They soon did so, and had success in passing the coin.[11] Some coins were given a reeded edge by the fraudsters, to make them appear more like the gold coins.[12] A widespread tale is that one of the perpetrators of this fraud was a man named Josh Tatum, who would go into a store, select an item costing five cents or less, and offer the gold-plated piece in payment—and many clerks gave him $4.95 in change.