HOW FORGERS ALTER BANK NOTES
Bankers Easily Deceived--How Ten One Hundred-Dollar Bills Are Made out
of Nine--How to Detect Altered Bank Notes--Making a Ten-Dollar Bill
out of a Five--A Ten Raised to Fifty--How Two-Dollar Bills are Raised
to a Higher Denomination--Bogus Money in Commercial Colleges--Action
of the United States Treasury Department--Engraving a Greenback--How
They Are Printed--Making a Vignette--Beyond the Reach of Rascals--How
Bank Notes Are Printed, Signed and Issued by the Government--Safeguards
to Foil Forgers, Counterfeiters and Alterers of Bank Notes--Devices to
Raise Genuine Bank Notes--Split Notes--Altering Silver Certificates.
A dangerous game and one too often successfully perpetrated, is the
raising of bank bills from a lower to a higher denomination.
Counterfeiters and forgers have often been detected making ten bills
of nine by the following operation:
A counterfeit one hundred-dollar bank note is cut into ten pieces; one
of these pieces is pasted into a genuine bill, cutting out a piece of
the genuine of the same size. In pasting nine genuine bills in this
manner nine pieces are obtained, which, with one piece of counterfeit,
will make a tenth bill, which is the profit. This operation is not a
very successful one, as the difference between the counterfeit and the
genuine will be very evident to any one who examines closely.
Every business man should know how to detect altered bank bills, and a
close scrutiny of all money offered, bearing in mind the suggestions
here made, will prove a safeguard. Bank notes are sometimes altered by
raising from lower to higher denominations, or replacing name of
broken bank by name of good one. This is done either by erasing words
and printing others in their place, or by pasting on the original bill
a piece of counterfeit work or a piece taken from some genuine bill.
If the former, the new counterfeit piece will always differ from the
surrounding genuine work. If the latter, the fraud will be revealed by
holding the bill up to the light, when the portion pasted will look
darker than the surrounding portions.
Another method employed is to cut ten-dollar bills in halves, also
five-dollar bills, then join them, and raise the five part to a ten by
the blue paper dodge. This bill can be successfully worked off in a
roll of other bills, owing to the workmanship, and sometimes a gang
will visit a certain locality and flood it with doctored bills.
Fifty-dollar bills have been often raised from a ten. This fraud is
generally neatly executed, and is well calculated to deceive the
unsuspecting, and a banker, in hurriedly counting money, is liable to
be taken in on one of these.
A recent scheme to defraud with raised bills is to raise a two-dollar
bill to a five. In order to accomplish this feat rascals cut out the
figure five in the left-hand corner of a "V" and paste it over the
figure "2" in the upper right-hand corner of the two-dollar bill. The
pasting is done so neatly that not one person in a hundred, or even a
thousand, unless an expert, would notice the difference. The very
small $2 marks in the scroll-work surrounding the large figure are
blotted out with a pencil and are not visible. The figure "2" in the
lower right-hand corner is erased with acids, and the bill is in all
respects a first-class imitation of the genuine article. Treasury
officials say that this is something new in the way of bill-raising,
and is very dangerous.
Many people who are not used to handling money have been swindled by
what is known as "Imitation Money." The United States Treasury
Department is making strenuous efforts to break up the practice of
issuing imitations of the national currency, to which many commercial
colleges and business firms are addicted. This bogus currency has been
extensively used by sharpers all over the country to swindle ignorant
people and its manufacture is in violation of law.
So vague is the general idea as to how a bank note is made that we
give an explanation of the various processes it goes through before it
is issued as a part of the "money of the realm," saying, by way of
introduction, that this country leads the world in bank-note
engraving. Unfortunately, the first consideration in making a
bank-note is to prevent bad men from making a counterfeit of it, and
therefore all the notes of a certain denomination or value must be
exact duplicates of each other. If they were engraved by hand this
would not be the case; and, another thing, hand engraving is more
easily counterfeited than the work done by the processes we herewith
describe.
Every note is printed from a steel plate, in the preparation of which
many persons take part. If you will look at a $5 "greenback" you will
see a picture in the center; a small portrait, called a vignette, on
the left, and in each of the upper corners a network of fine lines
with a dark ground, one of them containing the letter "V" and the
other the figure "5." These four parts are made on separate plates.
To make a vignette it is necessary, first, to make a large drawing on
paper with great care, and a daguerreotype is then taken of the
drawing the exact size of the engraving desired.
The daguerreotype is then given to the engraver, who uses a steel
point to mark on it all the outlines of the picture. The plate is
inked and a print taken from it. While the ink is still damp the print
is laid face down on a steel plate, which has been softened by heating
it red hot and letting it cool slowly. It is then put in a press and
an exact copy of the outline is thus made on the steel plate. This the
engraver finishes with his graver, a tool with a three-cornered point,
which cuts a clean line without leaving a rough edge.
Now this is used for making other plates--it is never used to print
from. It must be made hard and this is done by heating it and cooling
it quickly. A little roller of softened steel is then rolled over it
by a powerful machine until its surface has been forced into all the
lines cut into the plate. The outlines of the vignette are thus
transferred to the roller in raised lines, and after the roller is
hardened it is used to roll over plates of softened steel, and thus
make in them sunken lines exactly like those in the plate originally
engraved. The center picture is engraved and transferred to a roller
like the vignette, but the network in the upper corners, and also on
the back of the note, is made by the lathe. This machine costs $5,000,
a price that puts it beyond the reach of counterfeiters, and its work
is so perfect that it can not be imitated by hand.
The black parts of the note are printed first, and when the ink is dry
the green-black is printed, to be followed by the red stamps and
numbers. It is then signed and issued. For greater security one part
of the note is engraved and printed at one place and another part at
another place, when it is sent to Washington to be finished and
signed.
But even after all this care and all these safeguards many skillfully
executed counterfeits and raised and altered bank notes have been made
and issued, some of them so good as to deceive the most expert judges
of money.
Many devices have been resorted to by counterfeiters to raise genuine
bank-notes, as well as to manufacture bogus ones, but one of the most
novel has recently come to light. The scheme consists of splitting a
$5 and a $1 note, and then pasting the back of the $1 note to the
front of the $5 note and the front of the $1 note to the back of the
$5 note. The mechanical part of the work was excellently done, but the
fraud could be detected the moment the note was turned over.
An effort had been made to change the "one" to "five" on the "one"
side of the new combined note, but it was done so clumsily that the
fraud would have been seen at a glance, and the only hope of passing
the notes as fives would have been to pass them over with the $5 side
up and trust to the man receiving it not to turn it over before
putting it away. The doctored notes came to the notice of the writer
through one of the Chicago banks, with the request that they be
allowed whatever they were worth. The government always redeems notes
at the face value, and as the faces in this case were of a $1 and a $5
note, $6 was allowed. It is not known whether the bank was caught on
the split notes or not.
Another scheme for altering bank-notes is practiced with more or less
success. It is to take a one dollar silver certificate and by means of
powerful acids and fine penwork the large figure "one" on the reverse
side is split into two "tens," and the intermediate portion transformed
into a scroll. On the other side the "one" over the representation of
the silver dollar is obliterated and "ten" substituted, but the "s" is
left off the dollar. The single "1" figures in the corners are neatly
eaten off and the figure "10" substituted. The small "one" is changed
to an "X" and a new series number is printed in red upon the face. The
bill would pass anywhere. None but an expert would detect the fraud.
APPENDIX
INTERESTING WRITINGS OF VARIOUS KINDS FOR STUDY AND COMPARISON
FOUR ORDINARY SIGNATURES WITH DESCRIPTIONS
[Illustration: A mechanical or artificial hand in copy-book style,
lightly and delicately traced.
Characteristic signature, connected and rapidly traced letters
expressing great animation and mental activity.
A natural hand, letters vary in size, written with great spontaneity
and expression.
A restrained hand, letters slowly and deliberately traced, indicating
a slow intelligence and perception.]
STUDENTS' HANDWRITING--CRIMINALS' HANDWRITING
[Illustration: The above is a comparison of the students' and
criminals' handwriting, the selections being made from the records of
each class.]
[Illustration: The tremor of feebleness is shown in this signature.
This was written by a gentleman ninety-two years of age. Writing of
one who is ill or feeble is usually characterized by a light stroke.
The simulated tremor of a skilful penman is rarely successful in
deceiving a trained eye.]
[Illustration: This signature represents the tremor due to illiteracy.
The tremors and angular features shown are by no means indicative of
lack of power, but the power is misdirected.]
[Illustration: The signature of Ivan Wilson, herewith given, will serve
as an illustration of the tremor almost inseparable from forgery. The
tremors of a simulating hand are never so numerous nor so fine as real
tremors.]
GENUINE--FORGED TRACING--FORGED FREE-HAND
[Illustration: The first signature is the original. The second is a
bungling traced forgery and the third is a forged freehand. Taken
apart from one another they are clever enough to deceive, but studied
together here the fraud and deception is readily apparent.]
ORIGINAL SIZE--GENUINE--FORGED TRACING--FORGED FREE HAND.
[Illustration: We give above a genuine signature with a forged tracing
and a forged free-hand. You can readily detect the forgeries when
these signatures are placed together and explained. It gives one
points on how to study forged and disputed signatures.]
SOME THUMB AND FINGER-PRINT SUGGESTIONS
[Illustration: We show herewith two enlarged finger-prints. These are
taken from the index finger and are used in many cases instead of
thumb-prints.]
[Illustration: The above illustrations are fac-simile impressions of
the dermal furrows of the right and left thumbs of four different
persons. The left thumbs are in the top row, the right thumb being
below. These are enlarged to bring out the distinctive points. You
will note that no two are alike and it is absolutely impossible to
forge or duplicate the thumb-print of any person. "Thumb-prints Never
Forged" on page 115.]
[Illustration: Promiscuous thumb-prints taken at random, easily
distinguishable in the original impression but not enlarged as in
above illustration. A photographic reproduction showing the lines
without enlargement almost impossible.]
INTERESTING AUTOGRAPH SIGNATURES
[Illustration: Kaiser's signature published in book sanctioned by him
is the writing of an extremely erratic and nervous man.]
[Illustration: This is a facsimile of Capt. Myles Standish's
handwriting found on the fly-leaf of one of his books. Capt. Myles
Standish, known as the human sword blade, whose valor saved the
Pilgrims at Plymouth from utter destruction at the hands of hostile
Indians went back to England in 1625 on business for the colony.
Before his return, in 1626, he bought this book and carried it back to
America with him.]
[Illustration: In this signature of the great Liberator of Italy, we
have indications of energy in the angular form of the letters, and in
the hasty and irregular dot to the small letter "i," and originality
in the curious angularly waved line below the signature. It denotes
tenacity of purpose.]
[Illustration: In this signature of Napoleon Bonaparte, which appears
on a letter written by him when only a captain in the French army, we
have the "vaulting ambition" which made him all _but_ master of
Europe. There is the dominant will in the strongly marked "t," and in
the hard, thick line which terminates the flourish; his egotism and
self-assertion are evidenced in this flourish, his originality in the
peculiar form of the capital letter "B;" but ambition is here "still
the lord of all."]
GREELEY'S LAST LETTER.
[Illustration: This was the last letter ever written by Horace
Greeley, America's famous editor and horrible penman.]
[Illustration: The signatures of this group are by well-known men, all
leaders in a special line of activity. These autographs are original
and typical of the men writing them. The general character,
temperament and make-up of these gentlemen are well-known to all, and
a study of these signatures will be found interesting.]
[Illustration: Reduced copy of the signatures and seals of the English
and American commissioners who signed the treaty of peace between
Great Britain and the United States in 1783.]
CHARACTERISTIC WRITING OF SOME OF THE BEST KNOWN MEN IN THE BANKING
WORLD OF THE UNITED STATES
[Illustration: President American Bankers' Association and President
of the Continental National Bank, Chicago.]
[Illustration: Mr. Vanderlip, President of the National City Bank, New
York.]
[Illustration: Lewis E. Pierson, First Vice-president American
Bankers' Association and President Irving National Exchange Bank, New
York City.]
[Illustration: F.O. Watts, Chairman Executive Council American
Bankers' Association and President First National Bank, Nashville,
Tenn.]
[Illustration: Treasurer American Bankers' Association and Second
Vice-president Fidelity Trust Co., Tacoma, Wash.]
[Illustration: Fred. E. Farnsworth, Secretary American Bankers'
Association, New York.]
[Illustration: W.G. Fitzwilson, Assistant Secretary American Bankers'
Association, New York City.]
[Illustration: Assistant Cashier of the National City Bank, Chicago,
and formerly President of the American Institute of Banking.]
[Illustration: This gentleman is one of the best-known bankers in
America. He has also been Secretary of the Treasury.]
[Illustration: A rather complicated, though not altogether unreadable
signature of John K. Ottley, vice-president of the Fourth National
Bank, Atlanta, Ga.]
[Illustration: J. Furth, President of the Puget Sound National Bank,
Seattle, Wash.]
[Illustration: There is no better known gentleman in the country than
John Farson, the millionaire banker of Chicago. He dresses attractively,
loves legitimate notoriety, is absolutely democratic in his daily
life, is charitable and pleasant and believes in making everybody
happy, and is a great lover of flowers and children. His signature
indicates his character thoroughly.]
[Illustration: This is a fair specimen of the writing of a Japanese
banker and business man. This was written with great haste, also.]
CURIOUS AND FREAKISH SIGNATURES OF WELL-KNOWN BANKERS AND BUSINESS MEN
[Illustration: Banker Wm. W. Quigg thinks this is a pretty good
signature. He is a banker at Ontario, Calif.]
[Illustration: A Michigan bank cashier, E. Newell, writes this
signature.]
[Illustration: This is the signature of Common Parse.]
[Illustration: This is the way H.G. Nolton writes his name.]
[Illustration: This was the original freak signature of the country.
It will be recognized by every one as F.E. Spinner.]
[Illustration: F.S. Watts, teller in an Iowa bank, is not afraid to
use ink. He says this signature has never been counterfeited.]
[Illustration: This stands for Lloyd Bowers, a well-known Kansas
banker.]
[Illustration: R.J.B. Crombie, a Canadian banker, has a signature that
is certainly freakish.]
[Illustration: Tom Randolph, president of a Sherman, Texas, National
Bank, thinks he is a good writer.]
[Illustration: W.D. Mussenden, an eastern banker, thinks any man ought
to readily read his writing.]
[Illustration: C.W. Bush, president of the Bank of Yolo, Woodland,
California, makes these marks and they are good on any check.]
[Illustration: W.O. Cline, editor and publisher of a Chicago paper.
This is one of the most unique signatures in the United States.]
[Illustration: A B. Ming might write worse but it is doubtful.]
[Illustration: W.P. Hazen, a Kansas banker, has written this signature
so many years he thinks it ought to be legible to any one.]
[Illustration: This is the very complicated signature of Hugh
Harbinson, a well-known Connecticut business man.]
[Illustration: John Mohr, Jr., thinks this is a plain signature.]
[Illustration: Jas. V.D. Westfall, formerly a well-known New York
State banker.]
[Illustration: F.C. Miller, Kansas banker, wants this to pass current
as his name.]
[Illustration: Louis Houck, historian, Cape Girardeau, Mo.]
[Illustration: Tams Bixby, General Manager The Pioneer Press, St.
Paul, Minnesota. This is certainly a unique signature.]
[Illustration: J.W. Dunegan, Cashier First National Bank, Marquette,
Mich.]
[Illustration: This is known as the "Turn Around" signature. This was
furnished us by the president of one of the largest banks in New York
City. It is one of the most curious of signatures. Turn it around. It
reads the same both ways.]
[Illustration: P.B. Elder, formerly a Pennsylvania bank president,
known as the "upside down" writer. Turn it around.]
[Illustration: John R. Dixon, a well-known Chicago business man.]
[Illustration: Peter White, President First National Bank, Marquette,
Mich.]
HOW SOME CELEBRATED WOMEN WRITE
[Illustration: In this signature of the "divine Sarah," the flourish
peculiar to most actresses, which indicates love of admiration, is
very remarkable. We have also, in the return of the curve of the
letter "S" the sign typical of egotism; in the peculiar form of the
letter "B," we have originality; in the heavy down strokes we have
sensuousness; and in the angular forms of all the letters, strong
will.]
[Illustration: Who has not heard of that eccentric woman in man's
garb, Dr. Mary E. Walker. She is egotistical, seeks after notoriety,
and her signature is a correct portrayal of a petulant and whimsical
nature.]
[Illustration: This signature of Marie Antoinette was taken from a
letter written while she was in prison under sentence of death. This
is a despondent signature. Misfortune, separation from her husband and
children, and humiliation had crushed her pride, and the whole of this
signature is descendant, the four last letters remarkably so, which
indicates a thoroughly despondent condition.]
THREE OF AMERICA'S BEST-KNOWN MEN
[Illustration: Melville W. Fuller, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court,
of the United States.]
[Illustration: P.S. Grosscup, Chicago, Judge of the Circuit Court of
the United States.]
[Illustration: John Hay, formerly Secretary of State, is a versatile
man. The most remarkable point in this autograph is its extreme
clearness, indicative of lucidity of ideas. Cultivation is shown in
the form of the capital letters in both Christian and surname. No
obstinacy is shown in this nature, only sufficient firmness to hold
his own when necessary, the signature showing also a strong literary
leaning.]
THREE FAMOUS MILITARY MEN
[Illustration: We present a group of signatures of famous military
men. The autograph of General Grant is plain and simple in its
construction, not an unnecessary movement or mark in it--a signature
as bare of superfluity and ostentation as was the silent soldier and
hero of Appomattox. In the autograph of R.E. Lee we have the same
terse, brief manner of construction as in Grant's. It is more
antiquated and formal in its style, more stiff and what might be
called aristocratic. Its firm upright strokes, with angular horizontal
terminal lines, indicate a determined, positive character. In somewhat
marked contrast with the two last-mentioned autographs is that of
General Beauregard, in that he indulges in a rather elaborate
flourish, which is a national characteristic.]
CHARACTERISTIC WRITING OF A FEW OF THE WORLD'S BEST-KNOWN LITERARY MEN
AND AUTHORS
[Illustration: Shakespeare's writing shows a strong, intuitive
observation--that quick movement of the mind which seizes character at
a glance--is shown by the want of _liason_ between the curiously
formed letter "h" and the "a" which follows it. With a poet's
disregard of order, Shakespeare puts no dots to either of the small
letters "i" in his Christian name, nor is there any full stop at the
end of the signature, so suggestive, when seen in an autograph, of
caution, and that attention to minutiae which seems almost
incompatible with the poetic nature. No flourish of any kind disgraces
this thoroughly characteristic signature of England's greatest poet.]
[Illustration: His popularity and fame as a novelist may be attributed
to the fascinating style and vivid portrayal of his imaginative rather
than realistic creations. The flourish after the signature has its
significance also. It is lacking in grace or harmony, and evidently
the quick, assertive stroke from the pen of one who will brook no
opposition.]
[Illustration: In this signature of Longfellow we have imagination in
the letter "L" in the signature of the surname, lucidity of ideas in
the extreme clearness of the writing, ideality in the absence of
_liason_ between the "l" and "o," but not as much tenderness as
one would have expected in the writing of the author of "Evangeline."]
[Illustration: Edgar Allen Poe was an egotistical and imaginative
writer. When the flourish takes any very peculiar abnormal form, it is
rather a sign of originality than vanity, though there is, perhaps
always a slight admixture of egotistical feeling in all flourishes.]
[Illustration: Who has not heard of Emile Zola? This signature has the
lightning flourishes in the "Z" and "a," and the entire separation of
letters indicate an almost wholly intuitive mind, but lacking in
logic, reason and judgment.]
AUTOGRAPHS OF SOME WELL-KNOWN MEN. THEIR WRITING IS AS DIFFERENT AS
THEIR CHARACTERS.
[Illustration: Uncle Joe Cannon, Speaker of the House of
Representatives, has a careless and rapid signature which indicates a
determined and arbitrary will.]
[Illustration: Cecil T. Rhodes, the wealthy South Africa diamond king,
has a signature denoting secrecy and thrift. The curve of the "C" and
"T" denoting love of publicity. His wonderful endowments gave him fame
and publicity.]
[Illustration: Signature of John Jacob Astor, the founder of that
well-known family.]
[Illustration: Ingersoll's signature is that of a combative man. This
is told by a certain irregularity in writing and at the same time all
the signs of ardent courage.]
[Illustration: Admiral George Dewey. Extreme straightforwardness is
indicated in this signature; the letters are all one height and the
line of writing is straight. It denotes precision, discipline and
loyalty.]
[Illustration: An enlarged signature of one of the most successful
merchants in the country. This signature shows intuitive perception of
character and the heavy characters denote precision, organization, and
care for details.]
[Illustration: The signature of H.N. Higinbotham, a former partner of
Marshall Field, and an immensely busy man. It shows that an active
business man can write a legible hand if he will.]
[Illustration: This signature is that of one of America's greatest
merchants and financiers. He is as careful in writing as in business
and gives the greatest care to all details. Philanthrophy is also
shown in his hand.]
[Illustration: This is the inventor of the telephone, and one of the
most famous characters of the country. This is a most pronounced
signature indicating inventive genius and charity, with strong
literary proclivities.]
[Illustration: Joseph Zeisler, one of the best known physicians in the
country. This writing, while difficult to read, indicates a nervous
body and active brain.]
[Illustration: Thomas A. Edison, the famous inventor.]
[Illustration: One of the richest men in America and a well-known
philanthropist.]
[Illustration: This signature evidences calm and clear judgment; the
open "o's," fluency of speech; and the simply formed capitals, the
modest, unpretentious nature.]
[Illustration: The writing of one of the most famous characters in
American politics. His writing indicates firmness, love of notoriety
and also a semblance of weakness.]
[Illustration: The signature of Emil G. Hirsch, Rabbi of Sinai
Congregation, Chicago, one of America's best-known and most-respected
Jewish citizens.]
[Illustration: "Oom Paul" Kruger, formerly president of the Transvaal
Republic. This is the signature of a man that believed the world was
flat. He was "sot" in his ways--stubborn, obstinate, unmovable. His
rugged character was never brought within the restraints of
conventionality, and neither, apparently, was his handwriting.]
[Illustration: One of America's best-known educators.]
[Illustration: Arthur N. McGeoch, Milwaukee, Wis., a well-known
attorney.]
[Illustration: Geo. E. Allen, Educational Director, American Institute
of Banking.]
[Illustration: Characteristic writing of business men in the early
days of our country. These autographs appear on the original agreement
which formed the first stock exchange in New York City, in 1792.
Whirls, flourishes, and other peculiarities are remarkably plenty in
the above, which is an indication of correct writing in those days.]
[Illustration: One of the few legible signatures to the Declaration of
Independence.]
[Illustration: P.M. Hanney, a leading Chicago business man, and a
director in the great firm of Siegel Cooper & Company.]
[Illustration: General counsel for the American Bankers' Association,
and authority on American banking law.]
[Illustration: Retired Major General of the United States Army.]
AUTOGRAPH SIGNATURES OF THE PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES
[Illustrations]