AMERICAN SAILOR DUPED

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17603, 31 July 1925, Page 12

AMERICAN SAILOR DUPED

POLISHED HALF-PENNY TRICK. CROWD CHASES OFFENDER. A contemptible trick was practised upon an American sailor on the. night of the arrival of the warships at Sydney by a confidence man in George Street” A crowd of people, becoming aware of the occurrence, set upon the offender. The trickster approached the. American sailor, and, after talking with him for a little time, asked him whether he was having trouble in understanding Australian coinage. The sailor admitted that lie had not quite mastered the values, and pulled a gold five-dollar piece from his pocket, saying that be. knew it was worth a little more, or less than a sovereign—lie was not quite sure which. The sailor's newly made acquaintance thereupon assured him that it was worth a little less than a sovereign, “but,” he added, "I will give you a sovereign for it. I would like it, ns a souvenir,” at the same time extracting a halfpenny, which he had evidently polished up, from his pocket. The exchange was made, the sailor being unaware of the mean trick being played on him. A man standing near by had seen the transaction, and, enlisting the aid of a couple of bystanders, asked the sailor to show the coin he had received. As he produced the shining half-penny, the trickster made an effort to escape, and immediately he was set upon. Tho sailor stood by mystified, until he was later told of the significance of the happening. After he had been pummelled by his irate attackers, the man managed to wrench himself free, and was soon lost to sight in the crowd, although twenty or thirty men were close up on his heels with the view of handing liim over to the police.