Sweating your gold
tresgatos
Posts: 531 ✭
A little more than three years ago Mr. Longacre asked in a post if anyone had read
the book Counterfeit Mis-Struck and Unofficial U.S. Coins by Don Taxay. A few
responded that they had and thought it was a good read. I was left a copy of this book
and thought I might share a few passages. There is another thread with a link
to a coinbooks.org article on the curious story of Mr. Taxay. Seems like he is the
Everett Ruess of numismatics.
From the book Counterfeit Mis-Struck and Unofficial U.S. Coins by Don Taxay, 1963:
There comes a time then, in every collector's life, when he must
put away his history and begin talking current events. Counterfeit
coins are, after all, still very much with us, and there is little
evidence that their production is going to cease in the foreseeable future.
The problem for us is learning how to detect them.
This is, admittedly, not always easy and even the expert may get fooled once
in a while. Nevertheless, it is better to avail oneself of the knowledge
at hand than bemoan the fact that we may not all become infallible.
Besides, in the realm of counterfeit detection, the difference between
knowing almost everything and almost nothing is about the same as
going into battle with or without one's gun.
Among the less heralded advances in nineteenth century economic
thinking were a few in the ancient and esteemed art of coin clipping.
Of course some of the old timers, undaunted by the advent of
reeding, continued to round off the edges of gold coins by means
of a lathe, but the amount of metal that could be removed without
detection was nominal, and it was felt by most that a fresh approach
was indicated.
The difficulty, it was realized, lay in the tacit assumption that
the content of a coin could only be extracted from its edge. Thus
casting aside past prejudices, the underworld economists began
now on a different track.
The "new approach" consisted of four techniques which were
known respectively as sweating, plugging, scooping and filling. In
the first, one put several gold coins in a box or bag and then shook
them until bits of metal had fallen off. During the process, the
practitioner probably "sweated" as much as the coins, but the soft-
ness of gold was found to compensate for his labors. The possibilities
of this technique can be realized when we consider that a mere
moving and counting of a million dollars worth of gold in the U.S.
treasury vaults once reduced the weight of its bullion by twenty-
five pounds ( troy weight ) or $10,500!
In later years, the advent of electrolysis gave a big boost to the
votaries of sweating. The use of an electric current enabled the
counterfeiter to remove the metal equally throughout the surface of
the coin without incurring any of the damage to it that resulted from
the incessant jostling.
In the days when gold, in all its numerous forms, could be freely
manipulated by individuals, it was very difficult for the authorities
to contend with the evil of sweating. It is probable, in fact, that the
practice continued right up to the Gold-Prohibition Act of 1934.
the book Counterfeit Mis-Struck and Unofficial U.S. Coins by Don Taxay. A few
responded that they had and thought it was a good read. I was left a copy of this book
and thought I might share a few passages. There is another thread with a link
to a coinbooks.org article on the curious story of Mr. Taxay. Seems like he is the
Everett Ruess of numismatics.
From the book Counterfeit Mis-Struck and Unofficial U.S. Coins by Don Taxay, 1963:
There comes a time then, in every collector's life, when he must
put away his history and begin talking current events. Counterfeit
coins are, after all, still very much with us, and there is little
evidence that their production is going to cease in the foreseeable future.
The problem for us is learning how to detect them.
This is, admittedly, not always easy and even the expert may get fooled once
in a while. Nevertheless, it is better to avail oneself of the knowledge
at hand than bemoan the fact that we may not all become infallible.
Besides, in the realm of counterfeit detection, the difference between
knowing almost everything and almost nothing is about the same as
going into battle with or without one's gun.
Among the less heralded advances in nineteenth century economic
thinking were a few in the ancient and esteemed art of coin clipping.
Of course some of the old timers, undaunted by the advent of
reeding, continued to round off the edges of gold coins by means
of a lathe, but the amount of metal that could be removed without
detection was nominal, and it was felt by most that a fresh approach
was indicated.
The difficulty, it was realized, lay in the tacit assumption that
the content of a coin could only be extracted from its edge. Thus
casting aside past prejudices, the underworld economists began
now on a different track.
The "new approach" consisted of four techniques which were
known respectively as sweating, plugging, scooping and filling. In
the first, one put several gold coins in a box or bag and then shook
them until bits of metal had fallen off. During the process, the
practitioner probably "sweated" as much as the coins, but the soft-
ness of gold was found to compensate for his labors. The possibilities
of this technique can be realized when we consider that a mere
moving and counting of a million dollars worth of gold in the U.S.
treasury vaults once reduced the weight of its bullion by twenty-
five pounds ( troy weight ) or $10,500!
In later years, the advent of electrolysis gave a big boost to the
votaries of sweating. The use of an electric current enabled the
counterfeiter to remove the metal equally throughout the surface of
the coin without incurring any of the damage to it that resulted from
the incessant jostling.
In the days when gold, in all its numerous forms, could be freely
manipulated by individuals, it was very difficult for the authorities
to contend with the evil of sweating. It is probable, in fact, that the
practice continued right up to the Gold-Prohibition Act of 1934.
molon labe
0
Comments
"Keep your malarkey filter in good operating order" -Walter Breen
Or, one could apply the effort and ingenuity toward actual work.... nah, that's going out of style
Liberty: Parent of Science & Industry
<< <i>I had a great Uncle that worked in a funeral home during the depression, families often help pay for funeral expenses with the deceased gold teeth. >>
Wow! I'm reading an excellent book on the Dust Bowl right now, but haven't gotten to the teeth chapter!
Interesting post!