
gold coins In q chamois bag and pre-
serve the dust and microscopical parti-
cles which have been loosened. The
bag u nrst moistened, % that the gold
viii adhere to 1t, and II afterward
burned and the gold assayed. The
bruises or dents on the coins will ap-
pear to have been made In the ordi.
nary handling. The profit from this
treatment n small. but many people
seem to nnd profit In II. The question
arises II the ingenuity and labor thus
expended would not bring q larger re.
turn II devoted to some legitimate
work.
The men who handle the gold be.
come mArvelously expert in detecting
the 'sweated" coins. In handling mil.
lions Of dollars worth Of gold a de.
faced coin will rarely get past them
The coins are spread out In trays be-
fore them and turned over and the
light coins picked out. A slight daw
In the milling. . dulled appearance OF
the lettering or . suspicious nick on
the surface will be quickly identified
A . ilnal test the scales. which will
weigh . single hair. are resorted TO-
and II the slightest discrepancy can
Be found every coin II examined scpa
rately until the faulty one has been
discovercd.-New York Times.
a Tribute 20 Woman. ....
When everything around A man stac Q.