The Mirror in the Half-Dollar: A Gambling Cheat's Downfall
A man arrested for theft in Seattle was found carrying a doctored coin designed to help him win at cards.
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John A. Woods, who was arrested by Captain Bogart on Tuesday night, sued a writ of habeas corpus out of the Supreme Court on Wednesday, directed against Chief Crowley, and alleging that he is held without any order, warrant, court judgment or process of law. Woods was wanted on a requisition from Spokane, W. T., for stealing $100 from his employer there. In searching him, Capt. Bogart found a pair of brass knuckles and a peculiar gambling tool made from a half-dollar. One side of the coin was apparently sound, but the other was so hollowed out that a round, really fitted bit of mirror was inserted, the intention being to have the coin lie when with other money in such a manner that it will reflect the denominations of cards as they are dealt to a rival player.
“One side of the coin was apparently sound, but the other was so hollowed out that a round, really fitted bit of mirror was inserted.”
While gambling tech has moved from hollowed coins to digital algorithms, the core human impulse to cheat the house—and the police effort to monitor that subculture—remains a constant in the history of Seattle's vice enforcement.
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