Uncovering interesting things in the collection is probably the most rewarding part of a curatorial staff member’s job. In a way it is a privilege to find a nearly forgotten artifact and breathe new life into it by researching its past and telling others its stories.
The three counterfeit coins in our archives are a great example of an item with a fascinating story to tell.
If these were real, we'd all be on our way to Mexico....
Brothers Paul and William Pankow were notorious schemers, always looking for a “get rich quick” scam that would put them on easy street with minimal effort, and they set their sights on a highly secretive hobby to do so: coin collecting. See, coin collectors, other wise known as numismatists, are an aloof bunch, unwilling to share a lucrative find until the deal has been sealed and the purchase confirmed. The Pankow brothers were counting on this “code of silence” in the collecting world to help them make a small fortune. And they very nearly suceeded.
Variously jailed and committed to mental institutions for petty crimes and arson, the Paul and William were unsavoury characters at best. But no one would have anticipated the sinister way that they learned their counterfeiting craft – the two men kidnapped and held hostage a Vancouver engraver, tying him to a bed frame for five days until he conceded to school them in his expertise. He finally escaped, but could not identify his captors, as they had been wearing KKK style hoods for the entire hostage duration.
It was with newly acquired skills that the Pankows, using aliases, began their nearly ten year escapade into the world of counterfeit coins. Using exquisite care, the men soldered and etched and melted the tiny digits and symbols from coins, working to recreate the infamous 1936 Canadian penny. These were struck by the mint after the death of King George V, and only 8 authentic coins are known to exist. At the time of the crime, they were worth over 2000 dollars each – big money in the 1950′s. Big, easy money for the Pankows.
A glimpse into their methods.
The brothers were surprisingly adept at the fine detail work required to counterfeit coins, ensuring that they added precisely the right amount of weight required to fool even the most seasoned collector. Along with 1936 penny, the brothers mimicked many, many others, and were only caught when coin collectors began suspecting the haphazard way that the were storing their wares as being too casual for serious collectors.
Not-so-Honest Abe.
Once the Vancouver Police got on the case, they uncovered the men’s true identities and even connected the fraudulent activities to activities to the kidnapping ten years earlier. The men were sentenced to 2 years in prison, but more importantly their very existence alerted many coin collectors to the financially devastating consequences of being swindled by a counterfeiter.
Luckily for us, several 50+ year old fake American collectible pennies are now safe and sound in our collection, and were just waiting for my eager hands to find them and tell their strange tale.
Til next time, museum lovers. In the meantime, remember to always count your change.
Tags: artifacts · curators office · historical crime2 Comments
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So how does this story touch us today? Every engineer in Canada wears an iron ring on their pinky finger. There is a legend that says those rings were once made from the iron of Vancouver’s fallen bridge. During a secret ceremony called the Ritual of Calling an Engineer, the ring is given as a reminder of the responsibility engineers have. They should build safely, not for monetary gain but for the science and art of their craft.
