One "hard dollar", printed as part of a
confidence trick by
Gregor MacGregor (1786โ1845). From 1821 to 1837, MacGregor attempted to draw British and French investors and settlers to "Poyais", a fictional Central American territory he claimed to rule as "
Cazique". Hundreds invested their savings in supposed Poyaisian
government bonds and land certificates, while about 250 emigrated to MacGregor's invented country in 1822โ23 to find only an untouched jungle; over half of them died. MacGregor's Poyais scheme has been called one of the most brazen confidence tricks in history.
Banknote: Gregor MacGregor and W.H. Lizars; image courtesy of the National Numismatic Collection