Al Capone's Joliet, Illinois Statesville Prison Cell Key.

Kurios1

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Feb 25, 2017
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FEMA REGION 5 North Central Illinois
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Howdy Folks. Many memories attached to this old key. Here's the scoop. I recovered this huge skeleton key while visiting a friend from the White's forum, "Carver Dan", in southeast Iowa. On the over six hour journey the transfer case in my 1993 Eagle Summit AWD 5 speed wagon began to howl and finally snapped the spline causing a LOUD bang which scared the crap out of me. I managed to limp it into a small village and my buddy Dan came to rescue me. We still got out and did a few hunts and I was carted off to the local Trailways with my gear for the bus ride back home.

While hunting an old farm house I recovered the six inch skeleton key. What was it to and how'd it get here? Well, I am about to share the story. Doing basic research I was able to dig up some dirt on the occupants of the farm house. Turns out they were some of Al Capone's cronies. They "persuaded" a master key maker to design a key to fit Al's jail cell door. They planned on getting it to Al via Birthday Cake. Ingenious method and much quicker than a file. However the bumbling stooges dropped the key in the front lawn while drinking bootleg Whiskey one night. By then the master key maker was also railroaded into Statesville Prison via trumped up tax evasion charges. Never underestimate the FBI untouchables methods to get their man. So Al never managed to get his clean escape and I was "fortunate" enough to recover this cool piece of history. Well, that's my story and I am sticking to it. Enjoy. Kurios1

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I reckon perhaps folks don't realize this is sarcasm or they just don't have a sense of "humor"? Maybe I should have made the story a bit more obvious and exaggerated to add emphasis to the sarcasm? I figured the Birthday Cake with the key in it would suffice. :tongue3: I did travel to Iowa to recover the key and my wagon did blow the transfer case. All very real. Just a bit of levity surrounding a truly cool relic recovery peeps. Hope no one was offended by this post. :icon_scratch:
 

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Getter

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Jun 3, 2017
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I'll buy it for one trillion dollars! :hello2: Cool find!
 

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Kurios1

Kurios1

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Feb 25, 2017
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I'll buy it for one trillion dollars! :hello2: Cool find!

Damn man, you know us treasure hunters are sentimental folks and get immediately attached to our recoveries. I love my Big Key. It's sitting right here on my desk even now as I type. A trillion dollars? I could do a lot with a trillion dollars. BUT, could I ever again find a key to Al Capone's Jail Cell in Joliet Statesville Prison after blowing the transfer case in my 1993 AWD 5 speed Eagle Summit Wagon? Nah, I think I'll keep my key.:headbang:
 

villagenut

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I was believing every word.......until I got to that fabricated part about bootleg whiskey...cmon man:laughing7:
 

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Kurios1

Kurios1

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Feb 25, 2017
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FEMA REGION 5 North Central Illinois
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Nokta Impact Whites DFX 300 & M6 Matrix, Minelab Explorer II (2), Makro Red Racer & Racer 2, Garrett AT Pro.
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All Treasure Hunting
I was believing every word.......until I got to that fabricated part about bootleg whiskey...cmon man:laughing7:

You mean the Birthday Cake with the key in it didn't raise a red flag? LOL ! Just having some fun. Gotta' dream big or why dream at all, eh?:tongue1:
 

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Kurios1

Kurios1

Silver Member
Feb 25, 2017
3,766
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FEMA REGION 5 North Central Illinois
Detector(s) used
Nokta Impact Whites DFX 300 & M6 Matrix, Minelab Explorer II (2), Makro Red Racer & Racer 2, Garrett AT Pro.
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A rare find for # 1, Good for you.

This key has to be one of my all time favorite finds. I have several old brass skeleton keys but, this huge thing is just awesome and the deep green patina is gorgeous. I had to come up with a cool story to go with such a cool recovery. Thanks for stopping by.
 

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Kurios1

Kurios1

Silver Member
Feb 25, 2017
3,766
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FEMA REGION 5 North Central Illinois
Detector(s) used
Nokta Impact Whites DFX 300 & M6 Matrix, Minelab Explorer II (2), Makro Red Racer & Racer 2, Garrett AT Pro.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Nice find!!

Skeleton keys are way cool finds. This huge one has a dark even green patina that is gorgeous. One of my all time favorite relic finds ever for sure.:hello:
 

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Kurios1

Kurios1

Silver Member
Feb 25, 2017
3,766
7,383
FEMA REGION 5 North Central Illinois
Detector(s) used
Nokta Impact Whites DFX 300 & M6 Matrix, Minelab Explorer II (2), Makro Red Racer & Racer 2, Garrett AT Pro.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Nice key!
Too bad about your horse.

Yeah, it was a real trail blazer and excellent Command Vehicle. With the All Wheel Drive I could go darn near anywhere I wanted. It's still parked out back. I may dump some money into it some day and get her rolling again.. The Key is one of my all time favorite relics too. I love that huge dark green key.:love10::headbang:
 

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