The Golden Serpent by Manning Lee Stokes

A master plot to flood the U.S.economy with millions of counterfeit money.  The Golden Serpent was published concurrently with The Weapon Of Night in 1967 and was written by Manning Lee Stokes. Take a Mexican political party that demands the territorial return of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California. Add a Chinese paper factory exporting a fine engraver's five dollar portrait of Abe Lincoln. Stir with a countess who's made a fortune in cosmetics and is running a strange little kingdom deep in the Mexican jungle.  Mix in the CIA and AXE, prickling each other's sensitivities while the nation and the highest men in government are stumped to stop the ruin of the American economy. Suddenly the meeting between the CIA and Mr Hawk, the ingredients are mixed together into a little pill handed to Nick Carter. The instructions were very clear, straighten things out or swallow the deadly pill.

1967 printing                                         1968 printing

11 million mark                                        12 million mark

1974 reprint                                               Charter reprint

Printing History

1st Award Printing (A 216F ) 1967

2nd Award Printing (A 386X) 1968

3rd Award Printing (A 642X) 1970

4th Award Printing (A 929S) 1972

5th Award Printing (AN 1102) 1972?

6th Award Printing (AN 1102) 19??

Mayflower Printing (2987-8) 1967

Mayflower Reprint (583 11411 3 2) 1969

Mayflower Reprint (583 11411 3 2) 1970

Mayflower Reprint (583 11411 3 3) 1974

Ace Charter Reprint (441 29736-6) August 1979

Notes: As one can see Award done a terrible job on this title. They used the same book cover on the 4th through the 6th printings. I do have scans of the Mayflower printings, but they are way too racy and show too much of the female anatomy.  The Ace Charter edition features the George Gross art work. Gross painted the majority of the Nick Carter titles published from 1978 until the end of the series in 1990.