111–120 of 152 posts
If you want to know more, there is a much better and very entertainingly written series of articles about this, from a 1949 issue of the New Yorker: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1949/08/27/old-eight-eigh...
https://archive.ph/MLJHu
Whatever legal business we are in otherwise, apparently it's the wrong one
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> the state reserves some of the harshest punishments for counterfeiters This is empirically untrue [1]. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counterfeit_money#Penalties_by...
The number of countries where life imprisonment is available possible sentence for counterfeiting seems to confirm it having some of the harshest punishments.
All of those, I believe, have the death penalty for e.g. corporate fraud.
This is a bit of a nut job hypothesis. States don’t collapse because of private counterfeiting. It simply becomes an economic nuisance. The budget given to anti-counterfeiting in any country is generally a rounding error compared with other policing.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
This was pretty common with £1 coins until they moved to bimetallic coinage. The fakes would be rejected by vending machines. The biggest tells were poor reeding quality and slightly soft detailing. On very low quality fakes, the face and obverse weren't aligned, though I never encountered one of these in the wild.
Back in the 2000s/10s I had a little jar of various £1 and a couple 50p I was certain were fake. Interestingly the fake £1 I got most frequently were -from- vending machines - I wonder if those refilling them slipped them in? Sadly not sure where they are now, they were also mixed in with a good few £5 coins I bought, I used to love paying for things with a £5 coin. Hope I find them again!
I recall reading that they were smuggled into the country by organized crime. They'd then sell them for around 60p on the pound to coin heavy businesses (esp. laundry and vending.)
Earlier quoted context omitted.
The state reserves some of the harshest punishments for counterfeiters, since large scale counterfeit operations is one of the few crimes that is an attack on the state itself. The US secret service was originally created specifically to combat counterfeit money, it's no surprise that they would keep tracking this man for a decade. This man is unusual because he did the tiniest amount of one the most severely punishe…
I have two "counterfeiting" stories - both of which are humorous even though one involve the Secret Service. The first was in college. A buddy of mine scribbled a facsimile of a $20 onto a piece of paper with a green marker. He then handed it to the checkout clerk at the cafeteria who took it and started to hand them back change. He stopped her and said "no, no it's a joke - look at what I just handed you". She was e…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Do they? I certainly don't - it's just a wad of notes. I'd probably notice if the one on top didn't have a "20" on it, and that's about it. When I spend it I'm also just looking to see if it has a "20" on it.
I hate speding dollars. All the bill sizes being g the same, and the colors similar. Too easy to make mistakes. I feel for the blind...how do they cope?
One dollar in 1943 is worth about $19 today's dollars. He started in 1938 and was arrested in 1948: 1938 23.42 1943 19.09 1948 13.70 Enough to buy some supplies, but how did he pay the rent? Perhaps he owned his apartment. https://www.in2013dollars.com/us/inflation/1948?amount=1
If $1 is $19 I am suprised more people didnt check that their $1 notes are legit back then. Story makes it sound like $1 was chump change.
I don't remember the last time I paid $20 in cash. [That's like AR$30K here in Argentina. For that ammount, we mostly use credit card, debit card or one of the apps with QR.]
Earlier quoted context omitted.
"since large scale counterfeit operations is one of the few crimes that is an attack on the state itself" If somebody beats someone else up, to teach him a lesson - this is also a direct attack on the state itself, the monopoly on violence. But "large scale"? This old man with his crude tools and bad 1 dollar notes? "The press adored him and the public sympathized with him. " That is probably the bit, that got them e…
> this is also a direct attack on the state itself, the monopoly on violence. not quite, the state monopolises _legitimate_ violence. it delegitimises the violence of individuals by making assault etc illegal.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think the public take a pretty pragmatic view on this and don't care as long as they are not losing money on it. A few years ago it was estimated that 3% or so of the 1 pound coins in the UK were fake (there is now a more secure coin type); AFAIK the quality was pretty good, so they weren't glaringly obvious, and it seems no-one really cared - if the supermarket or pub would accept it, then it's effectively money,…
> if the supermarket or pub would accept it, then it's effectively money, right? Only long as you both accept the same shared understanding of what it is. If one of you believes it's counterfeit and the other doesn't (whether it actually is or isn't!)... then it's not effectively money, no. For example, I don't know about you, but I sure as hell wouldn't knowingly pass off a counterfeit on the basis that the supermar…
Fiat currency has no inherent value - it's just a system of communal acceptance. If everyone accepts the fake coins then they ARE money. As you note, the system only breaks down if some people stop accepting it.
It'd be interesting if someone from the UK could chime in: Were you aware of all the fake pounds circulating (1 in 30!) ? Did you notice if you got one? Did you care?