Part 72, page 1

Document date 24 April 1972

Open in FBI Vault (Part 72, page 1 of the PDF)

FBI 164-81, Vault Part 72 p. 1 (DB Cooper-30079), Memo, dated 24 Apr 1972 — cooper.theunsolved.net/parts/Cooper-Part-72/pages/1

Transcript

The scan is the source; the transcript is machine-generated from it.

SAC, SEATTLE (164-81) 4/24/72

SA [REDACTED] b6 Per FBI b7C NORJAK

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[REDACTED] Asst. Special Agent in Charge, b6 Per USSS U.S. Secret Service, Seattle, was contacted 4/24/72. b7C

[REDACTED] was shown 3 copies of $20 bills, serial numbers as follows:

L 54904730 A

L 33529797 A

L 20168977 A

and [REDACTED] provided the following information when asked whether it could be determined if in fact these $20 bills were real or not. b6 Per USSS b7C

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[REDACTED] stated the 12 appearing on the side of the $20 bills, meant the Federal Reserve Bank in San Francisco, California, and that the serial number would begin with the 12th letter of the alphabet, which in this instance is the letter "L".

[REDACTED] advised that an experienced photographer b6 Per USSS could reproduce any serial number desired on this $20 -ill b7C [REDACTED] This is a method b7E which is used by counterfeiters according to [REDACTED]

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[REDACTED] further advised that he does not believe b6 Per USSS it is possible to determine if the bills set forth as copies b7C are real or not unless an original is seen. On the original it is then possible to look for certain characteristics which will appear on true bills based on the printing process used by the Government. [illegible].m.

It was noted for [REDACTED] by the writer, that on /64-81-[guess: 2406] one of the bills the "9" appears smaller than on the other b6 Per USSS two bills. HARDY stated this could happen and sometimes b7C

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SEARCHED INDEXED SERIALIZED [REDACTED] FILED [REDACTED] APR 2 8 1972 FBI — SEATTLE

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WMB:klb (4)

DB Cooper-30079

AI notes

Commentary by the AI model that transcribed this page. It may bring in context the page itself does not state. The scan is the source; the transcript is machine-generated from it.

Header block of FBI memo addressed to SAC Seattle, file 164-81, dated 4/24/72, with redacted Special Agent name. NORJAK case designation. An FBI Special Agent contacted the Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service in Seattle on 4/24/72. The USSS official was shown 3 copies of $20 bills with specific serial numbers beginning with L and ending with A, and was asked whether the bills could be determined to be real or not. The USSS official explained that the number 12 on the bills indicates the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, and that the serial numbers begin with L (the 12th letter). The official also noted that an experienced photographer could reproduce any serial number on a $20 bill, a method used by counterfeiters. The USSS official stated he does not believe authenticity can be determined from copies alone—an original must be examined for characteristics of the government printing process. The FBI writer noted that on one bill the digit 9 appears smaller than on the other two. HARDY stated this could happen and sometimes occurs. FBI Seattle processing stamp showing the document was searched, indexed, serialized, and filed on April 28, 1972. Dictation initials WMB:klb with 4 copies noted, and a DB Cooper file reference number 30079.

Several names/words redacted with black boxes
Right margin annotations partially cut off
Microfiche dot artifacts at top of page
Some text near bottom is slightly blurred

Part 72, page 1

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