This process of increasing the number of bills from a given quantity by piecing--as making ten bills out of nine--appears to be done--as seen in a specimen lately--by cutting off perpendicularly a piece, one ninth of a bill, and pasting in its place a piece of a _counterfeit_ on the same bank and denomination to match. The same process will be then carried on with the nine bills, only that in each bill the piece would be cut out in a different place. When the nine bills are thus all pieced there would be _just enough surplus pieces left_ of the genuine to paste together with one piece of the counterfeit to make a _complete bill like the rest_, and this would be the profit on the operation. The counterfeit part of the bills appeared to be intentionally defaced, so as to be nearly illegible, in order to escape detection. The banks will only redeem such bills at their estimated proportionate value. SUMMING UP. PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF THE RULES. No matter how much a bill may be worn and defaced, if the name of the bank and the denomination can be seen, the application of these rules will enable a person to decide at sight whether a bill is genuine or not. The 1st Rule, the Geometric Lathe-work being infallible, any imitation can be detected at a glance, when of course the bill must be a counterfeit without looking any further. But a great many counterfeits contain _stolen genuine dies_, when of course the 1st Rule will fail to detect; but there is always enough else to detect a bad bill. The 2d Rule, the Ruling Engine work--any imitation of this can be detected at a glance. This rule detects oftener than almost any other rule, and therefore it is one of the most useful of all the rules. In some old-fashioned genuine plates, especially in some of the old New England plates, there may occur an exception to this rule, the shading of the letters being done by hand. Now and then, but very rarely, a counterfeit is seen containing genuine Ruling Engine work; but in such a case there are plenty of the other rules to fail. Counterfeiters may get some genuine work, but they cannot get a _perfect combination of all the work genuine_. There is always _something lacking_. It is against their interest to invest so much capital as would enable them to get everything perfect. Besides, they can never get the services of a sufficient number of first-class artists, and _all_ the necessary machinery. 3d Rule, the Medallions--see if the heads or other ornamental patterns of this work look raised, distinct, clear and smooth, and the lines all _full length_, and the most skillful imitations by hand can be detected at a glance. 4th Rule, the Vignettes--whether they come up to the usual standard of perfection, especially the human eye and face. Sometimes the vignette in a counterfeit is a stolen genuine die, generally much worn. A lot of old worn out dies were sold at auction in New York in 1841 to the highest bidder, and some got into counterfeiters’ hands.