The E-Sylum:  Volume 5, Number 46, November 17, 2002, Article 6

THE CASE OF THE HOLLOW NICKEL

  Ed Krivoniak found an interesting article on the FBI's
  web site, about the famous spy case involving a hollow
  nickel.  Here are a few excerpts.  Follow the link for the
  complete article.

  "After he collected for the newspaper, Jimmy left the
  apartment house jingling several coins in his left hand.
  One of the coins seemed to have a peculiar ring. The
  newsboy rested this coin, a nickel, on the middle finger
  of his hand. It felt lighter than an ordinary nickel.

  He dropped this coin to the floor. It fell apart! Inside
  was a tiny photograph -- apparently a picture of a series
  of numbers.

  Two days later (Wednesday, June 24, 1953) during a
  discussion of another  investigation, a detective of the New
  York City Police Department told a Federal Bureau of
  Investigation (FBI) Agent about the strange hollow nickel
  which, he had heard, was discovered by a Brooklyn youth.
  The detective had received his information from another
  police officer whose daughter was acquainted with the
  newsboy.

  When the New York detective contacted him, Jimmy
  handed over the hollow nickel and the photograph it
  contained. The detective, in turn, gave the coin to the FBI.

  In examining the nickel, Agents of the FBI's New York
  Office noted that the microphotograph appeared to portray
  nothing more then ten columns of typewritten numbers.
  There was five digits in each number and 21 numbers in most
  columns. The Agents immediately suspected that they had
  found a coded espionage message. They carefully wrapped
  the nickel and microphotograph for shipment to the FBI
  Laboratory.

  Upon its receipt in Washington on June 26, 1953, the nickel
  was subjected to the thorough scrutiny of a team of FBI
  scientific experts. Hollow coins, though rarely seen by the
  ordinary citizen, are occasionally used in magic acts and
  come to the attention of Federal law enforcement agencies
  from time to time. This was the first time, however, that the
  FBI had ever encountered a nickel quite like this one.

  The face of the coin was a 1948 Jefferson nickel. In the "R"
  of the word "TRUST", there was a tiny hole -- obviously
  drilled there so that a fine needle or other small instrument
  could be inserted to force the nickel open.

  The reverse side had been made from another nickel --
  one minted sometime during the period of 1942 to 1945.
  It was composed of copper-silver alloy, there being a
  shortage of nickel during World War II."

  "An investigation which had started with a newsboy's hollow
  nickel ultimately resulted in the smashing of a Soviet spy ring.
  On February 10, 1962, Rudolf Ivanovich Abel was
  exchanged for the American U-2 pilot, Francis Gary Powers,
  who was a prisoner of the Soviet Union."

  http://www.fbi.gov/libref/historic/famcases/abel/abel.htm

  Wayne Homren, Editor

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