interesting to note there were 1934 and 1950 bills in the group delivered to Cooper. Made me wonder how long the money was in the bank vault. Probably varying amounts of time.

So we know that there was more money in the bank's 'emergency stash' than was given to Cooper, and that the remaining money was incorporated into the new stash. Makes me curious about previous disbursements from that stash, when and how much, and when the original stash was created.

Maybe Cooper only got $194k and $6K "fell off a truck" 

Best chuckle of the day. Thanks, Snow.

Along those lines, one of the things I enjoy about the TV show, Chicago PD, is how Sgt. Voight and his crew will occasionally skim a bit on a drug bust to establish a monetary fund for their other investigatory efforts. Or to pay for funeral services for families wrongly impacted by CPD actions.

been pondering how to optimize extracting text from images, specifically in the case of the FBI "hoover list" of serial numbers.
It's like a language problem.
We know what legitimate serial numbers are (possible values)
If you think as every space-separated group of characters on the fbi list as a "word", the legit possiblities mean the language has only 5208 valid words.

But then we also know that the "sentences" which are the fixed 4 word "sentences" that form a serial in each of the 5 columns, are sorted alphanumerically. Therefore the context of a "sentence" gives information about correctness of any extraction...i.e. you can look at the serials above and below it, to determine accuracy

knowing that the "sentences" are fixed 4 word, in each column also helps.

So there's a lot of outside knowledge that can be used to help make sure an ocr extraction of text from the image, is  correct.

Got me wondering how the check six website got his list  (where he verifies a serial you enter..he doesn't let you download a list)  Maybe he scanned a better source. The Tosaw book might be better to scan, but since it's unclear if Tosaw has any errors, I'm stuck with using the FBI pages as source.

This is all interesting to me, because no one has a text list of all the serials in the FBI hoover memo. We just have the images. check six website has something, but unclear how created.

Snowmman: In reply to a few of your messages.  Not in order.  The info on the star notes is interesting and got me thinking.  Certain serial numbers on bills are more desirable to collectors, such as stars, sequential numbers like 12345678, repeating numbers 22222222, etc.  Like you said, they sell for more.  Of the 9,700 or so bills still unaccounted for, if there were certain bills targeted for search, then those might be easier to find (stars, sequential if there are any).  I've seen some fancy work done using web scraping, and have an idea of the possibilities (I'm not an expert though).  I've done the fun searches on Ebay for $20's, but if someone could automate it, that would be great.

I've tried to put some numbers into Check 6 and had no luck. I'm not sure how good the program is anymore.  I think Flyjack has the numbers in searchable format.  I took some shots and did picture to text and got some, but it was too tedious to go page by page in Tosaw's book.  I'll look tonight and see if any numbers jump out.  There are some random 20's in there, I think one from the 1950s.

The money is what got me started going down the vortex, and the flight path, but it was really the money I focused on.  I talked to an expert and pulled some data and basically ran scenarios through my head.  Some things I believe:

1.  The series numbers on the 1963A's could easily have been erased.  With a little bit of nail polish remover the 1963A becomes a 1963. I've done it.  Also, with the same process one could doctor the serial numbers too.  Just a little tweak and no one would really know unless they were using a microscope or magnifying glass.  It takes a little more skill and some green ink, but you could also change a serial number like a 3 into an 8.  I've done this too.  The standard reply to this is "who would take the time to do this?"  Well, a $20 back then was worth the equivalent of $120 or so now, so putting the work in would be worth it, especially if Cooper had the skills (engraving, printing, counterfeiting etc.).

2.  The Tena Bar money is 3% of the total haul. It is interesting, and a big part of the case, but I feel like it gets a lot of attention as "evidence", but in my mind the real evidence is that it shows Cooper likely did leave that plane.  Tom's diatom research helps too.  I just would rather see us focus on the other 97% of the money.

3.  I used to think he could not have spent the money.  I've since been convinced he could (with the help of some of the folks on here).  I don't think anyone was really looking hard for these 20's.  There were over a billion 20's in circulation of those series.  A lot to sift through.  I calculated that there were over 1.4 billion 20's ($28 billion) produced of the 1963A and 1969 variants. Granted some would have left circulation, but that's a lot of bills to find one of our 9,700.

Anyhow.  Good discussion.

There are numbers on the # of bills printed per year by US treasury from current going back to 1980. BUT: the number of star notes per year is between 0.5% and 2% roughly (of the total)
I have some detail for 1974 below, may be able to find 1969 detail

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My guess from those numbers is that in 1963 or 1969, there were maybe 500M $20 bills printed, or less. Since most of the cooper bills were from 1963 or 1969, yes the total # of possible that were printed, is probably around 1 billion. Hmm..data below suggests could be 1B per year.

But that's why the star notes are so important. I read something that said printing errors were 1 in 100,000 or so. So the number of star notes in a year, is much much less.

the ratio of cooper star notes to total star notes printed that year, is much better. And star notes are collectible. I think the banks got a distribution of star notes that is non-random. That's why there are sequential star notes in the cooper list. It's all very interesting.

percentage of star notes in circulation mentioned in this forum: 0.5%

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this link has good info but only back to 1974
"These pages list the serial number ranges used for each series and denomination of U.S. currency."
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Denomination   FY 1980   FY 1981   FY 1982   FY 1983   FY 1984
$1   1,939,840,000   1,954,560,000   2,040,320,000   2,229,760,000   2,771,200,000
$5   427,520,000   519,680,000   614,400,000   583,680,000   716,800,000
$10   495,360,000   536,320,000   540,160,000   592,640,000   812,800,000
$20   634,880,000   812,800,000   683,520,000   994,560,000   1,292,800,000
$50   56,960,000   67,200,000   94,720,000   115,200,000   128,000,000
$100   100,480,000   118,400,000   108,800,000   85,760,000   137,600,000



Data on the total Series 1974 $20 run. Shows overall 2.14% star note rate

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FRB
        RegularNotes    Blocks      Group PrintRuns StarNotes StarPrintRuns
A   56,960,000   2   3   3   89   768,000   2
B   296,640,000   4   5   5   465   7,616,000   13
C   59,680,000   2   3   4   94   1,760,000   3
D   148,000,000   3   4   4   232   3,296,000   7
E   149,920,000   2   3   4   235   3,040,000   8
F   53,280,000   2   3   3   84   480,000   1
G   249,920,000   4   5   6   392   4,928,000   11
H   73,120,000   2   3   3   115   1,120,000   2
I   39,040,000   1   2   2   61   1,280,000   2
J   74,400,000   2   3   3   117   736,000   3
K   68,640,000   2   3   4   108   608,000   2
L   128,160,000   2   3   3   201   4,320,000   9

Total   1,397,760,000   28   40   44   2193   29,952,000   63
Totals incl. stars:   40   52   107   2256   
Special printings:   0/0   0/0   0       Star rate:   2.14%
Grand totals:   40/40   52/52   107

Details on Series 1963A $20 printing
Star rate was 4.52%

Total   Regular notes 821,120,000
Total Star notes 37,120,000

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FRB   RegularNotes Blks Cblks   Grps CGrps PrintRuns   StarNotes   StarPrintRuns
A   23,680,000   1   1   1   37   1,280,000   2
B   93,600,000   2   2   2   147   3,680,000   6
C   17,920,000   1   1   1   28   640,000   1
D   68,480,000   1   1   1   107   3,200,000   5
E   128,800,000   2   2   2   202   5,600,000   9
F   42,880,000   1   1   1   67   1,920,000   3
G   156,320,000   2   2   2   245   6,880,000   11
H   34,560,000   1   1   1   54   1,920,000   3
I   10,240,000   1   1   1   16   640,000   1
J   37,120,000   1   1   1   58   1,920,000   3
K   38,400,000   1   1   1   60   1,280,000   2
L   169,120,000   2   2   2   265   8,160,000   13

Total   821,120,000   16   16   16   1286   37,120,000   59
Totals incl. stars:   28   28   32   1345   
Special printings:   0/0   0/0   0       Star rate:   4.52%

-   Still no word from the actual people who saw the form of the money passed to Cooper, or those who claim special knowledge about it -  Carr, Tom Kaye, bank employees, Flo, Hancock, Mucklow …
-    Himmelsbach and others who comment about this matter never saw the money put together for Cooper. Their information is second-hand.
-   Articles/documents shown by FJ use different words-terms for the money. Which words are the correct words?  What was the source of those people’s information. What makes those people experts! ?
-   The Ingrams did NOT report paper straps or any configuration even approaching the Flyjack form of the money. Why is that ?
-   FJ says the paper straps dissolved. The US Treasury forensic lab shows numerous examples of money wrapped in paper straps removed from floods or long term water immersion in which the paper straps did not dissolve! Why is that?
-   100 count Paper straps are 7.5 x 1.15 inches, adhesive with a two layer thickness when overlapped and closed. This provides double thickness on one side when closed. So in order to dissolve as claimed by FJ, a double paper thickness must dissolve.
-   The found money bills show no area of covered protection where paper straps might have existed for any length of time. The bills show uniform deterioration across the full length of each bill. This indicates that any paper straps would have had to dissolve and be gone almost instantly in the history of these bills. . . once exposed to Nature.
-      A return on "bank type bands" return both rubber bands and paper straps. The phrase 'bank type bands' is attributed to Mucklow by Flyjack. These could be the words of her interviewer. FJ ignores that option! Fact is the interviewers did not ask Tina: "What do you mean by 'bank type bands'. Tina never explained. The interview is ambiguous on this point and could be either rubber bands or paper straps because both are commonly referred to as a 'type': bank type bands. 

FJ will cherry pick on points he addresses and ignore points he does not want to address. This is like a virus that has mutated into ever more lethal forms ... due to a narrative leading to a particular suspect and story. Sooner of later FJ will get his wish and some media will cover his story. FJ claims he is a noted crime investigator who has already solved one important cold case. Only time will tell how this resolves . . .

Again, there is nothing indicating anything other than rubber bands used to bind the individual straps of 100 bills.

1) Brian Ingram described the rubber band on his strap (packet if you will) of money being fused to the front bill and the back bill. This was in the center of the bills. No paper bands anywhere to be found. There were three separate straps found by Brian that day.

2) Ralph Himmelsbach clearly stated that the "individual straps" were bound by rubber bands. He did not say that multiple straps were bound together with rubber bands thereby creating a brick or anything of that nature.

People are going to see what they want to see regardless of how clear the evidence is. So be it.

Thanks God! Finally some clarity.  Thank you Eric Ulis!!

FJ is now grasping at straws. He has posted an old post by me (below) but he has twisted and misrepresented what I said and meant! He says I said Tina was contacted - I was referring to PAT INGRAM was contacted!  By Carr! Not Tina Mucklow!    That post FJ has cherry picked was in a long line of posts/discussion going back and forth at the time. You need the context to know what is being said.

So far as I know Tina Mucklow has never-ever been contacted and asked what form the money was in or what she meant by BANK TYPE BANDS.

Thank you Eric. All I can say is "Flyjack learn how to read English and stop taking people's posts out of context for your own narrative".

I will say it again: contact the people still alive who had direct knowledge (actually saw) what form the money was in, paper straps vs no paper straps, and settle this piece of nonsense once and for all. That is all anyone can say! It is not my fault that FJ cannot read or even report correctly on common English says. Parley vous ? 

  


PS: I also want to stress again if there had been paper bands on the bills for any length of time they probably would have added protection to the bills resulting in less deterioration in one area of the bills. Double thickness adds protection - a barrier.