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The One Dollar Counterfeiter

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Re: The One Dollar Counterfeiter

#4

  Under ordinary circumstances, a federal counterfeiting arrest would have generated little sympathy. But the story of Emerich Juettner struck the public imagination immediately. Here was an old man surviving in poverty by printing crude one-dollar bills one at a time. He was not violent, greedy, or glamorous.

  At trial, Juettner admitted his activities openly. The judge sentenced him to only a year and a day in prison, and he was paroled after 4 months. He was also made to pay a fine of $1. It has been agreed that Juettner’s complete lack of greed was the rationale behind the light sentence. …

  Juettner returned to a life of normalcy, and lived out the rest of his days in the suburbs of Long Island, where he died in 1955, at the age of 79.
(Edit - thanks, leaving as a highlight)

Re: The One Dollar Counterfeiter

#7
> References:

> The 70-year-old retiree who became America’s worst counterfeiter. [link]

He evaded capture for 10 years, making him one of the best. Also got less than a slap on his wrist and ended up making legal money on the whole ordeal.

Re: The One Dollar Counterfeiter

#8
post #2

Fun fact: in parts of East Africa, a $50 bill may be worth about 60-70 $1 dollar bills, due to the $1 bill being easier to counterfeit (and also more likely worn down).

In parts of the USA (well, amazon.com), you can buy bills of $10,000,000,000 from Africa for very little.

example: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01L3536O2

Re: The One Dollar Counterfeiter

#9
post #4

Under ordinary circumstances, a federal counterfeiting arrest would have generated little sympathy. But the story of Emerich Juettner struck the public imagination immediately. Here was an old man surviving in poverty by printing crude one-dollar bills one at a time. He was not violent, greedy, or glamorous. At trial, Juettner admitted his activities openly. The judge sentenced him to only a year and a day in prison,…

Literally the single paragraph you omitted:

    After his release, Juettner briefly achieved celebrity status. His notoriety became so widespread that Hollywood adapted the story into the 1950 film Mister 880, directed by Edmund Goulding. Eventually, Juettner made more money from the release of Mister 880 than he had made by counterfeiting.

Re: The One Dollar Counterfeiter

#10
post #9
post #4

Under ordinary circumstances, a federal counterfeiting arrest would have generated little sympathy. But the story of Emerich Juettner struck the public imagination immediately. Here was an old man surviving in poverty by printing crude one-dollar bills one at a time. He was not violent, greedy, or glamorous. At trial, Juettner admitted his activities openly. The judge sentenced him to only a year and a day in prison,…

Literally the single paragraph you omitted: After his release, Juettner briefly achieved celebrity status. His notoriety became so widespread that Hollywood adapted the story into the 1950 film Mister 880, directed by Edmund Goulding. Eventually, Juettner made more money from the release of Mister 880 than he had made by counterfeiting.

(Thank you!)
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