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History's Greatest Picks with Mike Wolfe Season 1 Episode 2
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00:13I'm Mike Wolfe and I've spent my life traveling the world chasing forgotten
00:18objects and the histories behind them. People everywhere are turning up
00:24artifacts every day, often by chance. And if you're lucky, some of these finds can be worth
00:31serious money. Tonight on History's Greatest Picks, there are people out there who turn a good profit
00:43from bad money. We're talking artifacts connected to mobsters. Lansky's family argued he was actually
00:51given this medal in a secret ceremony at the White House. Outlaws. This car would be worth a bundle
00:58if you could actually find them. And even murderers. The signature is none other than Jack
01:05the Ripper. They say crime doesn't pay, but these guys, they know different.
01:15So sit back and let me tell you the stories behind some of history's greatest picks.
01:32Outlaws have always captured the public's imagination. And let's be honest, notoriety
01:38sells. Take the Colt revolver Pat Garrett used to shoot Billy the Kid. In 2021, it went for more than
01:45six million dollars at auction, making it the highest price paid ever for a gun. But a decade
01:51earlier, another guy stumbles across his own piece of outlaw history and thought it just might make him
01:57a kill in two.
02:05The main character of this story is a man named Frank Abrams. He is something of an amateur photographer
02:14who also has an interest in antique photographs. Frank is poking around an old flea market and he sees
02:21this great old photograph with five old cowboys. The photo is a tin type, which is an early type of
02:30photograph that could be printed relatively quickly directly onto metal. It's kind of the 1880s
02:35equivalent of a Polaroid. It's cheap, would cost about 25 cents. So he buys that with a couple other
02:42photos for about $10. And he takes it and hangs it on the wall in his Airbnb. It's some old
02:50West whimsy.
02:52Then one day in 2011, he sees a story about a photo of Billy the Kid selling for $2.3
02:59million.
03:01And that's when he takes a closer look at his own tin type. One of the figures looks familiar.
03:11There's a guy in the front row in the far right, and it looks like he's blinked because it's a
03:15six
03:15second exposure. He's a little gaunt. He's got an impressive mustache. As he zooms in on the photo,
03:21he's looking around and he notices something written on the collar, really tiny, Pat Garrett.
03:30This is Pat Garrett.
03:34Pat Garrett was a lawman, was involved famously in the Lincoln County War. Garrett is famous for his
03:43own exploits. But you do not say the name Pat Garrett without saying another name.
03:47Billy the Kid, who Garrett killed in the line of duty.
03:52The more Frank looks at that young guy in the back left of that photo, he starts comparing that kid
03:59to the kid in the photos. And he's thinking, wait a second, they sort of wear the same cardigan.
04:05And when you look at them, they also have the same sort of asymmetrical face.
04:10The really key is Billy's wearing this little pinky ring. And in his photo,
04:15that kid in the back left is also wearing a pinky ring.
04:19This could be Billy the Kid.
04:23Suddenly, this photo's getting a lot more interesting.
04:27That's when Abrams starts asking himself, if a photo of Billy the Kid alone is worth $2.3 million,
04:34how much could one be worth that shows both Billy the Kid and Pat Garrett?
04:40But why would the most famous lawman in the Old West, Pat Garrett, be posing in the same photo
04:48with Billy the Kid?
04:51Then, as he zooms into the upper left of the photo, he notices something else.
04:54A series of numbers. It's 8-02-80. It's August 2nd, 1880.
05:01And that date is actually really significant, because at that point in time,
05:05Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, they're not enemies. They're friends.
05:11In the Old West, the border between lawman and outlaw was a porous one.
05:20Many men went from one side to the other, and sometimes back again.
05:25Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid drank together. They gambled together.
05:28They even went out and target practiced together.
05:31But the relationship sours when Garrett becomes a lawman.
05:39And suddenly, Billy, his friend, the outlaw, can no longer be his friend.
05:44He has to bring him to justice.
05:48Garrett and associates come upon Billy, staying at the house of a friend.
05:53Billy hears a noise, famously asks,
05:56Kianess, who is he?
05:58The answer comes in the form of gunfire.
06:02And the short life of one of the American West's great outlaws comes to an end.
06:12Pat Garrett pockets 500 bucks for ending his old buddy's reign of terror.
06:18And even gets himself a shiny gold sheriff's badge out of the deal.
06:23As for Frank Abrams, that little flea market fine that he snagged for $10,
06:28the one showing both the killer and the killed,
06:31is now valued at more than 5 million bucks.
06:35And while Frank plans to hold on to it for now,
06:38he has finally taken it down from the wall of his Airbnb.
06:48Pat Garrett's gold sheriff's badge isn't the only piece of hardware
06:52pinned to a man with a murky past.
06:55There's another medal, one so controversial,
06:58it stayed secret for 75 years.
07:05It's 1997.
07:08Cynthia Duncan is going through items and heirlooms that belong to her grandparents.
07:14And among some of these items is a collection of bow ties from her grandfather.
07:20And a real surprise.
07:23Buried among the bow ties, she finds a medal.
07:27A United States Medal of Freedom.
07:32The U.S. Medal of Freedom is an award created by Harry Truman in 1945
07:37to serve as a way to recognize citizens who had gone above and beyond during the Second World War.
07:44Cynthia's family has never talked about her grandfather receiving a Medal of Freedom.
07:50And apparently there's a good reason for that.
07:52Cynthia Duncan's grandfather is none other than the notorious gangster, Meyer Lansky.
07:59Not a guy that's known for his exceptional national service.
08:04He is one of the founders of a group called Murder Inc., Murder Incorporated,
08:09which is said to be responsible for over a thousand contract killings.
08:15If you needed somebody murdered or tortured or persuaded in some other fashion, Lansky had a hand in it.
08:22He's also a part of what was known as the National Crime Syndicate,
08:26which was this group of Jewish and Italian gangsters.
08:28He was a senior leader of the American mafia, dating from the 30s all the way into the 70s.
08:35Why would someone of his background be awarded the Medal of Freedom?
08:42To answer that, the Lansky family looks back to December 7th, 1941,
08:47the day Pearl Harbor was attacked and America was pulled into World War II.
08:53After the war is joined, the United States initiates Operation Underworld,
08:57whereby we work with the mafia because we want to prevent them from working with enemy agents and saboteurs.
09:02And we need to keep the ports operating.
09:05And who controls the commercial seaports in the United States?
09:08Well, the president wouldn't like to admit it, but it's the mob.
09:11Now, at the time, the main man, the head of the five families in New York City of the mafia
09:18is none other than Lucky Luciano.
09:20The Luciano's in prison.
09:22Second in command is Meyer Lansky.
09:25The Office of Naval Intelligence goes to Lansky and they tell him,
09:29We need help in overseeing the American ports.
09:33The government has to suspend trying to shut down the mob
09:36and instead actively working with the mob to keep the ports operating.
09:41And during their time on these ports, nothing happens.
09:46No arson, no sabotage, no attacks.
09:49As smooth as clockwork.
09:50It's incredible.
09:54A year later, the feds ask another favor from Luciano and Lansky.
10:00In July 1943, the United States, along with the United Kingdom,
10:04launched Operation Husky, the Allied invasion of Sicily.
10:07And who do we have to cooperate with?
10:09Once again, the mafia.
10:11So who better to assist the allies with establishing a connection with the Sicilian mafia
10:16than mobsters back home in the United States, guys like Luciano?
10:20And he gives them basically a roadmap of you talk to this family about this,
10:24you talk to this family about that.
10:26But they're also talking to his man on the outside.
10:29It's Meyer Lansky.
10:30And so because of the efforts of Luciano and of Lansky,
10:35when the war is over, Luciano is allowed to leave prison,
10:39but he's deported to Italy.
10:41As for Lansky's efforts, it's said that he ends up going to the White House
10:46and receives a Medal of Freedom from Harry S. Truman.
10:50Now, in the National Archives, there is a list of every recipient of the Medal of Freedom.
10:58Lansky's name, though, never appears on that list.
11:02The family story is that there was a secret ceremony
11:05during which Meyer Lansky was presented the medal.
11:07So we can't talk to Harry Truman.
11:09We can't talk to Meyer Lansky.
11:10We can't talk to the people who could tell us exactly what happened.
11:13And what we're left with is a box full of bow ties and an example of the U.S. Medal
11:18of Freedom.
11:19But it's also one hell of a story.
11:24Nearly 60 years later, Lansky's long-lost Medal of Freedom surfaces in a box of bow ties.
11:31When it hits the auction block in 2022, bidding starts at just $250.
11:36And it climbs to $44,000 in less than three minutes.
11:40But his bow tie collection, they didn't make quite the same impact, selling for just $6,000.
11:53If fame sells, so does infamy.
11:56And some collectors will pay just about anything to own a piece of an outlaw's past.
12:02One guy paid over $112,000 for Clive Barrow's watch.
12:08And another was ready to drop $62,000 on a letter that was written by Al Capone from Alcatraz.
12:15But there's one collector by the name of Mark Love who's after something bigger.
12:23Every collector finds their way to collecting in a different way.
12:28Mark Love was born into it.
12:31His father is a Dillinger collector.
12:34He became a Dillinger collector.
12:36They were both obsessed with this folk crime figure that was John Dillinger.
12:45Love and his father collect a wide range of artifacts that are directly tied to Dillinger.
12:51His pistols or handcuffs from times he spent in jail right up to the very end of his life.
12:57They have his death mask.
13:00But there is one object that Mark and his dad were never able to find.
13:07A 1933 Ford V8 that Dillinger used in his breakout from prison.
13:14It had to be somewhere.
13:16They just had not found it yet.
13:19The story of the car that becomes Mark's obsession begins in 1934.
13:29Taken to Crown Point, Indiana.
13:31The Lake County Jail to be tried for the murder of a policeman.
13:34Happened during one of his many bank robberies.
13:37Dillinger was an infamous bank robber.
13:40And over time, he also became something of a folk hero.
13:44Because when he robbed a bank, he would not just take the money,
13:47but destroy the mortgage records so that the bank couldn't foreclose on your house.
13:52He's also got the charm and the good looks of a Hollywood movie star, Humphrey Bogart.
14:00It's said that when his image appears in newsreels,
14:03cinema audiences actually stand up and applaud wildly.
14:07This desperate public enemy now rises to fame as an underworld hero.
14:11People called him the Robin Hood of the Great Depression.
14:16The truth, of course, is a lot less glamorous.
14:20This was essentially a psychopath who robbed from everybody,
14:25for nobody but himself, and killed many of the people who got in his way.
14:31He's broken out of prison multiple times, and that is about to happen again.
14:35Probably his most famous jailbreak is his escape from Lake County.
14:39And so, using a gun that he carved out of wood,
14:44but apparently was realistic enough to convince the guards,
14:47Dillinger bluffs his way out of prison and into a getaway vehicle.
14:54Dillinger speeds off.
14:58But here's the thing.
14:59Of all the cars they could have stolen,
15:01this one happened to belong to Lillian Holly,
15:04the first female sheriff of Lake County, Indiana.
15:09But the car that allows Dillinger to escape prison
15:13also leads to his ultimate downfall.
15:17In escaping from Lake County, he does what?
15:21Crosses state lines.
15:24Which means that this is a federal matter
15:26that gives J. Edgar Hoover and his Bureau of Investigation
15:29the authority to go after him,
15:32making him public enemy number one.
15:35They start picking off Dillinger's accomplices one by one.
15:43Dillinger comes to an end, perhaps fittingly,
15:47outside of a movie theater.
15:49Emerges, only to be confronted and shot dead
15:52by government agents.
15:58As for the getaway car, in the 1940s,
16:01it sold off during a police auction
16:04and literally disappears from the face of the earth.
16:07There are even rumors that it's been scrapped.
16:10Meanwhile, anything associated with John Dillinger
16:13starts to take on enormous value.
16:17Even the blood-stained money from some of his robberies
16:20becomes very valuable.
16:22Theoretically, this car would be worth a bundle
16:25if you could actually find it.
16:28Mark Love spends a decade and thousands of dollars
16:32trying to track down the missing car.
16:35A major breakthrough comes
16:36when Mark hires a private detective
16:38who finds the car's VIN number
16:40in Maine's Department of Motor Vehicles.
16:43This is the lead he's been waiting for.
16:48Love heads to Maine.
16:49He finds the owner.
16:50The owner's father had actually bought the car
16:53at the auction in 1940,
16:55and it had been sitting in the garage all of this time.
16:58There had been some intention to restore it.
17:01Never quite get around it.
17:03And years go by.
17:05The car gets passed down from father to son,
17:07and eventually the son decides to plate it.
17:10And that's how the VIN number gets registered
17:12in Maine's database.
17:14After all these years,
17:15Love finally finds the car
17:17and then pours thousands into it,
17:20bringing that old V8 back to life.
17:28In 2021, he unveils the car
17:31in a parade that ends at the Lake County Jailhouse
17:33where Dillinger once escaped.
17:38The original price tag,
17:40$605,
17:41and then in 2023,
17:44it sells for nearly $150,000.
17:52Dillinger's car stayed hidden for over 50 years,
17:55but the owner of the next item
17:57liked to bring it out at dinner parties
17:59to show his guests
18:01how a notorious Nazi general died.
18:11The location is the Nuremberg Trials.
18:17A guard makes a grisly discovery.
18:21A medic is called to the scene
18:23and sees a dead prisoner.
18:26On his lips are small particles of broken glass.
18:30A faint smell of almonds hangs in the air.
18:35And in the prisoner's cold, dead hand
18:38is a small brass canister.
18:43It is a German military issue item
18:46the Waffen-SS contracted for
18:49the creation of this item.
18:50These little brass canisters
18:52are about two inches in height.
18:54They unscrew at the top
18:55and they're just big enough
18:57to hold capsules of potassium cyanide.
19:01And these were issued to all SS officers
19:03as well as the Nazi leadership.
19:05The Nazi leadership has a lot to be scared of.
19:10If it looks like they're about to capture you,
19:12you better, by God,
19:13take that potassium cyanide.
19:15It can end a human life
19:16in a matter of minutes.
19:20And that dead man
19:21laying in the cell
19:22that smells like almonds
19:23is none other than Hermann Goering.
19:28Hitler's second command,
19:29the founder of the Gestapo,
19:31one of the most evil men in history.
19:37He's a convicted war criminal.
19:39Concentration camps
19:40was one of the things
19:42you found immediately necessary
19:44upon coming to power, is it not?
19:46Goering has been sentenced to death.
19:48He's set to be killed the next day.
19:50But he has decided
19:51to take matters into his own hands,
19:54beat the hangman,
19:55and take the coward's way out.
19:57Suicide.
19:59The real mystery
20:00is how did Goering,
20:02one of the most closely guarded prisoners
20:04on the planet at the time,
20:06get his hands on cyanide?
20:08There are a couple of theories
20:09about how this happened,
20:10and all of them involve
20:12the guards to some extent
20:14allowing it to happen.
20:15The most likely explanation
20:17is that he somehow smuggled it in,
20:20probably in a container
20:22of either hair cream
20:23or skin cream.
20:25The medic who examines
20:27Hermann Goering's body
20:29is a physician named
20:30Dr. John Latimer,
20:31who ends up being
20:33a collector of the macabre.
20:35So we don't know exactly
20:36how he got a hold
20:37of this canister,
20:38whether he grabbed it
20:39then and there
20:40or got it later.
20:41But in later years,
20:43he would show this
20:44and pull it out
20:45at dinner parties.
20:52In 2016,
20:53the brass canister
20:54goes up for auction
20:55in Munich.
20:56It sells to a South American
20:58collector of Nazi memorabilia
21:00for 26,000 euros,
21:03almost $30,000.
21:10Back in the day,
21:12step one for catching a bad guy
21:13was to issue a wanted poster.
21:15And over time,
21:16those same posters
21:17can become incredibly valuable.
21:20John Dillinger's
21:21sold at auction
21:21for more than $3,000.
21:24Jesse James,
21:25$57,000.
21:27But that is nothing
21:28compared to the most famous
21:30wanted poster
21:31ever issued
21:32in U.S. history.
21:40It's been six days.
21:42News from Washington, D.C.
21:43is spreading fast.
21:46John Wilkes Booth
21:47has just assassinated
21:49President Abraham Lincoln
21:51by shooting him
21:52in the back of the head
21:53at Ford's Theater
21:54in front of a packed audience.
21:58The War Department
22:00is in a frenzy
22:02trying to track down
22:04this killer.
22:07So what they do
22:08is they issue
22:09what is called
22:10a broadside,
22:11which is basically
22:12a wanted poster.
22:14One of the main ways
22:16that the government
22:17got the word out.
22:20These broadsides
22:21were posted
22:22on the sides of trees,
22:24on buildings,
22:25in the middle
22:26of town squares.
22:27Because they are
22:28rushing to get these out,
22:30they're made
22:30a little bit sloppily.
22:31There are no photographs.
22:33Instead,
22:33they're just these
22:33very vague descriptions.
22:35For example,
22:35John Wilkes Booth
22:36is described as having
22:37a heavy black mustache
22:38and his accomplices.
22:39John Surratt,
22:40who is said to have
22:41protruding ears.
22:42David Harreld,
22:43who is described
22:44simply as chunky.
22:45And there's misspellings.
22:47Surratt,
22:48it's spelled with one T,
22:50not two.
22:50Harold is actually
22:52spelled Harold.
22:54What's also interesting
22:55about this wanted poster
22:56is that it offers
22:58a reward.
23:00For the arrest
23:02of John Wilkes Booth,
23:03information that leads us
23:04to John Wilkes Booth,
23:05you will get paid
23:06$50,000
23:07and $25,000
23:08for each of his accomplices.
23:10It is worth millions
23:12in today's money.
23:14And it is very motivating
23:16for the public.
23:20It's easily one of the most
23:21iconic wanted posters
23:23in U.S. history.
23:24But the irony is
23:26it had nothing to do
23:27with actually catching
23:29the man on it.
23:30John Wilkes Booth
23:31and David Harreld
23:32are hiding.
23:34And they're trying
23:35to make it
23:36for Confederate territory
23:37in Maryland
23:39and Virginia.
23:40Eventually,
23:40they head for a farm,
23:42the Garrett Farm.
23:43This seems like
23:44it might be a good place
23:45to hole up
23:47for a while.
23:48Garrett's,
23:48they've never seen
23:50the wanted posters.
23:51They haven't even heard
23:52that the president
23:53has been assassinated.
23:54And they have no idea
23:56that their farm
23:57is about to be
23:58the center
23:59of the biggest
24:00U.S. manhunt
24:01in history.
24:03But as it turns out,
24:05the posters
24:05were not
24:05particularly necessary
24:07because what
24:08actually happens
24:09is that a former
24:10Confederate soldier
24:11gives Booth up
24:13to the Union.
24:16John Wilkes Booth
24:17refuses to surrender,
24:18refuses to leave
24:19the barn.
24:20They set the barn
24:20on fire,
24:21and when he steps out,
24:22he is shot.
24:27As soon as Booth
24:28has been killed,
24:30the wanted posters
24:31are no longer relevant.
24:33But there is one poster
24:35that's nailed to a tree
24:36in Philadelphia
24:37that's taken down
24:39by a local.
24:40And this is a poster
24:41that will stay
24:43in that person's family
24:44and be passed down
24:46from generation
24:47to generation
24:47for the next
24:49150 years.
24:55In 2023,
24:57the poster goes up
24:58for auction,
24:58and the reserve
24:59is set at 100 grand,
25:01but it doesn't
25:01stay there long.
25:02And when the hammer drops,
25:04it sells for an incredible
25:08$166,375.
25:11It's not surprising
25:13considering fewer
25:14than 20 copies
25:15are known to exist,
25:16and almost none of those
25:18are in this kind
25:19of condition.
25:28collectors are always
25:29on the lookout
25:29for a pick
25:30with major value.
25:32But what if the find
25:33is stolen cash?
25:34That's what
25:35eight-year-old
25:36Brian Ingram discovers
25:37when a handful
25:38of old $20 bills
25:39turn out to be linked
25:40to one of America's
25:41greatest mysteries,
25:43the D.B. Cooper
25:44skyjacking.
25:51Eight-year-old Brian Ingram
25:53is with his family
25:55along the coast
25:56of the Columbia River,
25:58which is in
25:58Washington State.
26:00He starts digging
26:02like any eight-year-old
26:03kid would do,
26:04and he realizes
26:06something's buried here.
26:08He digs down
26:10and he discovers
26:12cash hidden
26:13under the wet soil.
26:15And they are
26:16heavily degraded.
26:18They have been
26:18outside for seemingly
26:20a long time.
26:21There's no indication
26:22as to how they got there,
26:23where they're from.
26:24You can't even tell
26:25what denomination
26:26they are at first.
26:27But Jackson's face
26:28is still there,
26:29so they figure out
26:30that these are 20s
26:31that he has unearthed
26:32from the ground.
26:34Parents pretty quickly
26:35realize this is odd,
26:37and so they call
26:38the FBI.
26:42In total,
26:43there are about
26:44290 bills,
26:45but because they're
26:46so water-damaged
26:48at this point
26:48that there are only
26:4930 that are still intact.
26:51One critical clue
26:53to the mystery,
26:54the serial numbers
26:56on the bills
26:57are still intact.
26:59The serial numbers
26:59on a bill tells you
27:00where it was printed,
27:02when it was printed.
27:04You know,
27:04it gives you
27:04a ton of information.
27:07That discovery
27:08gives the FBI
27:09something they haven't had
27:11in almost 10 years,
27:12an actual lead
27:14in the D.B. Cooper mystery.
27:19Nine years earlier,
27:21a man buys
27:23an airplane ticket in cash,
27:25registers it
27:26under the name
27:27of Dan Cooper.
27:30Relax and enjoy the table.
27:31When he boards the plane,
27:32he sits in the rear
27:33of the cabin,
27:34drinking a bourbon,
27:35very nonchalant.
27:37Normal business traveler.
27:39Except that
27:40at some point
27:41on the flight,
27:42he calls the stewardess over.
27:44He hands her a note.
27:47The note only has
27:48four words on it.
27:49I have a bomb.
27:56And he shows her
27:57a briefcase
27:58with wires
27:59and these red sticks,
28:02maybe TNT,
28:03maybe...
28:04It's not clear,
28:04but when someone says
28:05they have a bomb
28:06on a plane,
28:07you take them
28:07pretty seriously.
28:09Cooper then demands
28:10$200,000 in cash
28:12as well as parachutes
28:14when the plane
28:15lands in Seattle.
28:19They do just that.
28:20Although they do
28:22purposely give the money
28:23in 20s,
28:24so that it is these
28:25large, unwieldy
28:27cases of money.
28:28Cooper instructs
28:29the plane to take off
28:30once again,
28:31and the plane starts
28:31heading in a southwest
28:32direction.
28:34With the plane
28:35over southern Washington,
28:37he opens the rear door,
28:41launches himself
28:42into the darkness
28:43and is never
28:45seen again.
28:46He disappears.
28:48The money disappears.
28:49No one is sure
28:51what happened.
28:53It basically becomes
28:54a total cold case.
28:58After the hijacking,
29:00there's obviously
29:00a press conference.
29:01Authorities come forward
29:03and identify the man
29:04as Dan Cooper.
29:05But a reporter
29:07misheard the name
29:09Dan Cooper
29:10and identifies him
29:11as D.B. Cooper.
29:13And that's the name
29:14that is stuck
29:15in the annals
29:16of history.
29:17The only bills
29:18ever recovered
29:19from the D.B. Cooper
29:20hijacking
29:21are the ones
29:22found by
29:23eight-year-old
29:24Brian Ingram.
29:25It immediately
29:26kicks off
29:27this long-lasting
29:29legal fight.
29:31The family
29:32of Brian Ingram
29:33is saying,
29:34we found the cash,
29:36so it belongs
29:37to us.
29:38But the Ingram
29:39family isn't
29:39the only one
29:40that is laying
29:40a claim to the cash.
29:42There's the airline.
29:42They say it's
29:43actually their property.
29:45There is the FBI
29:45who says this is evidence
29:47and we need it.
29:48There is the insurance
29:49company which had
29:49to do this major
29:51payout and said,
29:51we want to get
29:52paid back.
29:53Finally,
29:53a judge in a U.S.
29:54district court
29:55renders a verdict.
29:56FBI,
29:57you get $280
29:58and the rest
29:59of the money
30:00is then split
30:00between the family
30:01and the insurance
30:03company.
30:03This leaves
30:04Brian's share
30:05as 138
30:08tattered $20
30:09bills worth
30:11exactly
30:12$2,760
30:14in face value.
30:19Fast forward
30:21to 2006,
30:22Brian decides
30:23to put 15
30:24of these bills
30:25up for auction.
30:26The only
30:27unsolved
30:28aviation
30:29air piracy
30:30case in
30:31U.S.
30:31history.
30:3275 has been
30:33with Heritage Live
30:34now say eight.
30:35There's eight
30:35now go 85.
30:36They end up
30:37selling for $37,000
30:39which is considerably
30:40more than
30:41their face value
30:42of just $300.
30:50Some family
30:51heirlooms
30:52tell their history
30:53like the fragments
30:54of George Washington's
30:55coffin
30:56that sold
30:57for $12,000
30:58while others
30:59have sentimental
31:00value
31:01like a
31:01grandfather's
31:02baseball card
31:03collection
31:03that sold
31:04for more
31:04than half
31:05a million
31:05dollars.
31:06But one
31:07family's
31:08cardboard box
31:08carried clues
31:09to one
31:10of the most
31:10famous
31:11unsolved murder
31:12cases in
31:13history.
31:17A lot
31:18of families
31:18have these
31:19kinds of
31:20strange
31:20collections
31:21of heirlooms.
31:22Sometimes
31:22there's
31:22interesting
31:23stuff in
31:23there.
31:24Sometimes
31:24they're
31:24just junk.
31:26There's
31:27a guy
31:27an English
31:28guy
31:28and he
31:29has a
31:29box
31:30like this
31:30filled
31:30with family
31:31heirlooms.
31:32The family
31:32takes it
31:33to the
31:33local
31:33auctioneers
31:34for appraisal.
31:35At first
31:36this just
31:37looks like
31:37a random
31:38jumble
31:38of papers
31:39and odds
31:39and ends
31:40but
31:40when they
31:41start to
31:41look through
31:42the box
31:42they find
31:43photographs
31:43and one
31:44of those
31:44photographs
31:45looks like
31:46a dead
31:46body
31:47in a
31:47mortuary
31:49and
31:49there's
31:50a pair
31:50of handcuffs.
31:51And then
31:52as you
31:52get deeper
31:52into this
31:53box
31:53you come
31:54across
31:55facsimiles
31:55of a
31:56postcard
31:56and a
31:57letter.
32:01The
32:02original
32:02owner of
32:03this stuff
32:03was Henry
32:04Helson
32:04a police
32:05inspector
32:06with the
32:06J Division
32:07of the
32:07London
32:08Metropolitan
32:08Police.
32:09Over
32:10the years
32:11Helson
32:11keeps
32:11mementos
32:12from his
32:12work
32:13including
32:13evidence
32:14from a
32:14case
32:14that
32:15began
32:15one
32:16morning
32:16in
32:161888
32:18a case
32:19that would
32:19haunt
32:19investigators
32:20for
32:20generations.
32:31He's
32:31called
32:32to a
32:32murder
32:32scene
32:33and
32:33it's
32:34extremely
32:35gruesome.
32:3647
32:37year old
32:38Mary Ann
32:38Nichols
32:39has been
32:39killed
32:40her throat
32:41has been
32:41slashed
32:41and she
32:42has been
32:43brutally
32:44mutilated.
32:45This is
32:46not
32:46the typical
32:47kind of
32:48murder
32:48scene.
32:49The
32:50murder
32:50takes
32:50place
32:51in
32:51White
32:51Chapel
32:52which
32:52is
32:52in
32:52the
32:53east
32:53end
32:53of
32:53London
32:53which
32:54is
32:54a
32:54part
32:54of
32:54J Division's
32:55jurisdiction
32:55which is
32:56why
32:56Henry
32:56Helson
32:57is
32:57lead
32:57inspector
32:58on
32:58the
32:59case.
33:00Three
33:00days
33:00later
33:01another
33:01body
33:01shows
33:02up.
33:0347
33:03year old
33:04Annie
33:04Chapman.
33:05It's
33:05a horrendous
33:06scene.
33:07So we
33:08have two
33:08bodies.
33:09We
33:10have the
33:10makings
33:10of a
33:10serial
33:11killer.
33:11three
33:12weeks
33:12after
33:13these
33:13two
33:13murders
33:14the
33:14central
33:14news
33:15agency
33:15receives
33:16a
33:16letter.
33:17The
33:17letter
33:18is
33:18addressed
33:18dear
33:19boss.
33:20It's
33:21written
33:21in
33:21red
33:22ink
33:23and
33:23it
33:23brags
33:24about
33:25a
33:25recent
33:25murder
33:26in
33:26the
33:26east
33:26end
33:26of
33:27London.
33:27The
33:27writer
33:28claims
33:28that
33:28he
33:28wanted
33:29to
33:29write
33:30the
33:30letter
33:30in
33:30blood
33:31but
33:31the
33:31problem
33:31was
33:32it
33:32goes
33:33thick
33:33like
33:33glue.
33:35he
33:36threatens
33:37to
33:37clip
33:37off
33:38his
33:39next
33:39victim's
33:40ears.
33:41So
33:41the
33:42news
33:42agency
33:42they
33:43tell
33:43the
33:43police
33:43and
33:44they
33:44dismiss
33:45this
33:45as
33:46phony.
33:47Anyone
33:47can
33:47send
33:47a
33:47letter
33:48like
33:48this.
33:49A
33:50few
33:50days
33:50later
33:50however
33:51two
33:52more
33:52murders
33:52take
33:53place.
33:53Elizabeth
33:54Stride
33:55and
33:56Catherine
33:56Eddowes
33:57and
33:57part
33:58of
33:58Catherine's
33:59ears
33:59have
34:00been
34:00sliced
34:00off.
34:01And
34:02the
34:02very
34:03next
34:03day
34:03after
34:04these
34:04two
34:05additional
34:06murders
34:06a
34:07postcard
34:08is
34:08sent
34:08to
34:08the
34:08central
34:09news
34:09agency
34:10and
34:10this
34:11one
34:11is
34:11just
34:12as
34:12weird
34:12and
34:13horrible
34:14as
34:15the
34:15letter
34:15that
34:15came
34:16before.
34:17And
34:17this
34:17time
34:18the
34:18writer
34:19in
34:19question
34:19refers
34:20to
34:20themselves
34:20as
34:21Saucy
34:22Jack.
34:22And
34:23like
34:23the
34:23letter
34:23it
34:24rags
34:25and
34:25it
34:25gloats
34:25about
34:26the
34:26murder
34:27and
34:27it
34:27also
34:28cheekily
34:28apologizes
34:29about
34:30sorry
34:30I
34:30didn't
34:30have
34:30time
34:31to
34:31slice
34:32off
34:32the
34:32whole
34:32earlier
34:32I
34:33could
34:33only
34:33do
34:33half
34:34of
34:34it
34:34I
34:34kind
34:34of
34:34ran
34:34out
34:35of
34:35time
34:35and
34:36then
34:36the
34:36writer
34:36signs
34:37off
34:38Jack
34:38the
34:39ripper.
34:43At
34:43this
34:43point
34:44Scotland Yard
34:45takes
34:45over
34:46what's
34:46now
34:46being
34:47called
34:47the
34:48White
34:48Chapel
34:48murders
34:49and
34:49and
34:49the
34:49bodies
34:50continue
34:50to
34:51pile
34:51up
34:51investigators
34:52release
34:53copies
34:53of
34:54both
34:54the
34:54letter
34:54and
34:55the
34:55postcard
34:56hoping
34:56someone
34:57in the
34:57public
34:58might
34:58recognize
34:59the
34:59handwriting
34:59or
35:00even
35:00be
35:00able
35:01to
35:01identify
35:02Jack
35:02the
35:03Ripper
35:05it
35:05does
35:05not
35:06work
35:06it's
35:07still
35:07an
35:07open
35:07question
35:08about
35:08whether
35:08this
35:09letter
35:09this
35:09postcard
35:10actually
35:10came
35:11from
35:11Jack
35:11the
35:11Ripper
35:12a lot
35:12of
35:12people
35:12thought
35:13those
35:13letters
35:13were
35:13hoaxes
35:14maybe
35:14concocted
35:15by
35:15some
35:16editor
35:19over
35:19time
35:20though
35:20the
35:20case
35:21goes
35:21unsolved
35:22and
35:22these
35:23items
35:23that
35:24were
35:25in
35:25the
35:25police
35:25files
35:26mysteriously
35:27go
35:27missing
35:28and
35:29it
35:29is
35:29suggested
35:29that
35:30some
35:30people
35:30who
35:30work
35:31the
35:31case
35:31end up
35:31taking
35:32these
35:32files
35:32as
35:33souvenirs
35:33for
35:34themselves
35:34now
35:34the
35:35original
35:35dear
35:36boss
35:36letter
35:36was
35:37returned
35:37to
35:37Scotland
35:38Yard
35:38anonymously
35:39almost
35:40a hundred
35:40years
35:40later
35:41but
35:41the
35:42only
35:42surviving
35:43copies
35:44of
35:44the
35:44Saucy Jack
35:45postcard
35:45are
35:46copies
35:47they're
35:47facsimiles
35:53and
35:53that
35:54is
35:54what
35:54Henry
35:55Helson
35:55has
35:56in
35:56his
35:56collection
35:56which
35:58means
35:58that
35:59when
35:59Detective
35:59Inspector
36:00Helson's
36:00great
36:00grandson
36:01puts
36:02these
36:02items
36:03up
36:03for
36:04auction
36:04this
36:05garners
36:05a lot
36:06of
36:06interest
36:08in
36:091888
36:10it
36:10cost
36:11just
36:11one
36:11penny
36:12to
36:12mail
36:12the
36:12original
36:13letter
36:13and
36:13postcard
36:14135
36:15years
36:16later
36:16the
36:16copies
36:17sell
36:17for
36:17over
36:1815,000
36:19pounds
36:19which
36:20works
36:20out
36:20to
36:20be
36:20around
36:2121
36:22grand
36:29no
36:3020th
36:31century
36:31president
36:32captured
36:32the
36:32public's
36:33imagination
36:34quite
36:34like
36:35JFK
36:35and
36:36ever
36:36since
36:36his
36:37death
36:37collectors
36:37have
36:38searched
36:38out
36:38anything
36:39connected
36:39to
36:40his
36:40assassination
36:41from
36:41a
36:41section
36:42of
36:42the
36:42picket
36:42fence
36:43on
36:43the
36:43grassy
36:43knoll
36:44to
36:44a
36:44window
36:45from
36:45the
36:45Texas
36:45book
36:46depository
36:46but
36:47no
36:47collectible
36:48is
36:48as
36:49haunting
36:49or
36:49as
36:50revealing
36:50as
36:51an
36:51uncashed
36:52paycheck
37:01a
37:02check
37:02comes
37:03through
37:03the
37:03mail
37:05it's
37:06for
37:06$43.37
37:08issued
37:09by the
37:09Texas
37:10book
37:10depository
37:13signed
37:14by the
37:15secretary
37:15and the
37:15treasurer
37:17and
37:17annotated
37:18in the
37:19bottom
37:19left-hand
37:20corner
37:20is a
37:21note
37:21saying
37:21that
37:22this
37:22is
37:22a
37:22check
37:22for
37:23four
37:23and
37:24one
37:24half
37:24days
37:25of
37:25work
37:26the
37:26check's
37:27date
37:28December
37:293rd
37:30which
37:30just
37:30happens
37:31to be
37:3111
37:32days
37:32after
37:32the
37:32assassination
37:33of
37:34President
37:34John
37:35F.
37:35Kennedy
37:36and
37:37the
37:37check
37:37is
37:38payable
37:38to
37:39one
37:39Mrs.
37:41Lee
37:41Harvey
37:42Oswald
37:4711 days
37:48earlier
37:48Lee
37:49Harvey
37:49Oswald
37:50is at
37:50his job
37:51at the
37:51Texas
37:51Book Depository
37:52where he
37:53is paid
37:53$1.25
37:55an hour
37:55to fulfill
37:56orders
37:57his job
37:59is to
37:59take
37:59invoices
38:00go up
38:01to the
38:01fifth
38:01sixth
38:01seventh
38:02floor
38:02grab books
38:04to be shipped
38:04to schools
38:05or wherever
38:05they're going
38:06he fills
38:07a box
38:07the books
38:08the books
38:09the invoice
38:09takes them
38:10back down
38:11that's his
38:12job
38:12as we
38:13all know
38:13the Texas
38:14Book Depository
38:15overlooks
38:16Dealey Plaza
38:17around noon
38:18a police
38:19officer
38:20and the
38:20building
38:21superintendent
38:22rush
38:23into the
38:24book
38:24depository
38:25and pass
38:25Oswald
38:26who is
38:27standing
38:27very calmly
38:28a little bit
38:29later
38:30one of
38:30Oswald's
38:31co-workers
38:32says to him
38:33that president
38:34john f
38:35kennedy
38:35has been
38:36shot
38:39very calmly
38:41Oswald leaves
38:42work for the
38:42day
38:42half a day
38:44early
38:44why
38:46because he
38:48had just
38:48shot and
38:49killed
38:50the president
38:51of the united
38:51states
38:5548 hours
38:56and 7 minutes
38:56after the
38:57president's death
38:58his accused
38:59player
38:59is dead
39:00Oswald
39:02has been
39:03shot dead
39:04the check
39:05arrives in
39:06the mail
39:06addressed to
39:07his widow
39:07Marina
39:08and it is
39:08for four
39:09and one
39:09half days
39:11the assassination
39:11happens on a
39:12Friday
39:12so he had
39:13worked Monday
39:14Tuesday
39:14Wednesday
39:14Thursday
39:15gets to
39:16work on
39:16Friday
39:16and then
39:17shoots the
39:18president
39:18leaves the
39:19building
39:20so some
39:20bean counter
39:21at the
39:21Texas
39:21Book School
39:22Depository
39:22building
39:23makes it
39:23out for
39:23$43
39:24and something
39:25they still
39:25paid Lee
39:26Harvey
39:26Oswald
39:27but they
39:27you know
39:28they clocked
39:28him out
39:30so by the
39:30time Marina
39:31Oswald
39:31receives this
39:32check
39:32she's now
39:33a recent
39:33widow
39:34she's got
39:35a toddler
39:35she's got
39:36another baby
39:37on the way
39:37she needs
39:38the money
39:38but she's
39:39being hounded
39:40by the
39:40press
39:42several
39:42magazines
39:43wanted her
39:43exclusive
39:44story
39:44so Life
39:45magazine
39:45got the
39:46exclusive
39:46story
39:47of Marina
39:48and they
39:48put her
39:48in a hotel
39:49to keep
39:49her away
39:50from the
39:50rest of
39:50the press
39:51she doesn't
39:52want to go
39:52to the bank
39:52to cash
39:53a check
39:53and she
39:53asked her
39:54attorney
39:54at the
39:55time
39:55John
39:55Thorne
39:56to cash
39:57it for
39:57her
39:57but he
39:58doesn't
39:59he gives
40:00her the
40:00cash
40:01$43.37
40:03and hangs
40:04onto the
40:05check
40:05for himself
40:06it tells
40:07a story
40:08of what
40:09happened
40:09on that
40:10tragic
40:11day
40:11it's
40:11an artifact
40:12that gives
40:13us direct
40:14insight
40:15into the
40:15moment
40:16in time
40:17that something
40:17tragic
40:18but historically
40:20significant
40:21happened
40:21puts it
40:22into a
40:22file
40:23it's
40:23never
40:23cashed
40:24because
40:24the
40:24lawyer
40:25isn't
40:25Mrs.
40:26Marina
40:26Oswald
40:26can't
40:26go into
40:27a bank
40:27and cash
40:27it
40:27so the
40:28check
40:28remains
40:29in
40:29Thorne's
40:30files
40:30he
40:31eventually
40:32passes
40:32away
40:32in 1981
40:33and it's
40:34his
40:35widow
40:35Lois
40:36who now
40:37is left
40:37to decide
40:39what to do
40:39with the
40:39check
40:40this is
40:411963
40:42Lee Harvey
40:42Oswald's
40:43last
40:43paycheck
40:44in 2020
40:46Lois
40:47decides to
40:47find out
40:48just how
40:48much she
40:49can cash
40:49in this
40:50check
40:50for
40:50a huge
40:51moment
40:52in
40:52American
40:53history
40:54turns out
40:54the infamous
40:55$43.37
40:57paycheck
40:58sells for
40:59$69,000
41:08it just
41:09goes to
41:10show
41:10whether
41:11it's
41:11a pile
41:11of
41:11soggy
41:12$20 bills
41:13a $10
41:14photograph
41:15or an
41:15autograph
41:16postcard
41:17while crime
41:18doesn't pay
41:19an artifact
41:20with a story
41:21sure does
41:22and when it
41:23comes to
41:23collecting
41:24there's no
41:25such thing
41:25as bad
41:26money
41:26$5.39
41:27$700,000
41:27$60,000
41:27$50,000
41:27$30,000
41:27$50,000
41:28$50,000å¾—
41:28,000 $20
41:29,000 $60
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