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ROBERT SPRING 'GEORGE WASHINGTON' FORGERY

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Forgery of a George Washington bank draft by notorious forger Robert Spring. Spring (1813-76) produced many forgeries in this style (as well as others) and is credited as the first U.S. major forger. He was born in England and immigrated to the United States around age 18. He opened a bookshop in Philadelphia in 1859 and soon began to forge letters from historical people such as Washington and Franklin. He used his own mixture of special ink but used contemporary paper he would often 'age' with coffee grounds. Spring created numerous forgeries of letters, payment orders and other papers with a forged signature of George Washington. In 1869 Spring was arrested in Philadelphia (for the second time) and was put on trial. He confessed and was sent to prison. He died penniless in the Philadelphia Charity Hospital. His forgeries have become collector's items in their own right.

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