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Sweeping Up $10 Fakes Proves a Chore
 | By Fred L. Reed, Bank Note Reporter
January 12, 2009 |
Part 43
The feds attempted to drain the swamp of the virulent Legal Tender fakes. In late 1867, according to the U.S. Treasurer's report, the Treasury had issued no new $5, $20, $50, or $100 notes and only a single $10 during the previous fiscal year.(1) This coincided, of course, with a general contraction of the currency following the Civil War inflation authorized by The Funding Act of April 12, 1866.(2)
Contraction and new inks, notwithstanding, the situation had grown no better. In 1869 the quest to make U.S. federal paper money inimitable (incapable of imitation) took a fork in the road. The Treasury abandoned its misplaced reliance on special inks and turned instead to special paper in its war with the coneymen.
The dangers photography had posed to the money stock had been somewhat overblown. After all, wholesale replications printed on the albumin or silver papers of the era did not much resemble bank note papers. Contemporary photographic counterfeits examined by this author have either a hard paper finish, or a greasy feel. Also photographs were monochromatic. Federal notes, and many bank notes, were printed in more than one color.
The more persistent danger photography had posed was as an adjunct to chemistry. The fakers separated the black and green ink patches of the allegedly immutable inks, and employed photography to duplicate the designs in preparation of fake plates. So the feds turned to special bank note paper, employing the Willcox patent paper process described in Parts 41-42.
The feds also had stepped up surveillance, apprehension and prosecution efforts, concentrating law enforcement in the newly instituted U.S. Secret Service.
Despite the efforts of the Secret Service, bad $10s continued to show up. According to David R. Johnson,(3) counterfeiting arrests by the National Police Force/Secret Service during the tenure of chief William P. Wood for the six years from January 1863 to May 1869 totaled approximately 1,230, an average of 200 per year.(4) According to the Treasury Department history, "Within five years (i.e., 1865-1870) the Secret Service had greatly reduced the amount of counterfeit currency in circulation, which, in time, reestablished the integrity of United States Notes."(5)
That's a good cover story, a yarn really. The trouble is, however, that's not what really happened. Study the contemporary evidence, such as that reported on in these columns. Fakes not only proliferated despite the best printing and prosecution plans, but also the situation actually worsened. The newspapers described it as a "Counterfeit Panic."(6) New Treasury Secretary George S. Boutwell, in an eminently practical move, threw off the tinker's damn ink solutions and struck off on a bold new path.
While these "saviour" new Rainbow greenbacks were still in preparation, Treasury officials found more of the same queer tender showing up in their daily mail. Even trusty Treasurer F. E. Spinner was flummoxed by the counterfeiting maelstrom he encountered in 1869. Spinner reported a genuine "curiosity" received at his office during the dog days of summer that year. With Washington grass turning brown and dust rising from its streets for lack of rain, prayers went up across the federal district for a generous downpour, the press reported.
For his part, Spinner had a sticky situation of his own. Enterprising souls had attempted to make their money go farther by watering it down. Spinner reported "a ten dollar greenback" received from an interior town in Pennsylvania, which proved "half a fake." According to the account, the diluted bill was composed of "equal portions of genuine and counterfeit notes, which had been cut and pasted together."(7) Likely its counterpart step brother was still in circulation.
That was not the only fake $10, the day's mail brought to the treasurer: Also crossing Spinner's desk that day was another $10 note "so bad that it ought not to deceive anybody."(8)
"Counterfeit money is more easily detected than counterfeit telegrams," a Washington correspondent opined in late August, 1869. Treasury folks in the nation's capital "have been busy exercising their ingenuity in the analyzing of doubtful bills." The U.S. Treasurer's office had received two new fake ten-spots. "They were good productions, and well calculated to deceive," he added.(9) The U.S. Treasurer was even asked to rule on whether certain Confederate treasury notes involved in litigation in Prussian courts were genuine or counterfeit. Spinner declined to rule.(10)
Frederick Kaiser appeared before U.S. Commissioner Shields in New York having been accused of passing a $10 counterfeit note on a man named Henry Viebey. On Sept. 6, 1869, the accused was held for examination.(11)
At the end of September 1869 a Long Island hotel keeper John Kavanagh paid a maid Sarah McDermott her $10 monthly wage. The bill proved bogus. Appearing before a magistrate, Justice Voorhies questioned both parties. The domestic swore the fake sawbuck came from her employer. In his defense Kavanagh claimed a fake must have been substituted for the real note he had given the woman. Who to believe? Justice Voorhies demanded that the hotelier pay the young woman a genuine $10. "A transfer was at once made by the institution of good money for the worthless paper."(12)
The official issue of Series 1862/3 Legal Tender Notes, like the $10 with the image of Abraham Lincoln which we've traced in this series, concluded April 19, 1869, but the initial release of the first Series 1869 Rainbow $10 notes did not occur for another six months, Oct. 19, 1869.(13) Note, roll out for the $100 Lincoln note was even later on Dec. 4, 1869. It's thus arguable that reports of bogus $10s after this date could conceivably have been fakes emulating the newer species Webster sawbuck. That's not very likely, though, at least through the end of 1870 because it would have taken time for the fakers to ramp up and, of course, the new bills were much harder to fake. We'll wind down this presentation, though.
I have yet to see a $10 Series 1869 Webster counterfeit, however, I have observed a great many $10 Series 1875 Webster counterfeits.
The New York Times' pique over presidential pardons of counterfeiters continued to be played out across the pages of the periodical. In late November, 1869, the paper commented: "Whether it may be that the pardoning era has passed, and that a counterfeiter is no longer sure of escape by Presidential favor&it is a very satisfactory reflection that counterfeiting is becoming dangerous enough to keep the currency tolerably free from it."(14)
But, two days later, the appearance of more counterfeit ten-spots was trumpeted on the front page of the New York Times issue of Nov. 30, 1869. These new fakes turned up in Boston.
According to a report from Beantown, the bogus bills were "excellent imitations of the genuine."(15)
Frequently in these pages, I have noted that the central government's contention that elimination of state bank circulation from competition with the federal Treasury notes and issues of the national associations was touted by the feds as a way to clean up the counterfeiting malaise of the Antebellum years. This was also offered as a rationale for the money grab pulled off during the Civil War.
It should be obvious from the foregoing that the rosy predictions of reduced fakery failed to pan out. The year 1869 was the worst year yet. It brought forth the most secure federal currency to that time. The anecdotal evidence in this column from the pages of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle and New York Times could be multiplied many times over. We only considered reports which included fake $10 greenbacks. Many hundreds of reports never mentioned the specific bill. Still others reported bogus state bank notes, or fakes on national associations. You get the idea.
To be continued&
The Lost Cause Update
Robert Neale from North Carolina wrote: "I shall be grateful to anyone who can provide information about wall plaques that appeared in the 1870s-1880s and featured the 'Lost Cause' poem composed by Confederate Major Sidney Alroy Jonas. Jonas is supposed to have written the poem on the back of a $500 note (Feb. 1864 issue) shortly before his discharge, following Gen.
Joseph E. Johnston's surrender of his troops to Gen. Sherman near Greensboro, NC, in April 1865. The poem, also known as 'Something Too Good To Be Lost,' was later printed on poster sheets that contained decoration and spaces for attachment of 7 or 8 different, genuine Confederate notes.
"The only discussion I have encountered so far about these plaques is your July 2007 Bank Note Reporter column. I have just encountered what I believe to be an original example and wish to learn much more about who produced such items, when and how many, and their current rarities and values. The owner's family has displayed the plaque since the 19th century and is seeking background on their historic piece.
"One example is available on the Library of Congress web site. Who knows where the others are? According to your column, examples of Lost Cause plaques were later made using replica examples of CSA notes. I'm more interested in those that bear actual notes. Google hasn't been much help, although that may be my fault, and I have not yet tried to research auction house sales. I invite those so inclined to contact me."
Bob sent me a photo of the plaque that he found, which is indeed identical to one on the Library of Congress Web site. It contains real CSA 1864-issue notes: $1, $2, two $5s, $10, $20, $50 and $100. We'll illustrate the Library of Congress example for clarity's sake. Another example observed had a full range of denominations $1-$500. A search of www.worldcat.org turned up an additional example at the Boston Athenaeum.
Does any BNR reader have more information on these rather elegant trophies?
ABNCo Die No. 141 Update
For those keeping score, I discovered illustrations of three additional uses of ABNCo die No. 141 (the Lincoln portrait that graced Series 1861 $10 Demand Notes and Series 1862/1863 $10 Legal Tenders), on which I reported extensively in this column earlier (Parts 29, 30, 33). I discovered these illustrations when I was finalizing my book for the Lincoln bicentennial Abraham Lincoln, the Image of His Greatness: Ideal, Idol & Icon (Whitman Publishing LLC, 2008).
The original steel intaglio die and roller cylinder die, which translated Charles Burt's portrait to the currency printing plates, are illustrated in the book, too. As readers might recall, I was the fortunate purchaser of these items through the ABNCo archives dispersal of printing plates and dies over the past couple of years.
Since all three of these additional uses are historic they are worth sharing with readers of this column. The first is the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Loan of 1861 6 percent $50 bond, authorized by the state on May 15, 1861, which we listed in the die 141 genealogy as "Reed-9 c. 1863 State of Pennsylvania bond, Lincoln at upper left, Civil War era state governor Andrew Curtin (1861-1867) at upper right (not shown)."(16)
I'm happy to correct that erroneous entry now. The illustration I found tucked away in my files had been supplied by the late Arlie Slabaugh years ago from his personal collection. As can be seen, the bond bears the imprint "American Bank Note Co., Philada." In addition to Lincoln and the Pennsylvania war governor, it also has Winfield Scott, Andrew Jackson, two vignettes of George Washington and additional patriotic motifs.
The really exciting discovery in locating the illustration, however, is its date June 1, 1861. This means ABNCo printed this wartime state bond before it contracted to print the Demand Notes. Thus this bond is now the earliest known use of ABNCo die No. 141, the Lincoln portrait that would become the most popular and most widely circulated image of Lincoln during his lifetime.
I also discovered an illustration of a similar Commonwealth of Massachusetts $1,000 6 percent coupon bond, which appeared as Lot 1605 of a Sept. 26, 1997, R.M. Smythe & Co. auction. In addition to the ABNCo Lincoln die No. 141, the bond shows Gov. John Andrew, the state seal, and two patriotic vignettes. These bonds were authorized by the state legislature on May 11, 1861. The bond was issued Oct. 1, 1861. Unfortunately I was an under bidder on the lot, which went for $400, and the catalog illustration is not readily reproducible.
The use of the Lincoln currency image on these state war bonds, one or both of which were apparently printed before ABNCo used the Lincoln portrait on Demand Notes in August 1861, is definitely worth putting on the historical record here, too.
The other newly re-found use for ABNCo die No. 141, that was unknown to cataloger Winfred Porter Truesdell and to my chagrin was mis-remembered (a good Yogi Berraism) by this scribe when I wrote about these items earlier, is an ABNCo printer's sample that was part of a souvenir book circa 1870s. Printed on card, it surrounds Russian Tsar Alexander II with Lincoln and Grant, smaller profiles of Franklin, Washington, and two griffins. At the time, ABNCo was actively soliciting foreign currency printing contracts, which it was quite successful in obtaining.
Calling Confederate Scholars
Here's a numismatic bibliographic problem that I hope BNR readers can help me solve. As regular readers of this column will recall, I've written extensively in the past about the history of Confederate currency collecting in Bank Note Reporter, and will return to that subject when the current series on counterfeiting of Legal Tender Notes winds down.
My colleagues and I are attempting to determine the relative scarcity of several early Confederate currency catalogs, namely Lee's 1875 catalog, Haseltine's 1876 catalog, Thian's 1885 catalog, and Massamore's 1889 catalog, by taking a census of extant copies.
The works of interest are:
Lee, William. The currency of the Confederate States of America, a description of the various notes& Washington: 1875.
Haseltine, John W. Descriptive catalogue of Confederate notes and bonds. Philadelphia: Bavis & Pennypacker, Steam Power Printers, 1876. (Note: This publication is sometimes bound with Haseltine's 1872 pamphlet on Continental currency)
Thian, Raphael P. The currency of the Confederate States, arranged by issues, denominations and series. Washington: 1885.
Massamore, George W. Descriptive and chronological catalogue of Confederate currency. Baltimore: Massamore, 1889.
However, there is a fly in the ointment, we've found.
According to numismatic book auctioneer George Frederick Kolbe, the Haseltine catalog was "reprinted" at a time yet to be established.(17) He addressed the reprint in a recent contribution to the weekly numismatic electronic newsletter eSylum. I had inquired about the catalog in an earlier eSylum, and editor Wayne Homren illustrated his example of the 1876 Haseltine catalog, similar to several observed by the present author. It measures 15.6 by 23.3 cm.
Kolbe wrote: "Your '1876' Haseltine looks like it may be the unidentified facsimile reprint (the double-rule border does not look like the original, nor does the color and texture of the cover appear to be 'right'). Kolbe's notes on how to identify the Haseltine reprint include: 1.) It is printed by an offset process, not the letterpress or stereotype method used at the time, i.e., printed from type which is impressed into the paper, whereas offset printing deposits the ink on the surface of the paper; 2.) The paper and cover stock is quite different from that manufactured in the nineteenth century; and 3.) The cover border already mentioned (in the original the inner line is quite thin and was probably too difficult to replicate with the technology of the time and in the reprint both lines are of similar width).
Kolbe continued: "A large paper copy is featured in my January 10, 2009, sale. I believe the printing is identical to the regular 1876 edition." That example measures 29.5 by 23 cm. In his online catalog for this item the auctioneer wrote: "Special Large Paper Copy. Rare. In his introductory 'Notice' Haseltine writes: 'I have a few copies of this catalogue printed on extra large and fine paper at one dollar per copy." The special copy was graded Fine/VF, and estimated at $500.(18)
Kolbe reported to the present writer, that he has seen "a half dozen or so" original 1876 Haseltine Confederate currency catalogs. According to www.worldcat.org, the 1876 Haseltine Confederate currency catalog is fairly scarce in reference and public libraries in that system. Worldcat reports 10 copies. (By comparison, Worldcat reports only four paper copies and a single microform copy of the Massamore reference.) Additionally, at present I know of 11 more Haseltines. Unfortunately, what is not known is whether these are "originals" or "reprints."
If BNR readers having copies of any of these publications would kindly notify me at fred@spmc.org or by mail, I would be most thankful. I can keep correspondents' identities confidential if desired, and Confederate currency collectors and numismatic bibliophiles will have better information available. Results will be reported here in a subsequent column.
Two Personal Notes
We were informed this past summer that "Shades of the Blue and Grey" had been honored by the Numismatic Literary Guild as "Best Column" in Numismatic Newspapers for the third time in the last four years. This is very gratifying and humbling, because I regard this monthly effort as a real collaboration in which I have strong partners in BNR editors Dave Harper and Bob Van Ryzin (previously Dave Kranz) and the best, most informed and industrious readers in the hobby. To all those who have written me, answered my questions, and helped in various ways over the past several years, you have my profound thanks.
As always, I welcome feedback from BNR readers. We cover a lot of ground in this column, and it's surprising what sparks the interest of individuals.
Questions, comments, cheers or jeers are welcome. You can contact me at fred@spmc.org or by mail at P.O. Box 118162, Carrollton, TX 75011-8162. If you write and wish a reply, please include a self-addressed stamped envelope, but please be aware that if your subject is of interest generally it may be addressed in a future column instead.
End Notes
(1.) "Statement of the Issues of Currency During the Fiscal Year 1867," Finance Report of the Secretary of the Treasury.
(2.) See Davis Rich Dewey, Early Financial History of the United States, Longmans Green, 1903, pp. 340ff.
(3.) David R. Johnson, Illegal Tender, Smithsonian Institution Press, 1995, Table 5.1.
(4.) See also Bruce Sterling, "The Secret Service Battles the Boodlers," www.chriswaltrip.com.
(5.) Gene Gurney and Clare Gurney, The United States Treasury, Crown Publishers, 1978, p. 185.
(6.) "The Counterfeit Panic," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Aug. 5, 1869; "The Counterfeit Greenbacks, New York Times, Aug. 5, 1869; see Part 39 supra.
(7.) "From Washington: A Counterfeit Curiosity," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Aug. 17, 1869.
(8.) "From Washington: Personal," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Aug. 17, 1869.
(9.) "From Washington: Counterfeit Money," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Aug. 28, 1869.
(10.) See "A Delicate Question," New York Times, Sept. 14, 1869.
(11.) "Law Reports: United States Commissioners' Office, before Commissioner Shields, Passing a Ten-Dollar Counterfeit," New York Times, Sept. 9, 1869, p. 3.
(12.) "Police Intelligence: A Counterfeit Ten," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Oct. 1, 1869.
(13.) Jas. Gilfillan, Report of the Treasurer of the United States, Oct. 1, 1881, in Annual Report of the Secretary of the Treasury on the State of the Finances for the Year 1881,
p. 455.
(14.) Untitled, New York Times, Nov. 28, 1869.
(15.) "The East: Counterfeit United States Tens in Boston," New York Times, Nov. 30, 1869, p. 1.
(16.) Winfred Porter Truesdell, Engraved and Lithographed Portraits of Abraham Lincoln, vol. 2, 1933, 34.1N, p. 102.
(17.) eSylum, vol. 11, no. 44, Nov. 2, 2008.
(18.) George Frederick Kolbe, "The Twinleaf Library," Auction sale 107, Jan. 10, 2009, lot 85, p. 54.
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