Template:POTD/2016-11-07

Picture of the day

One "hard dollar", printed as part of a confidence trick by Gregor MacGregor (1786–1845). 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 1822–23 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