Title Fight: Ref.Sec. A

Reference Section A

Counterfeiting Through The Ages

circa 700 B.C. Coins start to show up as accepted tokens for goods in the area around the Mediterranean.

circa 500 B.C. The first records of counterfeiting and the punishment of offenders show up.

circa 270 B.C. Pirates from Carthage use counterfeit Roman bills of lading and shipping documents to make off with thousands of shiploads of booty in the Mediterranean Sea area. One of the contributing factors leading to the Punic Wars.

circa 64 A.D. Emperor Nero hires three silversmiths from the Roman Mint and moves them to his summer home. Nothing was ever proven but accusations of impropriety dogged him until his death.

circa 1500 A.D. Precious-metal coins fall into disrepute, especially silver coins debased with lead. The mining of lead is widely prohibited.

1624 New England settlers feel the sting when some indian tribes pay for goods with counterfeit wampum.

1758 Liverpool native Richard Vaughn is the first man to counterfeit currency notes from the Bank of England. He is caught when authorities note the word "England" is misspelled.

1763 Benjamin Franklin is hired by the colonies of Rhode Island and New Jersey to make their paper notes less susceptible to counterfeiting. He is first to use proprietary inks and complex graphics to foil the bad guys. He favored arbor scenes with complex foliage.

1773 Counterfeit money is so common in Virginia that George Washington's plantation steward refuses to accept it as payment for crops.

1849 Counterfeit assay reports cause worthless land claims to be sold for exorbitant prices. The beginning of the end of the California Gold Rush.

1879 Counterfeit railroad stock certificates are sold in Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia. The perpetrators make off with over $70 million investment dollars. Their identity is unknown to this day.

1892 Emmanuel Ninger counterfeits $50 bills. He makes them appear worn by soaking them in coffee. His fourteen-year career ends when a Manhattan bartender notes that Mr. Ninger's bills left the smell of coffee on his hands.

1893 Miller Jacobs, a Philadelphia engraver, sends samples of U.S. currency to a German paper firm and asks them to copy it. They do and he orders ten tons. He is caught and sent to prison. He uses the facility's print shop to counterfeit a full pardon. He is released a week later and is never found.

1911 The American cigar market becomes chaos when Central American cigars (including U.S. tax stamps) are found to be phony. Some 45 million cigars had to be destroyed by tax agents.

1923 Interpol is established in Vienna, primarily to combat international counterfeiting of currency and bank notes.

1929 Diplomatic summit of thirty-two world powers in Geneva creates new uniform guidelines for laws against counterfeiting.

1971 Counterfeit birth control pills and other knock-off pharmaceuticals trigger FDA action.

1979 Virtually perfect vinyl records of the soundtrack of "Saturday Night Fever" are found on sale in Manila a full two weeks before the official U.S. release date. The LP, jacket, inner sleeve, and disc label are virtually identical to the real product.

1982 Counterfeit replacement parts for commercial airliners are blamed for several crashes. A Congressional probe follows.

1994 Loss of trade due to pirated compact discs exceeds American box office grosses ($5.4 billion). (caveat: for CD-ROM/Audio/Video combined, based on anecdotal reports & expert estimates since formal data-gathering rarely separates optical media.)

1996 The day that "Braveheart" wins Academy Awards for Best Director & Best Picture, it is available on the streets of Hong Kong for $10 in an illegal 3-disc Video CD set. Technical quality is professionally outstanding.

Table of Contents
Next Section

written April 1996 -- please send comments to veyr@primenet.com
© ZOOM TELEVISION, INC. 1996, all rights reserved

circa 700 B.C.	Coins start to show up as accepted tokens for goods in the area around the Mediterranean.
circa 500 B.C.	The first records of counterfeiting and the punishment of offenders show up.
circa 270 B.C.	Pirates from Carthage use counterfeit Roman bills of lading and shipping documents to make off with thousands of shiploads of booty in the Mediterranean Sea area. One of the contributing factors leading to the Punic Wars.
circa 64 A.D.	Emperor Nero hires three silversmiths from the Roman Mint and moves them to his summer home. Nothing was ever proven but accusations of impropriety dogged him until his death.
circa 1500 A.D.	Precious-metal coins fall into disrepute, especially silver coins debased with lead. The mining of lead is widely prohibited.
1624	New England settlers feel the sting when some indian tribes pay for goods with counterfeit wampum.
1758	Liverpool native Richard Vaughn is the first man to counterfeit currency notes from the Bank of England. He is caught when authorities note the word "England" is misspelled.
1763	Benjamin Franklin is hired by the colonies of Rhode Island and New Jersey to make their paper notes less susceptible to counterfeiting. He is first to use proprietary inks and complex graphics to foil the bad guys. He favored arbor scenes with complex foliage.
1773	Counterfeit money is so common in Virginia that George Washington's plantation steward refuses to accept it as payment for crops.
1849	Counterfeit assay reports cause worthless land claims to be sold for exorbitant prices. The beginning of the end of the California Gold Rush.
1879	Counterfeit railroad stock certificates are sold in Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia. The perpetrators make off with over $70 million investment dollars. Their identity is unknown to this day.
1892	Emmanuel Ninger counterfeits $50 bills. He makes them appear worn by soaking them in coffee. His fourteen-year career ends when a Manhattan bartender notes that Mr. Ninger's bills left the smell of coffee on his hands.
1893	Miller Jacobs, a Philadelphia engraver, sends samples of U.S. currency to a German paper firm and asks them to copy it. They do and he orders ten tons. He is caught and sent to prison. He uses the facility's print shop to counterfeit a full pardon. He is released a week later and is never found.
1911	The American cigar market becomes chaos when Central American cigars (including U.S. tax stamps) are found to be phony. Some 45 million cigars had to be destroyed by tax agents.
1923	Interpol is established in Vienna, primarily to combat international counterfeiting of currency and bank notes.
1929	Diplomatic summit of thirty-two world powers in Geneva creates new uniform guidelines for laws against counterfeiting.
1971	Counterfeit birth control pills and other knock-off pharmaceuticals trigger FDA action.
1979	Virtually perfect vinyl records of the soundtrack of "Saturday Night Fever" are found on sale in Manila a full two weeks before the official U.S. release date. The LP, jacket, inner sleeve, and disc label are virtually identical to the real product.
1982	Counterfeit replacement parts for commercial airliners are blamed for several crashes. A Congressional probe follows.
1994	Loss of trade due to pirated compact discs exceeds American box office grosses ($5.4 billion). (caveat: for CD-ROM/Audio/Video combined, based on anecdotal reports & expert estimates since formal data-gathering rarely separates optical media.)
1996	The day that "Braveheart" wins Academy Awards for Best Director & Best Picture, it is available on the streets of Hong Kong for $10 in an illegal 3-disc Video CD set. Technical quality is professionally outstanding.