Been reading up on a list of crimes of the centuries and read about the Lindbergh kidnapping.
Then came across the following paragraphs:
Quote:
Payment of the ransom
The ransom was packaged in a wooden box that was custom-made in the hope that it could later be identified. The ransom money itself was made up with a number of gold certificates that were to be withdrawn from circulation in the near future. It was hoped that anyone passing large amounts of gold notes would draw attention to himself and help aid in identifying the abductors.[5][15] Also, while the bills themselves were not marked, the serial number of each bill was recorded. Some sources credit Frank J. Wilson for pressing for this[16] while others credit Elmer Lincoln Irey.[17][18]
The next evening, April 2, Condon was given a note by an unknown cab driver. Condon met "John" and told him that they had been able to raise only $50,000. The man accepted the money and gave Condon a note. The child was supposedly in the care of two women who, according to the note, were innocent.
Quote:
Tracking the ransom money
Investigation of the case was soon in the doldrums. There were no developments and little evidence of any sort, so police turned their attention to tracking the ransom payments. A pamphlet was prepared with the serial numbers on the ransom bills, and 250,000 copies were distributed to businesses mainly in New York City.[14][15] A few of the ransom bills turned up in scattered locations, some as far away as Chicago and Minneapolis, but the people spending them were never found.
An example of a 1928 series $10 Gold Certificate
As per Executive Order 6102, Gold Certificates were to be turned in by May 1, 1933.[29] A few days before the deadline, a man in Manhattan brought in $2,980 of the ransom money to be exchanged. The bank was busy and no one could remember anything specific about the person. He had filled out a required form, which gave his name as J. J. Faulkner. The address supplied was 537 West 149th Street in New York City.[15]
When authorities visited the address, they learned that no one named Faulkner had lived there - or anywhere nearby - for many years. U.S. Treasury officials kept looking and eventually learned that a woman named Jane Faulkner had lived at the address in question in 1913. She had moved after she married a German man named Giessler. The couple was tracked down, and both denied any involvement in the crime.
Would love to find one of the 250,000 pamphlets they handed out. Has anyone ever found a Lindbergh gold certificate? Is that a thing or has this never been tracked? It would be a very unique conversation starter to any collection.
Posted 05/22/2015 7:00 pm
