Emanuel Ninger (1846/1847 – July 25, 1924), known as "Jim the Penman", was a
counterfeiter in the late 1880s.
Biography
Ninger and his wife, Adelaide, arrived c. 1876 from Germany
[ ] to live in
Hoboken, New Jersey
Hoboken ( ; Unami: ') is a city in Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 60,417. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 58,690 i ...
. He worked as a sign painter and then bought a farm in
Westfield, New Jersey
Westfield is a town in Union County, New Jersey, United States, located southwest of Manhattan. As of the 2010 United States census, the town's population was 30,316,[Flagtown, New Jersey
Flagtown is an unincorporated community and census-designated place located within Hillsborough Township, in Somerset County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.
History
The area was originally called Flagtown Station when the Lehigh Valley Rai ...]
.
Forgery
Ninger began counterfeiting in 1878,
and by 1879 the Treasury redemption bureau was aware of his work.
[ ] Not having any clues as to Ninger's identity, he was named "Jim the Penman" by the Secret Service. Beginning with a $10 bill, he moved on to $20s and $50s, and later $100s.
His first $100 was spotted by the Treasury in November 1893.
Ninger would buy bond paper from
Crane & Company, in
Dalton, Massachusetts
Dalton is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts. Dalton is a transition town between the urban and rural portions of Berkshire County. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 6,330 at th ...
, cut it to the same size as the $50 and $100
United States Note
A United States Note, also known as a Legal Tender Note, is a type of paper money that was issued from 1862 to 1971 in the U.S. Having been current for 109 years, they were issued for longer than any other form of U.S. paper money. They were k ...
s he was copying, then soak the paper in a dilute coffee solution. He would align the paper over a genuine banknote, place the two on a piece of glass, and trace the resulting image.
He used a camel’s hair brush to put colors on the note, imitated the silk threads with red and blue inks, and suggested rather than duplicated the intricate geometric lathework. Notably, he omitted the line crediting the Bureau of Engraving and Printing from all of his bills, and some of them were also missing the counterfeiting warning. When asked why he omitted the Bureau of Engraving and Printing credit on his bills, Ninger responded, "Because dey icdidn't make dem ic"
He worked for weeks at a time on each note, and this was profitable because at the time one of those notes was extremely valuable (about $2,000 or $4,000 in today's dollars).
He was apprehended by the United States Secret Service
The United States Secret Service (USSS or Secret Service) is a federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Homeland Security charged with conducting criminal investigations and protecting U.S. political leaders, their families, and ...
in March 1896 when he paid a bartender with a $50 banknote, the note got wet, and the ink began to smudge. Although first pleading not guilty, Ninger changed his plea to guilty,[ ] and was sentenced on May 29, 1896 to six years in the Erie County Penitentiary.[ ] At some point after his release he forged a few British pound notes. He died on July 25, 1924, at 77 years old.
Ninger was somewhat romanticized during his time, as almost a "Robin Hood
Robin Hood is a legendary heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature and film. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions of the legend, he is dep ...
"-like character, whose crimes were deemed "victimless", both because only the extremely wealthy could afford the bills that he was forging, and also because with the proper art connections, one could stand to profit by receiving a Ninger work. Ninger notes are illegal to possess; it is estimated that there are 20-30 notes in the hands of collectors, out of an estimated 700 made by Ninger. One week before being sentenced, Ninger only admitted to making 390 notes over his 18-year career.
See also
* JSG Boggs
*Han van Meegeren
Henricus Antonius "Han" van Meegeren (; 10 October 1889 – 30 December 1947) was a Dutch painter and portraitist, considered one of the most ingenious art forgers of the 20th century. Van Meegeren became a national hero after World War II when ...
*''Trompe-l'œil
''Trompe-l'œil'' ( , ; ) is an artistic term for the highly realistic optical illusion of three-dimensional space and objects on a two-dimensional surface. ''Trompe l'oeil'', which is most often associated with painting, tricks the viewer into ...
''
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ninger, Emanuel
American counterfeiters
1840s births
1924 deaths