COUNTERFEITERS AGAIN IN OPERATION IN CHRISTCHURCH

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18960, 6 January 1930, Page 9

COUNTERFEITERS AGAIN IN OPERATION IN CHRISTCHURCH

Czrculate Another Issue Of Spurious Cozns During Holidays. Counterfeiters are still victimising business firms in Christchurch. Since the Christmas and New Year holi—--days, another batch of spurious coins has been put into circulation. Apparently the counterfeiters have manufactured new dies, for a number of the coins which have been passed over shop counters recently are of a different date to those first detected. The earlier issue of bad halfcrowns was dated either 1916 or 1919; the recent issue bears the date 1923. Practice is evidently bringing the counterfeiters nearer to perfection, for their recent efforts do not show as much of the pitting as was noticeable in the surface of some former issues. Spurious half—crowns which were shown to a “ Star ” reporter this morning were hard to distinguish from the genuine coin and it was only by weighing the coins that one could be' identified from the other. “ I thought we had got rid of this nuisance,” said the manager of one firm, “ but the Christmas and New Year turnovers were not without a crop of ‘ duds.’ It was not hard for counterfeit coins to be passed on to us during the rush of our peak hours.”