1847.] United States Coinage. 71 



Counterfeiting coin has always been regarded as a felony, and 

 has been usually punished with great severity. The ancient 

 Egyptians cut o if" both hands; and under the civil law of ancient 

 Rome, counterfeiters were thrown to wild beasts. Constantine 

 ordered it treason; and in Great Britain it is a felony, punisha- 

 ble with death, though usually commuted by transportation for 

 life. In the United States, it may be punished by a fine not ex- 

 ceeding five thousand dollars, and imprisonment at hard labor for 

 a term not exceeding ten years. 



The crime is shown by the statistics of Great Britain to be a 

 prevalent one; as it appears from examination that the number 

 of convictions in England and Wales for four years only, endino" 

 with 1847, amounted to eleven hundred and thirty. 



A coin falls under suspicion when its color, its workmanship, 

 size and ring varies from its ordinary standard. The kinds which 

 are the most common are the American half dollar. The gold 

 coins, too, are counterfeited; but there is greater difficulty to be 

 overcome, and hence fewer counterfeits are attempted. 



The determination of a good or a spurious coin is based upon 

 the fixed and unchangeable laws of nature. In the case of the 

 metals, and indeed with all other bodies, there are certain essen- 

 tial properties which do not vary, and which may always be used 

 to identify them. Indeed, their existence is no more certain than 

 their properties. Silver can never be red or yellow. Neither 

 can copper be white or yellow. So, too, their relations to other 

 bodies are fixed and constant; and thereby furnish absolute proof 

 of their identity. They melt at a certain temperature; each 

 having its own degree at which it softens and fuses; each has its 

 own color, hardness, specific gravity; and each, too, respectively, 

 is either malleable, ductile or brittle. The bodies termed acids act 

 also in certain ways; some are soluble in them, some not; and each 

 gives a solution whose color is the same, or passes through cer- 

 tain definite changes which are the same under similar circum- 

 stances. 



Many preliminary tests are resorted to for determining the 

 character of a com. These are usually indecisive, though not 

 without value, inasmuch as they may be used on the spur of the 

 occasion, and are at least sufficiently important either to excite 

 or allay suspicion; but yet, are incompetent to establish that 

 amount of certainty which ought always to be required for con- 

 viction. 



The most obvious characters are those sensible ones which are 

 recognized by sight, feel, smell and hearing. 



1. Sight. By sight we are able to test the color of the coin, 

 and its execution and size. A piece of pure gold exhibits that 

 rich, golden yellow which is so well known. When alloyed, 



