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Show 1 1 SWEATING COLD COINS, f.lfctrlrlly l ed to Holt Our Metal Car-1 Car-1 rcnrjr of Its Weight and Value. Short-weight gold coins are becoming annnylngly common in the metal circulating cir-culating medium. Bankers and others who handle this character of money are frequently coming across light piece. The discovery some time ago of nearly three hundred pounds in light pieces tendered in payment of custom duties by a prominent importer has. by directing attention to the subject and exciting scrutiny, led to the detection detec-tion of numerous pieces short in weight, showing that there is in operation oper-ation a systematic scheme for robbing the government by stealing metal from coins. Tho process of robbery which is familiarly known as "sweating" coins was formerly practiced to a great extent, ex-tent, but of late years few instances of it have come to the attention of the authorities. It is not highly profitable, at best, under the old methods of extracting ex-tracting the metal, it did not afford much more than a living. From a careful examination of the light pieces it is quite evident that tho thief has brought into requisition the rapid agency ot electricity. The service serv-ice of an ordinary galvanic battery and some cheap acid is all that is necessary to conduct the operation by the electric process. The scheme is similar to that employed in plating with gold by electricity. elec-tricity. The coin is placed in the fluid, and attached to it are wires from the polos of the battery leading to another piece of metal prepared to receive in the form of plating, the metal to be removed from the coin. The battery being set in motion, sufficient gold to form a plating is quickly transferred, and as it is removed uniformly from all parts ot the coin the liability of disfigurement dis-figurement is reduced to a minimum. The only effect is to blur the characters charac-ters slightly. Tho electric process of stealing from coins is not altogether a new scheme. The government officials, a few years ago, captured a band of Italians who were operating extensively on this plan. Before tho discovery of tho use of electricity for plating "sweating" was done by the use of bags. A buckskin sack, similar to tho sacks used by western minors to gather gold in, was the favorite instrument. After the coins were well shaken in this tho dust was beaten out and tho particles collected col-lected by moans of quick silver, which rapidly forms amalgamation. When sacks of cotton material are used they are burned and the stealings collector! by reduction in a crucible. |
