Here's How Much A Piece Of D.B. Cooper History Sold For On Pawn Stars

In the history of mysteries, few are as notorious and tantalizing as the unsolved case of D.B. Cooper. The bewildering criminal attained international fame without revealing his identity when he hijacked a plane flying from Portland to Seattle on the eve of Thanksgiving 1971. Using a briefcase that he claimed contained explosives, Cooper held the plane hostage until it landed in Seattle, after which he let the passengers free and requested parachutes and $200,000 in $20 bills. After receiving the money, he instructed the plane to be flown towards Mexico before promptly parachuting out of the plane into the dark, stormy woods of Washington.

Cooper jumped wearing nothing but a plain black suit and tie and the chute, and his body was never found despite the dangers of jumping in such conditions at 10,000 feet. However, a young boy found a decaying roll of $20 bills in the Columbia River nine years later. The bills were confirmed to be some of the ones Cooper stole. To this day, despite over 40 years of investigation and many convincing candidates, police haven't convicted anyone for Cooper's caper. Official investigations closed in 2016, but independent investigators continue to look for D.B. Cooper to this day.

Imagine Rick Harrison's surprise, then, when a man walks into the pawnshop on History's "Pawn Stars," claiming he has a piece of an authentic D.B. Cooper bill for sale. It's an exciting proposition and one that Rick can't resist.

When the seller first brings in the torn scrap of a $20 bill on the "Pawn Stars" Season 6 episode "Some Like It Not," Rick Harrison doubts the piece's authenticity. However, the seller possesses a certificate of authenticity from the Professional Coin Grading Service. On top of that, the scrap has the signature of the FBI agent tasked with cataloging the bills found in the Columbia River. This is more than enough to convince Rick, who isn't even inclined to call in an expert for this one.

Eager to get a piece of history from the only unsolved plane hijacking in history, Rick lowballs the seller at just $1,000. However, the seller plays tough and says he's looking for at least $1,800 for it. After some back and forth, as well as some stone-cold negotiations from Rick's Old Man, the seller walks away with a cool $1,600. It may not be D.B. Cooper levels of cash, but trading an incomplete $20 for 80 times its original value is a caper worthy of the bill's legacy.