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The Hollow Nickel Case (or the Hollow Coin) was the FBI investigation that grew out of the discovery of a container disguised as a U.S. coin and containing a coded message, eventually found to concern espionage activities of William August Fisher (a.k.a. Rudolf Ivanovich Abel) on behalf of the Soviet Union. Background On June 22, 1953, a newspaper boy (fourteen-year-old Jimmy Bozart), collecting for the Brooklyn Eagle, at an apartment building at 3403 Foster Avenue in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, was paid with a nickel (U.S. five-cent piece) that felt too light to him. When he dropped it on the ground, it popped open, revealing that it contained microfilm. The microfilm contained a series of numbers. He told the daughter of a New York City Police Department officer, and that officer told a detective who in two days told an FBI agent about the strange nickel. After agent Louis Hahn of the FBI obtained the nickel and the microfilm, the agency tried to find out where the nickel had come from and what the numbers meant. The coin had a 1948-dated obverse with the usual copper-nickel composition, but the reverse was minted sometime between October 1942 and the end of 1945, based on the copper-silver alloys used during this period. On the microfilm, there were five digits together in each number, 21 sets of five in seven columns and another 20 sets in three columns, making a total of 207 sets of five digits. There was no key for the numbers. The FBI tried for nearly four years to find the origin of the nickel and the meaning of the numbers. It was when KGB agent Reino Häyhänen (a.k.a. Eugene Nicolai Mäki) wanted to defect in May 1957 from Paris, that the FBI was able to link the nickel to KGB agents, including Mikhail Nikolaevich Svirin (a former United Nations employee) and William August Fisher. Häyhänen was being recalled to Moscow for good, and defected on the way back in Paris. The deciphered message in the nickel turned out to be only a personal message to Häyhänen from the KGB in Moscow welcoming him to the U.S. and instructing him on getting set up. He gave the FBI the information that it needed to crack the cipher and uncover the identity of his two main contacts in New York (Svirin and Fisher), and a nearly identically made Finnish 50-markka coin. WE CONGRATULATE YOU ON A SAFE ARRIVAL. WE CONFIRM THE RECEIPT OF YOUR LETTER TO THE ADDRESS `V REPEAT V' AND THE READING OF LETTER NUMBER 1. FOR ORGANIZATION OF COVER, WE GAVE INSTRUCTIONS TO TRANSMIT TO YOU THREE THOUSAND IN LOCAL (CURRENCY). CONSULT WITH US PRIOR TO INVESTING IT IN ANY KIND OF BUSINESS, ADVISING THE CHARACTER OF THIS BUSINESS. ACCORDING TO YOUR REQUEST, WE WILL TRANSMIT THE FORMULA FOR THE PREPARATION OF SOFT FILM AND NEWS SEPARATELY, TOGETHER WITH (YOUR) MOTHER'S LETTER. IT IS TOO EARLY TO SEND YOU THE GAMMAS. ENCIPHER SHORT LETTERS, BUT THE LONGER ONES MAKE WITH INSERTIONS. ALL THE DATA ABOUT YOURSELF, PLACE OF WORK, ADDRESS, ETC., MUST NOT BE TRANSMITTED IN ONE CIPHER MESSAGE. TRANSMIT INSERTIONS SEPARATELY. THE PACKAGE WAS DELIVERED TO YOUR WIFE PERSONALLY. EVERYTHING IS ALL RIGHT WITH THE FAMILY. WE WISH YOU SUCCESS. GREETINGS FROM THE COMRADES. NUMBER 1, 3RD OF DECEMBER. In addition to Svirin and Fisher (code name "Mark"), Häyhänen (code name "Vic") told the FBI about Vitali G. Pavlov, a former Soviet embassy official in Ottawa; Aleksandr Mikhailovich Korotkov; and U.S. Army Sergeant Roy Rhodes (code name "Quebec"), who had once worked in the garage of the U.S. embassy in Moscow. The Soviets were able to get to Rhodes because they had "compromising materials" about him. Häyhänen and Fisher were in the United States mainly looking for information on the U.S. atomic program and U.S. Navy submarine information. Svirin had returned to the Soviet Union in October 1956 and was not available for questioning or arrest. When Fisher was arrested, the hotel room and photo studio that he lived in contained multiple items of modern espionage equipment: cameras and film for producing microdots, cipher pads, cufflinks, a hollow shaving brush, shortwave radios, and numerous "trick" containers. Fisher, under the name Rudolf Ivanovich Abel, was brought to trial in New York City Federal Court and indicted as a Soviet spy in October 1957 on three counts: Conspiracy to transmit defense information to the Soviet Union Conspiracy to obtain defense information Conspiracy to act in the United States as an agent of a foreign government without notification to the Secretary of State. Häyhänen testified against Fisher at the trial. On October 25, 1957, the jury found Fisher guilty on all three counts. On November 15, 1957, Judge Mortimer W. Byers sentenced Fisher to three sentences to be served concurrently: 30 years' imprisonment; 10 years' imprisonment and $2,000 fine; 5 years' imprisonment and $1,000 fine. On February 10, 1962, Fisher was exchanged for American Central Intelligence Agency Lockheed U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers, who was a prisoner of the Soviet Union. In popular culture The case has been dramatized multiple times, including: The 1959 film The FBI Story, starring James Stewart, with personal supervision by FBI director J. Edgar Hoover. The film compresses the time span from four years to just a couple of weeks, the Brooklyn newspaper boy is changed to a small Bronx clothes cleaning and pressing service, and changes the nickel to a half dollar. A December 1962 episode of the Jack Webb television series GE True, entitled "The Wrong Nickel". The Steven Spielberg film Bridge of Spies, released in October 2015. The film culminates with the later prisoner exchange of Abel and Francis Gary Powers of the 1960 U-2 incident. A March 2016 episode of the American Heroes Channel's series What History Forgot, entitled "Fighting for Freedom". The episode focuses on Jimmy Bozart's role in breaking the case. See also Concealment device VIC cipher References External links "Rudolph Ivanovich Abel (Hollow Nickel Case)" FBI. The short film The Hollow Coin (1958) is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive. Cromley, Col. Ray (5 Aug 1963). "Red Spy Schools Do Job Well". Santa Cruz Sentinel. p. 7 – via newspapers.com. (photo of the hollow nickel){{cite news}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link). Discover the Bozart popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Bozart books.
Best Seller Bozart Books of 2024
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The Locked Door
Mike BozartA single Asian American female lives alone in an apartment in a SE US city. A locked storage closet door leads to speculation, mistaken identity, and tragedy.Approx. 1700 words.If ...
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A Blue Whale of a Tale
Mike BozartA senior salesman tries to make one last sale at a soontoopen bar in Bluefield, West Virginia. Before demonstrating his rapidrefrigeration device, he has a meandering, sexually all...
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The Waitress
Mike BozartThe author and a science lab facilitator have a moreinterestingthaneverexpected conversation with a waitress at a Mexican restaurant in Charlotte (NC, USA).Approx. 1600 words.If th...
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Samoa Sam
Mike BozartAn adopted, active, mixedrace lady in her mid20s goes on an epic weekend cycling and rowing excursion to help maintain her slim physique. Yet, the outing is also for psychological ...
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Powerballed
Mike BozartDo you play the Powerball or MegaMillions lottery? If so, read this almostcompletelyreallife short story, and hopefully you won't make the same multimilliondollar blunder that Agen...
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Foxfire
Mike BozartAgents 32 and 33 take a weekend trip to a camper in the NC mountains (near Lenoir) in March of 2017. Agent 33 then discovers a glowing fungus on a tree in the forest. When he inves...
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Tiki Wiki
Mike BozartThe author (Agent 33) and his wife (Agent 32) return to the Golden Sands (hotel) at Carolina Beach (NC, USA) for a family Thanksgiving. A strangely short pier catches their attenti...
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Memories of Malloy
Mike BozartBefore going to watch the Liverpool Hull City football/soccer match at an uptown pub, the author (Agent 33) and his wife (Agent 32) discuss the legendary Mr. Malloy at a Starbucks...
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Strange Lady of the Woods
Mike BozartIn the mid70s in east Charlotte, a young man chances upon a peculiar woman in the forest surrounding his neighborhood. Approx. 1600 words.Sex: No.Violence: No.Drug usage: Yes.Stran...
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Moonstone Moonchild
Mike BozartA young lady repeatedly walks a North Coast (CA, USA) beach, searching for a certain semiprecious stone. She appears deranged. However, to one prestigious college graduate, Manda a...
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The PKG
Mike BozartA man in his late 50s receives a package around lunchtime on his day off from work. He opens it, and a world of trouble jumps out.Another tale in the ongoing psecret psociety pshor...
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The Bunker
Mike BozartAn older Canadian gentleman is intrigued by an online text ad posted by a 'prepper' supply company. He decides to enter the subterraneanliving contest. After all, with plenty of fo...
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Neutral Buoyancy
Mike BozartIn June of 1995, a man from Charlotte drives to a mountain lake in western North Carolina (USA) to test out his new kayak, and to check out a hardtoreach waterfall. All is going sw...
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The Vault
Mike BozartIn 2008 in east Charlotte, a man walks out of his house in the early evening hours and is never seen again. Then, eight years later, almost to the day, clues to his final resting p...
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Facebook Types, A to Z
Mike BozartAre there really 26 types of Facebook users? Is that the exact number of categorizable personalities on the currentlyverypopular socialmedia site? Maybe. But, probably not. Though,...
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Samoa Sam
Mike BozartAn adopted, active, mixedrace lady in her mid20s goes on an epic weekend cycling and rowing excursion to help maintain her slim physique. Yet, the outing is also for psychological ...
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Facebook Types, A to Z
Mike BozartAre there really 26 types of Facebook users? Is that the exact number of categorizable personalities on the currentlyverypopular socialmedia site? Maybe. But, probably not. Though,...
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Fern Park Man
Mike BozartThe author and his wife (Agents 33 and 32) take a weekend trip in September 2016 to the Orlando metro (Florida, USA). After a Sunday lunch in Altamonte Springs with Agent 37, they ...
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A Winter Hike
Mike BozartFour guys (agents 2, 33, 107, and xxx) go on a smoky hike to three waterfalls near Brevard, NC, USA on a winter day in 2000. Dialogue proves to be a challenging adventure, just as ...
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High Peak Revisited
Mike BozartThe author (Agent 33) goes back to where he lived for four years (19972001) with his 2nd wife and his twelveyearold son on a nice April day in the Blue Ridge. The small, yet steep,...
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The Bunker
Mike BozartAn older Canadian gentleman is intrigued by an online text ad posted by a 'prepper' supply company. He decides to enter the subterraneanliving contest. After all, with plenty of fo...
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10 Degrees at Random
Mike BozartThe author takes his 7yearold son trickortreating on Halloween 2010 in east Charlotte (USA). One particular residence is insidiously spookier than the rest.Approximately 1100 words...
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Tiki Wiki
Mike BozartThe author (Agent 33) and his wife (Agent 32) return to the Golden Sands (hotel) at Carolina Beach (NC, USA) for a family Thanksgiving. A strangely short pier catches their attenti...
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A Tour to the Tour
Mike BozartAgents 32 and 33 take a trip from Charlotte to Blowing Rock (NC, USA) on a sleety March afternoon. The next day they do a coldair hike up to the fire lookout tower on Flat Top Moun...
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Drama and Kale
Mike BozartOn a tranquil November evening, the author (Agent 33) and his wife (Agent 32) venture to a vegetarian restaurant in east Charlotte (NC, USA) for dinner. Nothing noteworthy is happe...
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The Sunflower Mystery
Mike BozartIt's their third date, and their first outoftowner. It's a nice summer afternoon at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville (NC). All is going swell. They are becoming very relaxed around...
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Rooftop Horror
Mike BozartThe mysterious 2013 death in Los Angeles of the Chinese Canadian female, Elisa Lam, is revisited in this 1500word short story. Possible theories are floated (and sunk). Another one...
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Availing Asheville
Mike BozartThe author and his wife spend a couple of days in Asheville (NC, USA) in 2012, witnessing and taking part in some mysterious occurrences.A 1700word short story.
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Tewahedo Woman
Mike BozartWhile on an autumn morning bike ride in east Charlotte (USA), the author is suddenly summoned by a distressed Ethiopian lady on the side of the road. Very closely based on reallife...
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Lucky Strikes
Mike BozartAgents 32 and 33 drive to Salisbury (NC, USA) from Charlotte to visit Agent 33's dad at the VA Hospital. They then head back to Charlotte on I85, stopping at the popular Concord Mi...
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Moonstone Moonchild
Mike BozartA young lady repeatedly walks a North Coast (CA, USA) beach, searching for a certain semiprecious stone. She appears deranged. However, to one prestigious college graduate, Manda a...
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A Tour to The Tower
Mike BozartAgents 32 and 33 take a trip from Charlotte to Blowing Rock (NC, USA) on a sleety March afternoon. The next day they do a coldair hike up to the fire lookout tower on Flat Top Moun...
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The Cipher
Mike BozartA middleaged man, a home inspector, stumbles upon a short cipher in a southwestern Virginia (USA) coffee shop. As he tries to solve it, the weather conditions worsen. Then there is...
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The Balcony
Mike BozartAgents 32 and 33 go to Carolina Beach on Thanksgiving Day 2014 and check into a nearly vacant oceanfront hotel. All is going hohum normal until a man suddenly unlocks their room's ...
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Greensboro Gaffe
Mike BozartAgents 32 and 33 of the psecret psociety take the train from Charlotte to meet up with Agent 14 in downtown Greensboro (NC, USA) and attempt to locate the mythical Jim character.An...
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North of Wonder
Mike BozartIn Grants Pass (Oregon), an Asian American lady meets up with a Caucasian American female friend who has something to her. The two late20somethings enter uncharted territory. But b...
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Rooftop Horror
Mike BozartThe hauntingly mysterious 2013 death in Los Angeles of the Chinese Canadian female, Elisa Lam, is revisited in this 1500word short story. Possible theories are floated (and sunk). ...
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Uber and Under
Mike BozartOn a whim, the author (Agent 33) calls up Agent 889 to ask him about his Uber driving experience in the Charlotte area.Another tale in the psecret psociety pshort pstory pseries.Ap...
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A Novella Idea
Mike BozartAgent A~O (Al Nino) texts Agent 33 (the author) out of the blue on an overcast February day in Charlotte, requesting 'ideas'. He then calls Agent 33 to learn more about an upcoming...
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Psecret Psociety Pshort Pstories, vol. 1
Mike BozartFour dozen mostly metareal, sometimes semisurreal, auspiciously autobiographical, and occasionally oddly ordinary short stories from 2010 through 2015 have been rounded up into one...
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Inside Office 108
Mike BozartOn a rainy November night in an American city, an afterhours, extramarital affair takes place in a college office.Will the paramours be discovered? What will happen to them in the ...
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The Paper Route
Mike BozartThe author recalls some hairy incidents and particular customers on his newspaper route in east Charlotte in the late '70s. The ending is a graphic surprise.Approx. 1500 words.If t...
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Common Dogs
Mike BozartAgents 32 and 33 go out on a Thursday evening in late May, searching for a short story in east Charlotte (NC, USA). With two strikes on them, they stumble upon a home run in a Plaz...
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High Peak Revisited
Mike BozartThe author (Agent 33) goes back to where he lived for four years (19972001) with his 2nd wife and his twelveyearold son on a nice April day in the Blue Ridge. The small, yet steep,...
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The Locked Door
Mike BozartA single Asian American female lives alone in an apartment in a SE US city. A locked storage closet door leads to speculation, mistaken identity, and tragedy.Approx. 1700 words.If ...