Clarke courier. [volume] (Berryville, Va.) 1869-1997, 1910-12-07
SWEATING COINS.
Gold Pieces C!everly Robbed of
Their Precious Metal.
THE SYSTEM IS A FINE ART.
Nowadays Chemical Baths. Splitting
and Abrasion Take the Place of the
Older and Cruder Pluggins-Brand-
ing The Lightweight Money.

and Abrasion Take the Place of the
Older and Cruder Pluggins-Brand-
ing the Lightweight Money.
A drilled or plugged coin has be-
come something OF a curiosity. Every
one remembers the Inconvenience OF
these mutilated coins. II was a mat
ter Of daily occurrence 10 find one
self In possession of a silver, gold or
even nickel coin defaced in this way.
Sometimes the hole was filled with
some baser metal: often II was left
open. This system OF mutilating coins
had the advantage. however. of being
perfectly obvious. and no careful per
son need be deceived.
Nowadays the work Of defacing coins
is reduced to a fine 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 10 be robbed
from the coins Il must be done so
cleverly that even the expert VIII be
deceived. 1t no longer pays to mutt
late nickel or even silver coins. so. ex-
cept I'm exceptional cases. IL Is only
the gold coins which are mutilated
This practice. commonly known as
sweating" requires considerable skill
and the ingenuity displayed is often
amazing.
The sweating" must be done in
such a way that the coin VIII appear
perfect, even TO the closest observer.
The federal government VIII not per
nit any gold coin TO circulate the
weight Of which is below the point OF
legal tolerance. which is fixed at one
half OF per cent. II a coin is found
70 be lighter than this II is stamped
with large L. 20 indicate its light
ness. and is returned 10 the bank or
the individual who last handled it
The only redress of the owner Is to
have the coins sent to Washington to
he 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 the most insidious methods OF
sweating and perhaps the most diff
cult OF all TO detect is the electroplat-
ing method. The gold coins are placed
in a chemical bath. and part OF the
gold is detached by electricity and de
posted on some other object. In this
way the gold is removed with perfect
evenness 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 a coin may pass from hand
10 hand for long time without arous-
ing suspicion. X is obviously exceed
ingly difficult TO trace the offender.
Another battling method is TO split
the coin and remove the gold from
the inner surface The hole is then
filed up with some baser metal. so
that the weight viii be the same. and
the two sides are then welded together
II is possible to take dollars worth OF
gold or more in this way from n twenty
dollar gold piece. II the work be skill
fully done ii is impossible 10 detect
such coin by its weight. and the only
clew will be In some haw in the MILL
ing. Naturally it takes a trained, ex-
perienced eye 10 pick out such a coin
Meanwhile the gold piece has prob
ably circulated for days or even
months. and 1t is exceedingly difficult
TO trace the offender.
One OF the commonest methods Of
sweating" is TO shake up number OF
gold coins In a channels bag and pre-
serve the dust and microscopical parti
Giles which have been loosened. The
bag is first moistened. so that the gold
will adhere TO IL, and Is 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 Is small. but many people
seem to find profit in ii. The question
arises if the ingenuity and labor thu:
expended would not bring a larger re
turn If 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 TIT
light coins picked out A slight flaw
in the milling. dulled appearance o
the lettering or a suspicious nick OF
the surface will be quickly identified
AS a final test the scales. which vii
weigh a single hair. are resorted &c
and II the slightest discrepancy ca
be found every coin is examined sepa
rately until the faulty one has bee
discovered.-New York Times.