Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1911-06-29
Jewelry X

The use of coins in jewery is not so
| popular today as it was once, say the
| jewelers. Nevertheless coins are still
| used to some extent in this way, and
| that is why the Jewellers were a good
deal interested in a report from Den
YER recently that out there the local
head of the secret service had received
orders from the Treasury Department
| in Washington to see thai the Federal
| statute regarding the DETACHMENT of
| current coins was enforced
This law, which is section 5459 of the
Revised Statutes, has been d sort of
bugaboo for jewelers. for many years
because from time to time the use of
certain coins in iewelry has been fad
and not every jpWeier has been aware
just to what extent it came within the
law. OR instance. a man may have
one of the old gold dollars and have
a hankering to wear it IN his watch
ehaia. The simplest way Of doing this
is to take it to Jeweler and get him
to punch a hole in it.
No doubt there are good many
people who would be surprised at the
curt refusal they would &c: from most
jewellers if such a request was made
Should a jcweler accommodate YOU the
secret service man who caught YOU
wearing that punctured coin on your
watch chain could put you in Jail and
the teWeler, too, and il wouldn't make
a bit of difference how old the coin was
you we're wearing. Curiously enough
YOU would De in the same class with
the courterfeiter and the man who
plugs coins.
Not long ago when the Lincoln cents
first came out some of the jewelers.
here, struck by the artistic merit of
the coins and the popularity they met
with thought, il would be nice thing
To make use of them as jewelry. Their
idea was TO gild them to be used for
watch charms and brooches and pins
Then some of them happened TO
think of the law and decided to find
out how fal they could go. In respons.
to d letter written to District Attorney
Wise. MIR. Wise sent back word that
it was not his habit to give opinions
but act only on complaints hut in this
case for the benefit of the jewelers. he
would just quote the law to them. The
law lie quoted SAYS that any person
commits a crime who ''fraudulentIy by
any art, way or means defaces.
initiates impairs.. diminishes. falsi-
fes. scales or liShtens" the gold and
silver coins of the United States,
While this made no mention of copper
coins the jewelers. concluded not to
embellish the popular Lincoln cents in
any way and there the matter ended.
II often happens that somebody digs
up gold or silver coin of ancient vim
tage and gets a desire to have his
monogram nicely engraved on it for
use a s an ornament. jewelers. frequent
ly get requests To do such work. but
here again the law comes in. Cutting
d monogram on coin hghtens it and
again brings yeu INTO the class of those
who tamper with the currency.
on the other hand, suppose you
asked jeweler to cut gold dollar
in the shape of a diamond and make
a stick pin out of it. This he would
gladly do and with such pin in your
scarf you could walk into the Treasury
Building at Washington itself without
fear of molestation.
II 1Pdl st YOU NOulu nave HEltCnP1
your gold piece. but you would also
have destroyed it completely as a coin.
In 4 hard up moment you couldn't use
Your stick pin for carfare as you could
Your watch charm with your initials
on 1t. In one case Uncle Sam wouldn't
have word to say and in the other
case he could clap you III jail. All of
which shows how careful the jewelers.
have had to be in the many years that
haze passed since the Government
made laws to protect its currency.
We don't have much trouble with
this law now from the jewelers." said
Richard II. Taylor. the new head of
the local secret service, the other day.
Il don't remember when the last ar
rest was made for this sort of thing.
That is because the jewelers. some
Years ago We're thoroughly informed
as to the law and just how far they
could go toward making coins into
jewelry.
But while that is so we are always