Coin is more easily counterfeited. The gov ernment mints it by subjecting blanks of metal to heavy pressure between dies. The cheap imitator casts them under slight pressure in a base metal. The maker of a better grade of counterfeit coin cuts out or casts a blank or disc of the required size, and compresses it between dies in an ordinary stamping-press. To make a really good imitation of gold coin requires a very wide kninvledge of alloys, pos sessed by very few men, and principally for this reason counterfeit gold coins are scarce. The imitation of silver is much easier, as there are in the market numerous metals, used in the manufacture of tableware, etc., that closely sim ulate silver. Their principal basis is lead, and it is by the softness of the mixture and its increased weight that counterfeit silver is most easily detected. It does not require an expert to distinguish the average counterfeit silver coin from the genuine, as a simple balancing on a scale with a' good coin shows the: difference in weight, a shave with a penknife exhibits the softness of the metal, and ringing the coin pro duces a dull sound as compared with the ring of silver.
Counterfeits made in real silver have been circulated since the value of the metal deterio rated, and these, if well made, are very difficult of detection. The government's principal safe guard against them is obtained by watching all purchasers of silver, and following up those who do not seem to have good reason for requiring it. The imitations of five-cent pieces
in the real metal are not difficult for a skilled mechanic, and the statement has been widely circulated that they were once actually man ufactured by convicts while serving sentence in a prison of one of the larger States, where nickel-plating was carried on in the workshop. The more common imitation of the five-cent piece, however, is simple lead, cast in a mold, and, while easy of detection, it secures circu lation because the passers handle it without examination. This is the most usual form of counterfeiting carried on to-day, and a flood of bad nickels is liable to break out anywhere as the result of some misguided man's efforts. As soon as they attract attention in a locality the secret-service men concentrate their action, and usually find the base of supplies within a few months, unless the counterfeiters take the alarm and Ay, destroying their apparatus.
The most elusive counterfeiter the United States secret-service men were ever called on to unearth was a New Jersey mechanic skilled in photography and the use of the pen and brush. For many years he patiently imitated $20 green backs by hand, making about one a week, and then going to some New York saloon to change it. His work was very artistic, and he could surely have made more money by legitimately employing his talent in the trades. He was finally caught passing a note, and sentenced, the almost invariable fate of every persistent counterfeiter.