The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1911-10-20

G2AHSEHl4 of relics made by
government. There
are many more such specimens, Each
one IN some manner bears the pattern
OF a bill or coin minted for circular
ton in the United States.
h collection exists because many
years ago a painting of three SIS bills
hung in a dingy Bowery saloon. A
man with enormously large hands
caught sight of the delicate and &C
curate tracery of the artists brush.
Each day he went into the bar the
picture was before him. Finally a
curious freak Of criminal pyscology
gripped him, and within a year he was
pen etching the most dangerous
t~erfeits with which the secret service
has probably ever had to deal.
That painting, innocent in itself,
pointed the way and the ease with
which queer bills might be etched
with a pen on bond paper instead OF
on canvas said Captain Moran, act
ing chief of the secret service. explain
ing why such an apparently arbitrary
confscatton should be made, as in the
case of the tin box cover.
"Of course, nobody believes that
this box cover could eve be passed
as money" continued the captain. but
you know how youngsters who read
the old penny dreadfuls go out and
try to rob and kill because it appears
easy in the stories. This Is much the
same thing. Only this is much more
dangerous. The man with he big
hands got away with his counterfeit
ing game for a long time.
Then, too, In the case Of this box
top, on which the printed face Of the
what damage could be done If counter
felt bills were struck from this en-
graved plate.
This box was designed for a Christ
mas candy receptacle. l AVE found
that It was made In Santander. Spain,
for a Cuban firm.
mo. there isn't much counterfeiting
of United States obligations done
abroad, but there are lots of boxes
like this. only none SO perfect, manu-
featured. We have other boxes here,
made to resemble stacks Of coins, and
the like"
In this way it-really took the dan
gerous operations of the man with the
huge hand to bring the government to
a realization of the true significance
that a painting. box or advertisement
might have to a mind capable of TAX
ing a criminal turn.
This led to the passage OF a law In
1891 which makes the reproduction OF
any obligation of the government
coins, bills, bonds, ven or postage
stamps-a misdemeanor and attaches
a heavy fine.
Over the mantel In the off1c Of the
service hangs a framed IS bill. 1t is
nearly three feet long and proportion
ately wide. 1t was taken from the
window of a Chicago shoe store some
years ago.
transparency, made from a negative,
which shows two 81 bills n two
quarter dollars. The photograph was
made for reproduction on the silk lin
ings of hats sold by a Baltimore firm
for that price. Many of these hats
were disposed of before the secret
service took a hand.
On another wall Of the room many
paintings hang. Usually they are
made on wood, for the bills look much
more natural when they are not paint
ed on canvas. One Of these pictures
represents a number of barrels v
flowing with gold certificates.
Almost every gold or silver cert1f-
cate now In use has at some time or
other been pictured to just short OF
perfection by the brush of an artist
and has found it's way into the collec-
ton.
Then there are records Of seizures
of which no relics were obtatnable, as
In a recent instance Of a Baltimore
merchant, who caused a huge electric
sign to be made carefully and exactly
OF minute incandescent bulbs-a re-
markedly faithful and accurate blaz-
ing dollar billiard also In the case
Of another merchant on whose shop
window was painted a IS bill seven
feet long.
Nearly Perfect counterfeits.
The career of the old counterfefter
with the big hands Is classic In the
annals OF the secret service because
he is probably the greatest example
of the criminal influence a painting OF
a United States certificate can WELD
as well as because he was perhaps the
pioneer of counterfefters who have
etched their queer with a per instead
+ of depending on engraved plates.
Framed. as examples Of the nearly
!, perfect and most dangerous of coun
terfeits, a Farragut and two Lincoln
500 bills. and one Hamilton $40 and
, one Franklin $50 bill hang In the
!. secret service office
While Captain Moran. who Is now
the acting chief OF the United States