FORGED NOTES

Dominion, Volume 24, Issue 179, 27 April 1931, Page 8

FORGED NOTES

Number in Circulation TRAIL FROM AUCKLAND Shopkeepers Victimised Seven counterfeit pound notes very similar to those issued by the Bank of New South Wales were changed by shopkeepers in the city on Saturday evening. The notes were reported to the police, and it was found that they were all alike. They bear the number E 931885, and are dated “Wellington, Ist April, 1929.” Shopkeepers and the public generally are warned against cashing them. It was reported in' Wellington before the forged notes were cashed here that notes with the same number and date had been issued in Auckland and Hamilton on Friday. They arrived here apparently on Saturday evening, and were exchanged in each case after a small purchase had been made, so that the tenderer of the note received back the greater part of a pound in cash. It was not until the shopkeepers went through their cash at night that they noticed the notes were not the real thing. The counterfeit issue is a fair imitation of the genuine note, but there are a number of faults by which the public can easily detect them. All the forged notes bear the number E 931885, and are printed on inferior paper, which is less crisp to the touch and can fairly easily be torn. The colour of the printing is lighter than the genuine New South Wales note, which is violet, while in gome respects the printing is poor. Details of the border work and the name “New South Wales,” superimposed on the border, are not nearly so clear as in the original, while the centre seal, which lies at the top between the two seals bearing the denomination of the note is vague in even the best of the notes in the hands of the police. The seal on the genuine note comprises the figures of a seated woman surrounded by sheep, but on the forgeries these symbols cannot be easily identified. The notes have been made by a nhotogrnphic process, and portions of the original note added after printing. The signatures, date of issue, numbers, and words “Wellington, N.Z.,” have been written over again in ink. Presumably these portions did not reproduce well, and it was necessary to go over them, with the result that the numbers have not a clear-cut appearance. On close examination, the signatures are seen to -have been penned over a light reproduction of the original, although in formation of the letters they are a perfect copy of the genuine signatures. Number E 931885, and the signatures of R. P. Ramsay, manager, and H. T. Rockell. are those of the current issue of the Bank of New South Wales notes, as is the date, April 1. 1929. . PASSINGS IN -AUCKLAND Sixteen Reported Dominion Special Service. Auckland, April 26. Sixteen counterfeit one pound Bank of New South Wales notes have been reported to the Auckland police The first one was cashed at a small shop in Newton about noon on Friday. Fourteen are known to have been passed in Otahuhu, while more have made their appearance in Pukekobe and other country towns en route to Hamilton. Over a dozen are known to have been cashed in Hamilton. In nearly every case the notes were passed in small shops in payment of a trifling purchase, the man who cashed them receiving almost £1 in change. It is believed that the man or men responsible for the counterfeiting commenced to pass notes on Friday morning in Auckland, trusting to have sufficient time to pass a number before one reached the bank. The forgers then set out through the province by a motor-ear, covering as much ground as possible before the shops closed at 9 p.m. on Friday. The fact that the forgeries were in circulation was broadcast from IYA. and with the publication of particulars of notes it is thought that no more will be passed. It is believed likely that at least as many as have been reported have been passed without detection, the total number placed in circulation being probably over one ftmdred.