SILVERED PENNIES.

Taranaki Daily News, 26 August 1922, Page 6

SILVERED PENNIES.

TWO YOUTHS CHARGED. NO CRIMINAL OBJECT, r Two youths, aged I’B and 19 years respectively, appeared in the New Plymouth Magistrate’s Court before Mr. A. M. Mow!cm, S.M., yesterday, on charges that on August 22 last, at New Plymouth, they made counterfeit coins from genuine coins, namely pennies, with in- : tent to mafe them resemble current si I- i ver coins. One of the accused was charged with counterfeiting two coins, and the other with counterfeiting six. Detective-Sergeant Cooney said that in consequence of complaints mgde to the police in reference to silvered pennies being in circulation. Constable Pari kinson and /himself had seen one of the accused at his lodgings, and asked him if he had any silvered pennies in his possession. He answered no, and on the police producing a search warrant, he invited the police in, saying he had a silvered penny in the pocket of Ij;: drill uniform, whilst another found in. a drawer. Asked where he got these coins from, accused sajd his room-mate (the other accused) had brought home a bottle of silveroid and had silvered the penny. As icr himself he had taken four of the silvered coins to his home in the country, whilst one he had given to his cousin and another to a' man employed at the same place as he was. Cm seeing the coin his father told him he was liable for 10 years. The other accused was then interviewed, and said he had bought some silveroid for his I motor-cycle, and had also silvered two pennies. He 'said he had not put any of the silvered coins into circulation. The detective-sergeant pointed out to the Court that silveroid was a dangerous thing. He also handed in a coin the police had experimented on by silvering it on one aide. Detective-Sergeant Cooney desired to give evidence of similar kinds of coins having been circulated, but both counsel for the accused objected on the groufids that the evidence was inadmissible.

After a lengthy legal argument the Magistrate allowed the detective to give certain evidence. The detective then said that he had had complaints from the public that similar - coins -to those exhibited in Court had been in circulation in New Plymouth. Both counsel had their objections recorded against this evidence.

Mr. C. H. Croker said that although the offence was a serious one, in fact the most serious in New Zealand, with the exception of a capital qii’ence, he proposed to ask the Court to dismiss the information as he objected to the allegation that accused silvered the coins

“with intent to make them resemble’ current silver coins.” If the accused had done something which made the pennies an absolute replica of some other coin of a higher, dr even a lower, denomination a conviction nust be recorded. But if intent was not proved in this case then accused did not come within the bounds of the law. One side of the silvered coin did perhaps resemble a genuine silver coin, but the difference ’ could be. easily detected, whilst the other side was utterly dissimilar from any silver coin. Then, too, the silvered pennies had no milled edge, which all silver coins above threepence had and retained, even when the figures on the face of the coin were almost obliterated.

Mr. Freeman addressed the Court on similar lines, stating that the offences were really trivial. The Magistrate remarked that he c'id not agree that the offences were trivial—they were anything but that, but there was a good deal to be said in favor of both the accused.

The Magistrate said the question was whether the guilty mind existed, and he just had a doubt whbther or not it did. There was the fact that the silvered coin did resemble to some extent some coin of another denomination. In view, however, of the two young fellows’ frankness, the character given them by the constable, and the straight-forward manner they had dealt with the coins by not attempting to dispose of them, it appeared that the intent to make the coins resemble other coins was not as conclusively proved as was needed for the Higher Court. He was aware he was taking a serious responsibility, but he intended to dismiss the informations in view of all the circumstances. “I hope the accused will realise the seriousness of the matter, especially in view of the detective’s evidence as to the passing of such coins,” said the Magistrate. who proceeded to point out how extremely careful people should be not to put silveroid on coins, for if they did and the coins were passed, then they would have to stand trial.

The Magistrate expressed the opinion that a prohibition should be placed on the sale of silveroid seeing the article could so easily be used for a sinster purpose and thus get foolish, unthinking young people into trouble. The law should prohibit the sale of silveroid as it did the sale of poisons. He had taken rather an extraordinary step in dismissing the cases, but he hoped it would be a warning to those who were doing more than these boys apparently' had.