Counterfeiter No. 880

Mr. 880: The Amazing Story of Emerich Juettner, One of the Most Unusual Counterfeiters in U.S. History. He Counterfeited Dollars for 10 Years, Escaped Arrest, and Became a National Favorite.

What do you know about counterfeiters? Now you will say that they all *earned* a lot, but ended badly. I want to tell you about one craftsman who has been counterfeiting dollars for 10 years, but I can't call him a crook. They are different now, crooks.

Emerich Juttner, also known by his pseudonym “Mr. 880,” went down in U.S. history as one of the most unusual counterfeiters. Born in Austria-Hungary in 1876, he emigrated to America at the beginning of the 20th century. After a series of failures and difficulties, in 1938 Juttner decided to take up counterfeiting to survive in hard times.

Jüttner began printing counterfeit banknotes in denominations of one dollar. These counterfeits were so primitive that they were easy to spot. However, this is precisely why he avoided arrest for ten years. Jüttner used an old typewriter and rough paper, and although his bills were far from perfect, they were not taken seriously. Yes, the dollar might be counterfeit, even most likely counterfeit, no, it is definitely counterfeit – but there is only one in the register.

He spent his counterfeit currency carefully, buying small items at various stores and making purchases of no more than $1, which allowed him to remain undetected for a long time. Despite the many errors in the counterfeits, including incorrect serial numbers and poor-quality stamps, Juttner continued his operation, and his counterfeit money fell into the hands of various people until someone noticed that it was counterfeit.

The FBI began an investigation, but for a long time they could not catch the cunning swindler. Juttner, who lived modestly, did not arouse suspicion. In 1948, a fire broke out in the house where he lived, after which the cliche was found in the ashes, and he was finally arrested.

However, his story attracted public attention because of its unusualness. After his arrest in 1948, Emerich Jüttner became known for his unusual and almost benevolent activities. Although he had been counterfeiting money for ten years, it had not caused significant damage to the economy. At his trial, he confessed his guilt and explained that he had started counterfeiting to survive in difficult times.

The court took into account his age, his circumstances and the fact that he had never tried to enrich himself with his crime. Jüttner was an old man who did not live in luxury and used his counterfeits only to buy necessary goods. As a result, the court showed him leniency. Emerich Juttner was sentenced to one year and one day in prison and a fine of one dollar. The sentence was symbolic and underscored the insignificance of his crimes compared to the usual counterfeiting cases. His case was seen as a tragicomic episode rather than a serious crime.

After his release from prison, Jüttner returned to a quiet life and no longer engaged in illegal activities. His story continued to attract attention and in 1950, it was adapted into the film “Mr. 880”, which was based on his life and adventures. Emerich Jüttner died in 1955, leaving behind the memory of an unusual counterfeiter who won the sympathy of many with his naivety and modesty.

Author's opinion. The largest overnight growth in the capitalization of seven IT giants this year was recorded in May. The capitalization of companies such as Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Alphabet (Google), Meta (Facebook), Nvidia and Tesla increased by a total of $300 billion. This record growth was caused by optimistic quarterly reports and positive forecasts for revenue from artificial intelligence and other innovative technologies, which, unfortunately, did not come true, and at this stage, the development of artificial intelligence is unprofitable.

Why am I saying this? Here are two stories: one is a conscientious counterfeiter, the other is mega-corporations that have grown overnight in speculative capital simply by waiting for AI to bring in big profits (and maybe someday it will). All the bosses have positions and bonuses, the guys from Wall Street got bonuses, only retail investors are now in a slump, but someone has to pay for the party. And the most interesting thing is that all this is explained by the fact that “this is how the market works,” and no one is to blame. Of course, there is no manipulator on the market and there cannot be. Or is there?

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