By Tim Binnall
A largely intact $20 bill from the ransom money handed over to infamous skyjacker D.B. Cooper fetched a jaw-dropping $134,200 at a recent auction. The costly piece of currency came from bundles of cash, totaling $5,800, that were discovered by a Washington State boy digging on a beach along the Columbia River back in 1980. Representing something of a secondary mystery surrounding the skyjacking, how that small portion of the $200,000 ransom wound up there has been hotly debated among Cooper researchers ever since, and the bills themselves have become prized collectibles to serious students of the case.
As such, it's no surprise that there was considerable interest in the fragment when Heritage Auctions included it in a unique currency and coin sale last Friday. The piece undoubtedly proved to be particularly tempting to Cooper buffs due to the sheer number of details it contained. To that end, the bill sports the critical serial numbers confirming its origin along with the Treasury and District Seals, Andrew Jackson's portrait, and the signature of then-Secretary of the Treasury David M. Kennedy.
The nearly complete nature of the currency, which measures "approximately 4.5 inches in width and 1.5 inches in height," undoubtedly explains why it ultimately sold for such a staggering sum. In comparison, a relatively tiny fragment of proverbial Cooper cash, featuring only the Federal Reserve District Seal, fetched $4,000 in a similar sale held back in 2024. While it is uncertain who purchased the coveted historical artifact, one imagines they will be keeping the extraordinarily valuable relic under lock and key, since such an expensive artifact could inspire someone to embark on their own caper to get their hands on it.