72 United States Coinage. [August, 



however, with copper it imparts a reddish tint; and when with 

 silver, it becomes paler than natural; and these changes are 

 slightly increased by wear. When, however, the alloy is both 

 silver and copper, as is the case with the United States' coin, the 

 color remains constant. In consequence, then, of the alloy, there 

 may be a slight variation in the color of the true coin. The 

 French coin is slightly verging to the reddish tinge; and some of 

 the private coinages at the south are pale and slightly brassy. 

 Nevertheless, both are fine standard gold. 



But a source of deception may arise from gilding. This is 

 more likely to be a source of deception in a new counterfeit. 

 Half dollars have been gilded and passed for eagles; but now 

 there is too great a diversity in size to permit this fraud. A 

 gilded coin will, of course, be brighter; and though its color may 

 be right, other characters will be sufficient to raise suspicion of 

 its genuineness. Gold coins have been debased by cutting out 

 the interior and filling it with base metals, or discs, and soldering 

 them to another disc of platina. Here color would be of no 

 avail; but still, close inspection might detect the imposition. 

 This kind of counterfeit is not likely to happen frequently, as it 

 requires considerable skill, ingenuity and patience, and cannot be 

 very profitable. Platina must be used for the interior; and as 

 this is also expensive, is not likely to be much resorted to; and 

 the baser metals would make the coin too light, unless it was in- 

 creased in thickness. But there is still another way which is 

 followed in counterfeiting gold coin: it is by an alloy of gold, 

 copper or silver, which must amount to from one fourth to two 

 thirds gold, in order to be passable In order, however, to obtain 

 the golden surface in as great perfection as possible, the piece is 

 immersed in nitric acid; by which means a thin layer of the base 

 metal is removed, leaving a suiface of gold. This surface, how- 

 ever, becomes tarnished by exposure; and the points of adultera- 

 tion become evident, especially if inspected by a microscope. 

 Gilding will be detected by removing a slice with a knife; and 

 an alloy, which has been immersed in acid, or pickled as termed, 

 may also be detected by the knife, and by careful inspection with 

 a magnifying glass; it will not appear in that perfectly smooth 

 and even surface as the highly compressed eagle and half eagle. 



Silver coin, when counterfeited, may be an alloy, plated or 

 galvanized. The alloy may contain silver, or it may not. Often 

 the composition is that of German silver. This may be suspected 

 when the piece assumes a yellowish tint; which, to discover, need 

 be placed by the side of a true coin. A piece which is plated 

 must be cut into, and the copper will be seen. A galvanized 

 piece has the true silver white color; but close inspection will 

 frequently, if not always, exhibit a crystalline surface in small 



