"Stealing Lincoln's Body" Chapter 1, The World of Counterfeiters

The General Court of the colony of Rhode Island orders the seizure of all counterfeit wampum.

Dec 31, 1647

The colonies of Rhode Island and New Netherland had previously adopted the native Algonquin currency of wampum, due to the lack of coins in the new world. However, upon finding how easily wampum was counterfeited, these colonists returned to the traditional system of gold and silver.

First Mint in British North America authorized.

Dec 31, 1652

The Mint, authorized by the Massachusetts government, created the first examples of American-made modern currency. The first recorded case of these coins being counterfeited occurred in 1674.

William Penn expresses anger over the large amount of countefeit coins in Pennsylvania.

Dec 31, 1682

William Penn bitterly complained that over half of the coinage in Pennsylvania was phony, spoiling his "Holy Experiment" in the new world.

Mary Butterworth runs one of the most intricate counterfeiting rings in the North America.

Period: Dec 31, 1716 to Dec 31, 1723

With the assistance of her 3 brothers and her step-sister, Mary Butterworth runs a very lucrative counterfeiting ring. Using nothing but a hot iron and a pen, she creates convincing copies of Massachusetts, Conneticut, and Rhode Island currency.

Punishment for convicted counterfeiters becomes far more strict.

Dec 31, 1720

A man in Philadelphia is hung to death over counterfeiting charges, while a man in New Haven,Rhode Island has his ears removed and is sold into indentured service. Just 17 years before hand, a counterfeiter could expect no stricter a punishment than a small fine.

Conneticut considers assigning counterfeit coins a value of 2 pence, due to high amounts of phony currency.

Dec 31, 1721

High amounts of counterfeiting causes South Carolina to recall all 15, 10, 4, and 3 pound notes.

Dec 31, 1735

Convict ship Trotman docks in Maryland, aboard are a number of convicted counterfeiters.

Dec 31, 1770

Within mere days of their arrival, many of these convicts ressumed their conterfeiting opperations.

British forces create tens of thousands of copies of the newly instated Continental Dollar.

Period: Jan 31, 1776 to Dec 31, 1779

Their attepts to debase the Continental Dollar are so effective, the Continental Congress ceases the printing of that form of curency.

US Congress establishes US Mint.

Apr 2, 1792

Thanks largely in part to British efforts, paper money is abandoned by the US Government, and the Mint begins creating coins of gold and silver.

Patrick Tyrell is born in Dublin, Ireland.

Dec 31, 1831

Patrick Tyrell would later move to Chicago, and he became one of Washburn's model agents; effective, meticulous, and honest in his actions.

Benjamin Boyd is born in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Dec 31, 1834

Boyd will later become a master engraver of counterfeit plates, and one of "Big" Jim Kennally's biggest sources of revinue.

Nearly 4,000 different types of counterfeit currency are in circulation.

Dec 31, 1859

Due to the lack of a National Currency, each individual bank issues banknotes. This allows for a great range of types of counterfeit currency.

Due to possible economic crisis in the face of the Civil War, New York banks suspend payments to the National Treasury in gold coins.

Dec 28, 1861

They were soon followed by the banks of Boston and Philadelphia. This forced the US government to institute a national currency.

President Lincoln signs into law the Legal Tender Act, authorizing the issue $150 million in new, national paper currency.

Feb 25, 1862

It did not take very long for counterfeiters across the nation to react to this new change. Whereas a banknote would be heavily scrutinized, most people would accept these new paper dollars without hesitation. As a result, many found that counterfeiting the new currency was more profitable, and transitioned quickly.

About 1/2 of all US currency in circulation is counterfeit. To combat this, a new task force is set up, headed by William P. Wood.

Dec 31, 1864

"Big" Jim Kennally is first arrested for passing counterfeit notes.

Jan 15, 1865

United States Secret Service is formed to deal with the counterfeiting issue. William P. Wood is sworn in as the 1st cheif.

Jul 5, 1865

Wood has 30 agents working for the Secret Service.

Dec 31, 1865

This number is made up of the former members of Wood's task force, as well as new recruits. Almost all agents are former jailbirds. Though Wood's Secret Service was effective at combating counterfeiters, they often employed shady means of achieving their goals.

Benjamin Boyd marries Almiranda Aikman, the daughter of a counterfeiter, and a novice counterfeiter herself.

Dec 31, 1865

Hiram C. Whitley succeeds Wood as the cheif of the Secret Service.

Dec 31, 1869

Whitley uses much the same tactics that were employed by Wood, deffending them as effective means to an end. However, Whitley did not agree with Wood's tendency to hire jailbirds, and he ushered in a new breed of agents.

Washburn issues an order forbidding Secret Service agents from giving their name or details of an opperation to the press, making the Secret Service secret in both name and nature.

Oct 31, 1874

Elmer Washburn becomes cheif of the Secret Service.

Dec 31, 1874

Unlike his predecessors, Washburn was noted for his integrity, and he expected this trait to be exemplified by the Secret Service.