Lot 533
Spy Stuff -- Low Tech-style! United States, World War II Period. Forget James Bond, this is how it used to be done! This display contains the mundane, everyday "devices" employed by agents to confirm one another's identities.
Six decades ago America was fighting the Axis Powers ("Evil Empires"). Security and surveillance were in the hands of the War Department and the OSS, with the FBI providing an important adjunct. Many agents worked on the same operations yet never knew, or even met each other before their assignments. Special codes were developed, along with simple, non-attention attracting "devices" so that agents could confirm the identities of the other agents, or to check if operations might have suffered any compromise.
"Confirmation Coins" were issued to deep cover agents so they could recognize, with a degree of certainty, each other upon the need to make contact. Thirteen silver dollars were issued to key military intelligence agents involved in "Operation Golden Gopher" right here in Southern California. A particular Nazi spy ring was obtaining classified information from the Lockheed plant in Burbank. Agents infiltrated this ring, and the coins were part of a simple two-question protocol to confirm the identity and status of the operation, even under the watchful eyes of the "prey" or potential "captor." For example, if one agent asked the other if he had change he could borrow, and he replied that he only has small change, that ment there was a problem. The smaller the change, the bigger the probable. However, if his reply was, "I have an old U.S. silver dollar." That meant that from the other agent's perspective everything was ok.
The lot is comprised of three silver dollars the consignor purchased from the estate of an agent involved locally in these war time operations. A notarized affidavit to that effect is attached to the nicely framed display, along with two subsidiary accoutrements (recent) included as "period flavor" to the dollars. Framed size: 18" x 14".
Estimated Value $1,000 - 1,250.
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