JOHN S. DYE AND HIS COUNTERFEIT DETECTORS

John S. Dye and His Counterfeit Detectors

Recently published on Newman Portal is Patrick Parkinson's work John S. Dye and His Counterfeit Detectors. This study documents the history of John S. Dye's counterfeit detectors, a task made difficult by the ephemeral nature of such publications. Because new counterfeits and new genuine bank notes were constantly being circulated, counterfeit detectors quickly became outdated and were discarded, leaving very few surviving copies. This book fills in the gaps, largely through advertisements and articles in digital databases of contemporary newspapers. Parkinson's work is meticulous and will be welcome by anyone interested in 19th century counterfeit detectors.

Lianna Spurrier performed book design, graphics, and layout of Parkinson's work under sponsorship of Newman Portal. The result is an elegant presentation, with visual appeal matched only by the content. Newman Portal welcomes inquiries by prospective authors in need of the same services, and currently has similar projects in production, which will be announced in due course.

Link to John S. Dye and His Counterfeit Detectors on Newman Portal::
https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/book/599152

Dye first published a counterfeit detector in Cincinnati in 1850. Over the rest of his life, at various times and in various places, he published at least four other counterfeit detectors, a bank note reporter, and a book on notorious counterfeiters. After Dye's death in 1881, others completed a coin encyclopedia he had nearly completed and continued to publish a counterfeit detector bearing his name until 1910.

The book also tells the story of Dye's colorful life. There was much more to John S. Dye than his counterfeit detectors. As was often the case for publishers of counterfeit detectors, he was a dealer in bank notes and a banker. But that was far from all. Throughout his life he supported and advocated radical political, social, and religious ideas and movements, including a Workingman's Party, extreme conspiracy theories regarding multiple antebellum assassinations of U.S. Presidents by southern, slaveholding politicians, Spiritualism, and perhaps even free love. The book confirms that in the 1860s and 1870s he assumed the names John Smith Dye and Deacon Dye and published several books to support Republican presidential candidates and to espouse strange theories on the origins and history of man.

Beginning with some celebrated lectures on counterfeiting in 1855, Dye was a popular lecturer and a showman on a variety of subjects, and some of his performances in the 1870s indulged his penchant for showmanship to the point of Barnumesque humbugging of his audiences. For a brief period (1869-1870), Dye drew on his knowledge of counterfeiting to serve as an operative of the U.S. Secret Service.

Language : English
Paperback : 75 pages
ISBN-13 : 979-8735205906
Item Weight : 9 ounces
Dimensions : 8.5 x 0.18 x 11 inches

For more information, or to order, see:
John S. Dye and His Counterfeit Detectors Paperback – May 1, 2021 (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B093RLBRX8)

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