The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1911-04-23

often even more carefully worked over
Inc men take, say, genuine SO gold
piece and cut about "a worth of good
metal out of II, generally from the CEN
ter, In one or two borings. This they
pocket, filling In the hole with a base
alloy which Is treated chemically so that
1t gives every appearance OF the gold
itself. Ring the coin or test the edge
and 1t seems good-and detection in work
like this is made a hundredfold harder
than in counterfeits where none of the
pure valuable metal is used. This is
the sort of work which the two men
arrested recently in Astoria are accused
of doing.
Another favorite habit of silver coun-
terfeiters is to take silver coins Of Cen
trail and South American republics.
which are many times below even our
silver in value, and strike them OF as
United States coins under a powerful
press which absolutely effaces the old
designs. The new coins are silver and
they look all right. The only fault is
that they are light in weight.
In the counterfeiting of paper money
there are four methods used much
oftener than any others. The first is
the copying Of notes by hand, putting
in every finest line and initiating every
silk thread in the paper of the original
with delicate pen and ink work. Some
Of these notes are done so carefully and
so accurately that they cannot be de-
tected with the naked eye. even by some
experts. The second method of making
counterfeit notes is the engraving of a
steel plate from which the bogus paper
is printed. This engraving must always
be done by hand: most Of the men who
have been caught at II have been expert
engravers, often graduates of some
governments treasury department. The
r "a Lii
last winter. and of which the nine men
arrested on December are alleged to
be members. was putting out work of
this sort-which so nearly Appropriated
the common bills of our daily circula-
ton that for months the counterfeits
were not even suspected.
Photo Engravings.
Photographic reproduction is the third
favorite method Of turning out counter
felt paper. At first thought 1t would
seem that this should be absolutely ac-
curate and that it should be most diff
cult Of all counterfeit work to detect.
but. strangely enough, IT is not so. II it
were the Secret Service might have a
hard time OF it. But as 1t is the photo
engraving process is not so good as the
oldfashioned hand system. The camera
reproductions are somehow weak and fiat
and can be easily detected.
The fourth method is the raising of
genuine bills and notes-taking S. bill,
for instance. and changing 1t to a ten.
The numerals are erased in the corners
and the blanks are then filed in so care
fully that time and again bank cashiers
and tellers have been fooled. 1t takes a
good man a whole day to change one
bill. Elves raised to tens are the most
frequent offenders of this sort The work.
man thus makes s. a day. Considering
the risk he takes, it isn't much.
These. in brief. are the chief methods
of the counterfeiters. There are two
ways for them to get spurious money in
Notwithstanding it or buying articles
with big bills or coins and getting good
money in exchange. The first is so dan
gerous that it is seldom done: with good
counterfeiters the second is surprisingly
safe.
And yet in almost every instance, in
spite of all care and all precautions,
counterfeiters are eventually run to
earth. Why? Three reasons: Bank, Sc
cret Service, and system.
In the long run most money in circu-
lation comes into the hands of some
bank. And there the counterfeit, good
or bad, eventually meets its downfall.
Tellers and cashiers handle so much cur
rency that they seem to be gifted with
second sight. Every once in a while, in
thumbing over a pile of bills or counting
a stack of coin, a teller will stop. scruti-
nize the thing in his hand and then lay
IL aside.
Here is where system comes in. Per-
haps he can tell at first glance whether
or not the money is bad. If so, he knows
what to do. But If he is doubtful he
goes to the back of his cage, where one