Counterfeit currency

“ On this principle it interferes to prevent the circulation of spurious coin.' Counterfeit coin is more readily detected than a fictitious paper currency, yet no sane man would advocate the repeal of the laws which prohibit it. ”

“ Article 35 Disposition of Counterfeit Currency
Every person who comes into possession of counterfeit banknotes or coins shall forward to
the CBI all such counterfeit banknotes or coins.
Article 36 Redemption of currency
1. ”

“ It is an offence for a person—
(a) to pass or tender as genuine any thing which is, and which he knows or believes to be, a counterfeit of a currency note or of a protected coin; or (b) to deliver to another any thing which is, and which he knows or believes to be, such a counterfeit, intending that the person to whom it is delivered or another shall pass or tender it as genuine. ”

“ There is no evil that may befall the public from the circulation of base coin, that may not arise to an equal, if not aggravated, extent from the issue of counterfeit paper. Indeed the issue of paper money is liable to risks exclusively its own and which require far more ingeniously devised safeguards than the issue of coin. The person who receives gold or silver in payment may sometimes be under the necessity of employing a few easy tests in order to prove its genuineness, but if he apply these with the most ordinary circumspection, he can successfully protect himself from loss by imposition. ”

“ Where any person is accused of an offence concerning high quality counterfeit Indian currency, the court may pass an order directing attachment or forfeiture, as the case may be, of property equivalent to the value of such high quality counterfeit Indian currency involved in the offence including the face value of such currency which are not defined to be of high quality, but are part of the common seizure along with the high quality counterfeit Indian currency. ”

“ Having thus, in the exercise of undisputed constitutional powers, undertaken to provide a currency for the whole country, it cannot be questioned that Congress may, constitutionally, secure the benefit of it to the people by appropriate legislation. To this end, Congress has denied the quality of legal tender to foreign coins, and has provided by law against the imposition of counterfeit and base coin on the community. To the same end, Congress may restrain, by suitable enactments, the circulation as money of any notes not issued under its own authority. ”

“ But the Thomaston people probably have more persons in their midst than the oyster dealer, who think that counterfeit money is good while it passes; and they should not feel sure, without looking, that they have not in their purses more or less of the "real genuine article" of counterfeit money, especially of the "fractional currency" kind ”

“ The fools are the people who think they can counterfeit Uncle Sam's currency and get away with it. Barnum must have been right. There's a sucker born every minute—and those that don't try to beat the ponies or buck the stock market turn to counterfeiting for a living. They get it, too, in Leavenworth or Atlanta or some other place that maintains a federal penitentiary.
"They never seem to learn anything by others' experience, [269] either. You'd think, after the Thurene case, it would be perfectly apparent that no one could beat the counterfeiting game for long." ”

“ The government, recognizing the inconvenience of a currency which had to be kept in huge boxes and paid out at the rate of a thousand or more to the dollar, had farmed out the right to coin nickels and these were soon counterfeited. The counterfeit nickels have been classified as, first, better than the originals; second, good imitations; third, poor imitations; and fourth, those that can only be passed on a dark night.
AMERICAN HOSPITAL AT SEOUL—KOREA
Japanese soldiers are to be seen everywhere and Japanese settlements are to be found in all the larger cities. ”

“ Notes
↑ 18 U.S.C.A. § 264, 35 Stat. 1116.↑ 7 Cir., 89 F.2d 469, certiorari granted 302 U.S. 667, 58 S.Ct. 21, 82 L.Ed. --.↑ Counterfeiting increases in periods of commercial distress, unemployment, and poverty. Even prior to 1837, poverty contributed to offenses against the currency, see In re Halmagh Ackerman, 1820, 5 N.Y.City Hall Rec. 140, and counterfeiters kept paper in their possession which was used for making counterfeit obligation, In re Guy Johnson and William Johnson al. William Price, John Strickland and Edward O'Melly, 1820, 5 N.Y.City Hall Rec. ”

“ As used in this section— `` (1) the term `distinctive paper ́ includes any distinctive medium of which currency is made, whether of wood pulp, rag, plastic substrate, or other natural or artificial fibers or materials; and `` (2) the term `distinctive counterfeit deterrent ́ includes any ink, watermark, seal, security thread, optically variable device, or other feature or device; `` (A) in which the United States has an exclusive property interest ”

“ The term 'counterfeiting,' as used in the constitution, is nomen generalissimum,-the generic term for crimes debasing or imparing the coin. The passing of the spurious is an immediate and direct injury to the genuine coin, for it displaces it in the circulation, and discredits it by exciting distrust and suspicion. Indeed, it is only by the passing of the base that the genuine is injured. To what end is it, that the counterfeiting is prohibited and punished, but to prevent the counterfeit from getting into circulation,-to prevent its passing? ”

“ Clerical amendment— The table of sections for chapter 95 of title 18, United States Code, is amended in the item relating to section 1960 by striking `illegal' and inserting `unlicensed'. Sec. 374. Counterfeiting domestic currency and obligations. (a) Counterfeit acts committed outside the United States— Section 470 of title 18, United States Code, is amended— (1) in paragraph (2) , by inserting `analog, digital, or electronic image,' after `plate, stone,' ”

“ Then, in 1694, an act was passed expressly "to prevent counterfeiting and clipping the coin." "It is manifest," says the preamble, "that of late years the current coin of this kingdom hath been greatly diminished by rounding, clipping, filing, and melting the same, and likewise many false and counterfeit coins have been clipped for the better guising thereof;" and then it is declared to be apparent that these practices are "very much occasioned by those who drive a trade of exchanging broad money for clipped money, and by other acts and devices." ”

“ We admit that the clause of the Constitution authorizing Congress to provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the securities and current coin of the United States does not embrace within its language the offence of uttering or circulating spurious or counterfeited coin (the term counterfeit, both by its etymology and common intendment, signifying the fabrication of a false image or representation) ”

“ It gives eight rules, with illustrative diagrams, by an acquaintance with which, any person may readily distinguish the engraving of a counterfeit bill from a genuine one—founded upon the principle that no counterfeiter, working with his hand, can possibly attain the beauty and accuracy of engraving by the perfect and costly machinery of professional engravers. ”

“ Seldom a counterfeiter goes free for long, no matter how clever he may be. Frequently the styles of “green goods” invitations are altered, and to one who is bound to be dishonest, it might appear that, after all, the special scheme offered him may be all right—that is, dishonestly all right—and that the counterfeit money can be obtained after negotiations. ”

“ The banks of large cities send in their soiled money weekly or monthly and receive fresh notes in exchange, the government paying transportation both ways. This soiled money is made into pulp, which is sold to paper-makers at about $40 a ton.
It is only the old money that is counterfeited. Counterfeiters rumple and muss their money to give it 89the appearance of being long in use. Women are especially skilled in detecting counterfeit money. If among the returned coins or notes one single piece proves to be counterfeit, the amount is deducted from the salary of the examiner. ”

“ If there were no such intercourse, it would be a matter of no special moment to one nation that its money was counterfeited in another. Its own people could not be defrauded if the false coin did not come among them, and its own sovereignty would not be violated if the counterfeit could not, under any circumstances, be made to take the place of true money. ”

“ The fact is, that the counterfeiters are really more democratic than the bank men, and only stick to their "constitutional rights,"—the right of individuals, as well as of bodies politic, to manufacture money. If the State would let the matter of money-making alone, and abolish all laws regarding it, it would not only abolish counterfeiters and counterfeiting thereby, and "bogus" counterfeit speculators also, but would, in so doing, leave a clear field for sensible political economists to work out a plan of exchange, in which some justice and honesty might be obtained. ”

“ Thus, in England, the counterfeiting of the coin is made high treason, whether it be uttered or not; but those who barely utter false money are neither guilty of treason nor of misprision of treason. [1] 1 Hawk. P. C., 20. Again (1 East, Crown Law, 178) , if A. counterfeit the gold or silver coin, and by agreement before such counterfeiting B. is to receive and vent the money, he is an aider and abettor to the act itself of counterfeiting, and consequently a principal traitor within the law. ”

“ If the counterfeit money speculators, of the kind I here speak of, do no good, they certainly do no harm, save to the regular counterfeiters, by forestalling their field, and getting away from the poor dupes money which might otherwise fall into the "regular" gentlemen's hands. But perhaps the result in the long run may be beneficial to the "regular trade," inasmuch as the present victims, when they come to get possession of the real counterfeit money, may buy more than they otherwise would, to make up their former losses. ”

“ If the duty was exorbitant indeed, that is, if it was very much above the real value of the labor and expense requisite for coinage, false coiners, both at home and abroad, might be encouraged, by the great difference between the value of bullion and that of coin, to pour in so great a quantity of counterfeit money as might reduce the value of the government money. ”

“ If your chits at one single shop run into large amounts, the collector generally brings along with him a coolie or a wheelbarrow with which to lug away the weight of dollars that you pour into his hands, and when two or three collectors come in together the office reminds one of a “money-’changer’s. Counterfeit [24] money is so prevalent that one after the other of your callers bites the silver or drops it on the floor to detect lead, and to listen to the resulting sound is not to feel complimented by their opinion of your integrity. ”

“ I picked up the three dollar bill and squinted at the fine print. It said Series of 1964. The date on my newspaper on the counter beside my cold coffee was April 5, 1954.
"I'll tell you what I'll do," I said. "I'll give you three dollars for it."
"Oh no!" the cashier said quickly. "I can't do that. The law says I must turn all counterfeit money directly over to the nearest F.B.I. office."
"Sure," I soothed. "Sure, I know that. But this isn't the same thing. A counterfeit is an imitation of real money—and there aren't any real three dollar bills." ”

“ The laws of the United States pertaining to anything that borders on infringement of our various money issues, both metal and currency, are most rigid; anything approaching a similarity of impression is prohibited, and a cut, stamp, or impression of any character that approaches in its appearance any money issue of our government is considered a violation of the law against counterfeiting, and is dealt with severely. ”

“ It is, after all, only a question of taste or expediency; and so is it that the great counterfeiters think. Officers arresting these men, frequently find them ready to defend their cause "on principle." They always avow themselves "as good men as the bankers," and they frequently declare themselves public benefactors, in that they make money plenty, and relieve the stringency of the money market!
"The only good of paper money," once said a great counterfeiter to me, "is to pass; a counterfeit bill is just as good for passing as a genuine bill ”

“ It's my opinion he doesn't know much about the source of the counterfeit money, anyway. I think he was only an agent sent out to dispose of as much of it as he could. They probably have a dozen men traveling around the country passing off these bad bills. Once the money gets into circulation it's liable to pass through a dozen hands before it is discovered. ”

“ We have always considered the different Administrations of this Country, as highly blameable for not paying more attention, than they have done, to prevent the nefarious practices which are introduced in the introduction of almost every species of Counterfeit Coin into the circulation of the country, because it certainly has the means in its own power, of lessening the mischief, by issuing a new coinage, particularly of Halfpence, which are, now, so generally bad, and so profligately circulated, that scarce a good halfpenny is to be seen.... ”