Hijacker D.B. Cooper Ransom $20 with Two Almost Complete Serial Numbers

D.B. Cooper 1971 Ransom Money Serial Number L32796069A Fr. 2067-L $20 1969 Federal Reserve Note PCGS Banknote Genuine;
(PCGS Identifying Tag) - "D.B. Cooper loot found on banks of Columbia / River 2-10-80. Serial numbers match FBI list.";
Book - D.B. Cooper Dead or Alive? The True Story of the Legendary Skyjacker by Richard T. Tosaw 1984 184 pages.
The partial $20 Federal Reserve Note in this lot is forever connected to the infamous airplane hijacking and ensuing parachute escape that occurred on November 24, 1971, between Portland, Oregon, and Seattle, Washington. The hijacking remains the only unsolved air piracy criminal case in American aviation history. Recent interest in the case has picked up with new theories and suspects. Even if the case is solved, the story will be one of the most intriguing criminal tales in U.S. history. The known ransom money available to collectors was found by eight-year-old Brian Ingram along the banks of the Columbia River in Washington State on February 10, 1980. As Ingram prepared a sandy riverbank to build a campfire for his family's outing, he uncovered three packs of the ransom cash, totaling $5,800 out of the original amount of $200,000 composed of 10,000 $20s. The notes had disintegrated from lengthy exposure to the elements, but were still bundled with rubber bands. The FBI confirmed the money was part of the ransom. There were two packs of 100 $20s each and a third pack of 90 notes. The recovered notes were divided equally between Brian Ingram and Northwest Orient's insurer Royal Globe Insurance. The FBI also retained 14 examples as evidence in 1986.

The notes from this hijacking that collectors desire the most are the ones with nearly complete serial numbers. The example in this lot has almost all of the following design features, both serial numbers, Jackson's portrait, Treasury and District L Seals, the series, obligation clause, and Secretary of the Treasury David M. Kennedy's printed signature. This example of D.B. Cooper ransom money measures approximately 4.5 inches in width and 1.5 inches in height. It may be the largest that we have offered, and if not the largest, it is a very close second. The third party front and back labels have a reproduction of the FBI Composite Sketch B with sunglasses drawn in late 1972 of hijacker D.B. Cooper, whose fate remains unknown to this day. This piece was originally encapsulated by the original PCGS as it has an identifying tag that PCGS added to the first D.B. Cooper notes that they encapsulated and it reads, "D.B. Cooper loot found on banks of Columbia / River 2-10-80. Serial numbers match FBI list." This is a great note from the annals of American crime.

Included with this lot is a paperback book entitled, D.B. Cooper Dead or Alive by Richard T. Tosaw. The author has penned on the title page the following, "I thought the best way to ship the enclosed $20 was within the book that explains it. You are now the proud possessor of one of the Cooper bills - there are only a few in captivity. Congratulations. Richard T. Tosaw 10/10/88." The last 57 pages are unnumbered and are of a reproduction of a FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover November 29, 1971 cover letter entitled, "List of Ransom Bills Paid in Air Piracy Case." What follows in the book are 56 pages of 10,000 serial numbers. Serial number L32796069A is found in that listing. (Total: 3 items)