A New and Improved Method of Preventing the Fraudulent Altera- tion of Negociable Instruments or the Falsification of Receipts or other Documents.
Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 18th Feb., 1887.
Complete Left, 14th Mar., 1887.
Complete Accepted, 15th Apr., 1887.
A New and Improved Method of Preventing the Fraudulent Altera-
tion of Negociable Instruments or the Falsification of Receipts
or other Documents.
We JOSEPH HENRY BETTELEY of No. 42 Old Broad Street in the City of London
Engineer, and ROBERT JOSEPH RASTRICK of Chesterfield Elm Grove, Southsea,
Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
Upon the face or back of any negociable instrument, receipt or other document and
preferably on the margins of same we print or otherwise mark certain figures or
letters which may be either in marked sections or otherwise.
The figures can be arranged in numerical order or otherwise, but preferably proceed
in regular intervals of five or ten units one from the other. When letters, as for
example Roman numerals are used, they can be arranged in any manner and at any
numerical distance one from the other. These figures, letters or numbered sections, we
stamp, punch, perforate or obliterate by a punch, perforator or other instrument in
any design of perforation, punching or obliteration; such stamp, punch, perforator or
other obliterating instrument may cancel, perforate or otherwise obliterate any
numbered section when such are used, or only the number, numeral, letter or other-
wise which may be contained in such section.
When numbers, letters or numerals are used without sections, such numbers, letters
or numerals can be punched, perforated or obliterated.
The operation of our invention is as follows:-A cheque, draft, bill, post office or
postal order, or other negociable instrument or receipt, upon being drawn, issued,
signed or otherwise, for any special, certain or definite amount, the numbered section,
number or numbers, letters, numerals or otherwise, which inay represent the amount,
or nearest amount of such cheque, draft or other negociable instrument or receipt is
stamped, punched, perforated or obliterated, so that any fraudulent alteration of, or
addition to, the amount of such negociable instrument is at once detected from the
fact that the altered amount or figures are in excess of the amount denoted by the
numbered section, number, numeral or otherwise which has been punched, perforated,
cancelled or obliterated by the drawer, issuer or signer of the negociable instrument
in question.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
A New and Improved Method of Preventing the Fraudulent Altera-
tion of Negociable Instruments or the Falsification of Receipts
or other Documents.
the
We, JOSEPH HENRY BETTELEY of No. 42 Old Broad Street, London Engineer, and
ROBERT JOSEPH RASTRICK of Chesterfield, Elm Grove, Southsea, Gentleman, do
hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:
Upon the face or back of any cheque, receipt or other negociable instrument, and
preferably on the margins of same, we print or otherwise mark_certain figures or
letters, which may be either in marked sections or otherwise. The figures can be
arranged in numerical order or otherwise, but preferably proceed in regular intervals
of five or ten units, one from the other.
When letters, as for example Roman numerals are used, they can be arranged in
any manner, and at any numerical distance one from the other. These figures,
letters or numbered sections we stamp, punch, perforate or otherwise obliterate by a
punch, perforator or other equivalent device in any design of perforation, punching or
obliteration. Such stamp, punch, perforator, or other obliterating instrument may
cancel, perforate or otherwise obliterate any numbered section or sections when auch
are used, or only the number, numeral letter or otherwise, which may be contained in
such section.
When numbers, letters or numerals are used without sections, such numbers, letters
or numerals can be punched, perforated or otherwise obliterated.
The operation according to our invention is as follows: A cheque, draft, bill or
other negociable instrument or receipt upon being drawn, issued, signed or otherwise,
for any special, curtain or definite amount, the numbered section, number or numbers,
letters, numerals or otherwise, which may represent the amount or nearest amount of
such cheque, draft or other negociable instrument or receipt, is stamped, punched,
perforated or otherwise obliterated, so that any fraudulent alteration of, or addition to
the amount of such negociable instrument is at once detected from the fact that the
altered amount or figures are in excess of the amount denoted by the numbered
section, number, numeral or otherwise, which has been punched, perforated, cancelled
or obliterated by the signer, drawer or issuer of the negociable instrument in question.
In the form of cheque, draft, bill or other negociable instrument as above described
and illustrated in Figure 1 of the accompanying sheet of drawings, only one punching
would be necessary, as shown at a, therefore in the event of there being more than
one punching, the excess punching would at once invalidate the document.
At Figures 2 and 3 are illustrated modifications of the foregoing, in which it will
be seen that two or more punchings are required to denote the amount or nearest
amount of the cheque, draft, bill or other negociable instrument. According to the

page_text: arrangement of the numbered sections in Figure 2 however, the actual amount of the
cheque, bill, draft or other negociable instrument, can be more nearly denoted, than is
possible under the arrangements, as illustrated at Figures 1 and 3.
It will be obvious therefore from the foregoing, that any attempt at alteration or
falsification of the amount of the draft, bill or other negociable instrument must be at
once detected.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I claim is:-
Firstly The novel method which we employ of preventing the fraudulent
alteration of negociable instruments, or the falsification of receipts and like documents
substantially as herein described and set forth.
Secondly: The arrangement of figures, letters or numerals printed in marked
sections or otherwise upon the face or back of a cheque, form of receipt or other
negociable instrument substantially as herein described and shown in the accom-
panying drawings.
Thirdly-The method which we adopt of punching out or otherwise obliterating
the figures letters or numerals representing the amount or nearest amount of the
cheque draft or other negociable instrument.