The Washington herald., 1913-01-12
CLIPPING GOLD COINS
LATEST WAY TO CHEAT
New Way of Robbing United States Treasury-Some
of Them Almost Defy Detection

AhAhA1SSk
The clipping of gold coins at the
present time Is giving the government
Secret Service a great deal Of trouble.
Though very ancient industry, It has
taken on new developments. some of
which are most ingenious and extraor-
binary.
For example. white ago many
double-eagIes that came in for redemp-
ton through various banks were found
to be of less than lawful diameter-a
fact which became instantly manifest
when an attempt was made to stack
them in piles with ordinary twenty
dollar gold pieces. In other respects
they showed no imperfection.
This was the work of a man named
Wilcox, who had invented a process
whereby he was able to slice the rim of
of a double-eagle, as the tire might be re-
moved from a wheel. OF course, the
corrugated edge. called the 'reeding."
was taken of incidentally. and thus II
was necessary to re-reed the mutilated
coin in a machine. By this means It's
appearance was perfectly restored, only
its diameter being altered. and nothing
wrong with It was dlscoverable by the
casual observer.
Wilcox was content with moderate
profits. taking care not to rob any piece
of more than 81 OF its intrinsic value. He
went from city to city thinking It pru-
dent to change his residence from time
to time). and obtained the raw material
for his work by depositing money in
banks and drawing It out in gold. His
wife passed most OF the altered pieces in
dry goods shops, and the rims. melted in
a crucible, were sold to dealers in bull
lion. The apparatus employed. when q
n:ove was contemplated, was easily taken
apart and packed in a trunk. On one &C.
casion $500 worth OF the clipped pieces
reached the Treasury in one batch. But
the business came to a stop soon after
ward with the arrest of Wilcox in Chi
csgo.
Clever wOman's Plan.
Clever as was the scheme above de-
scribed, II was surpassed in ingenuity by
that of a woman in Philadelphia. who
hired a room with steam power, and with
a small drill dug out the inside of 81 and
SO gold pieces. leaving only thin shell.
For this purpose she would bore little
tole through the edge, and, after filling
the hollow with lead, she would cover
the opening with gold so that practically
nc sign of the operation remained. The
amount taken from so piece was about
$50; from a s. coin s. would be extract
ed. The woman was finally caught; but
the Secret Service people admit that hers
was just about the smartest dodge ever
practiced at the expense OF the currency.
For tricks that are vain in the counter
feiting and clipping Of coins the Chinese
are famous. But the most remarkable
thing they ever did in this line was the
reconstruction" as It might be termed.
Of gold coins. 4 few years ago gang
of pig-taiIed Orientals devised a process
whereby double-eagle was cut in two
through the edge, the inside OF II being
thereupon gouged out. The piece. being
thus reduced to a hollow shell in halves,
was filed with lead: thin rim OF gold
was soldered upon II to disguise the cut
edge. and the cOrrugations OF the mint
ing were renewed with a reeding ma
chine. A coin treated in this manner
was a veritabIe work OF art.
BY this means about SIS worth OF gold
was obtained from every so piece treat
ed. The fault OF the process lay in the
fact that lead is too light An improve
nent on 1t, adopted by Yankee experts.
consisted in substituting platinum (which
is heavier than gold for the lead. At
that period CabOut 1890 platinum was
cheaper, costing less than half as much
as gold. To-day II is worth much more
than the yellow metal, and so could not
be utilized economically for such pur-
pose.
4 method somewhat similar, though
less satisfactory, Is to substitute for
the interior portion of the gold piece a
core in the shape of a disk of silver, the
coin being split for the purpose as in the
other case. This process is employed
almost exclusively by Cinnamon. Its
drawback is that the eagle or double
eagle thus treated is noticeably light in
weight.
process less elaborate. though some
what similar. has been applied to silver
dollars and half dollars for making what
are known 10 sporting men of a certain
kind as double-headers-that is to say,
coins which are either heads on both
sides or tails on both sides. Such pieces
are produced by splitting coins and join
ing the diverse Cor reversed of one skill
fully to the observe Cor reversed of an
other. They are used most commonly for
cheating strangers in bar-rooms in the
game. Their manufacture how
ever, has been declared illegal. under the
law which forbids the making of coins
of original designs.
Gliding Nickels.
number of years ago, It will be re-
membered. the Treasury issued a nickel
five cent piece with a big V on Il. The
minting of this coin was stopped be-
cause clever swindlers hit upon the idea
of gliding II and passing 1t of as a s.
gold piece. II was an easy matter. the
only apparatus required being a small
tank. containing a cyanide of potash So
luton, few feet of copper wire and a
little battery. Even the battery. indeed.
could he dispensed with, II there was an
electric light current available. The pro-
cess was simply one of plating, the nick
el being attached to one end OF the wire.
and piece OF gold to the other. Both
ends were immersed in the solution, and
the current did the rest.
A similar process is sometimes employ
ed for sweating gold coins, the result
being the removal of a thin coat of gold
from the entire surface. In this way a.
cents worth of the precious metal may
be taken from a so piece without alter
Ing Its appearance to any perceptible eN-
tent-though leaving # rather suspicious
ly bright
A century or more ago the clipping OF
coins was carried on very extensively In
Europe. Gold pieces which had lost
more or less OF their substance were COM
mon then, and passed current readily
enough. But statutory restrictions IN
these later days have rendered the old
methods obsolete. Visibly mutilated
pieces will no longer pass as money. and
so criminals have been compelled to de-
wise processes for reducing the bullion
value of metal currency without altering
its appearance.
The discoveries OF chemistry are of
great service to counterfeiters and
sweaters" Comparatively few false
coins are nut into circulation nowadays