Artifacts

9/11 Hijacker's Car

This car carried one or more of the hijackers to Dulles International Airport on September 11, 2001.

9/11 Responder's Hard Hat

To help keep themselves safe during searches at Shanksville, ERT members wore protective gear—including hard hats like this one—boots, and hazmat clothing.

9/11 World Trade Center Steel Beam

This piece of steel is from one of the eight buildings that comprised the World Trade Center.

Alarm Clocks from 2010 Times Square Bombing Attempt

These alarm clocks were part of a car bomb that Faisal Shahzad planned to detonate in Times Square in 2010.

Alvin Statuette

This statuette of Alvin, a chipmunk in a fictional band called Alvin and the Chipmunks, was once used by FBI agents—they placed a bug inside this toy during an organized crime case.

Baby Face Nelson Body Armor

Baby Face Nelson’s body armor was recovered on November 27, 1934, after a shootout in Illinois.

Barker-Karpis Gang and Russell Gibsonas Notebook

Barker-Karpis Gang and Russell Gibson’s Notebook

This notebook belonged to gangster Russell Gibson and was recovered after his death.

Brian P. Regan Espionage Case

This is a copy of a booklet that lists contact information for foreign consulates that spy Brian P. Regan used.

Brick from the Palace Chop House

This brick salvaged was from the Palace Chop House, where notorious mobster Dutch Schultz was killed.

Brinks Robbery Cap

This chauffeur’s cap was left at the scene of the crime of the century—the 1950 robbery of a Brink's bank branch in Massachusetts.

Babe Ruth Baseballs

This collection of forged baseballs, which include professional baseball player Babe Ruth’s autograph, were recovered in Operation Bullpen.

Chagall Oil Painting

This 1911 painting by Marc Chagall was stolen from an elderly New York couple’s Manhattan home. In April 2018, the modernist oil-on-canvas work was returned to the family’s estate.

Concealed Camera Binoculars

This set of binoculars is fitted with a concealed camera that was manufactured by Tessina in Lugano, Switzerland, in the early 1960s.

Congressional Medal of Honor Fraud

This fraudulent Medal of Honor (right) was seized by the FBI in 1996.

Coors Kidnapping Ransom Note

This is the ransom note from the 1960 kidnapping and murder of Adolph Coors III.

Criminal History of Bank Robber William Sutton

Pictured is Ten Most Wanted Fugitive William Francis Sutton's criminal history.

D.B. Cooper Plane Ticket

This is the plane ticket hijacker D.B. Cooper bought under the name Dan Cooper for the flight to Seattle.

Desk Used at Nazi Saboteur Trial

This desk was used during the trial of Nazi saboteurs in the 1940s.

Duty Weapon of First Special Agent Killed in the Line of Duty

Pictured is Special Agent Edwin Shanahan’s duty weapon.

Earl Pitts Chair

This is the chair FBI Special Agent Earl Pitts was sitting in at the FBI Academy when he was arrested for espionage.

Edward Lee Howard Dummy

Edward Lee Howard—former CIA officer turned spy—fashioned this dummy to escape FBI surveillance.

Enron Code of Ethics

Pictured is the Enron Code of Ethics from 2000, signed by Enron’s Chairman and CEO Kenneth Lay.

Eyemo Camera

The Eyemo is a type of camera once used to conduct surveillance.

FBI 90th Anniversary Memorabilia

This is a collection of some of the memorabilia marking the Bureau’s 90th anniversary in 1998.

FBI Academy Gym Seal

This seal was embedded on the floor of the original FBI Academy gym.

FBI Diver Helmet

The Kirby Morgan SuperLite 27 is a diving helmet FBI divers used to wear.

FBI Rubber Stamps

This collection of FBI stamps was among some basic office equipment used from the period of World War II up until relatively recently by generations of Bureau employees.

FBI Tour Desk Sign

This sign was displayed at the 1975 opening of the new FBI tour—at the then-new FBI Headquarters at the J. Edgar Hoover Building—and in use for some time after that.

Female Special Agent's Briefcase

Pictured is the official first briefcase issued to a female special agent.

Wooden index card file boxes like this were used throughout the FBI (and federal government overall) to store various sets of index cards. The set in this box came from the Latent Fingerprint Section of the FBI Laboratory and contained copies of latent fingerprints taken from various bank robbery cases.

Fingerprint Kit

This fingerprint kit dates back to the 1930s.

Flags Hung in New Orleans Office During Hurricane Katrina

FBI SWAT agents hung these flags in the garage where they were sleeping during Hurricane Katrina.

Gone with the Wind First Edition

This rare first edition of Margaret Mitchell’s Gone with the Wind was used to conceal a .32-caliber pistol.

Graflex Speed Graphic Camera

The Graflex Speed Graphic Camera was used by the FBI for a variety of purposes, including aerial shots, crime scene photos, evidence photos, photographing fingerprints and footprints, photographing tire tracks, and portrait photos.

Ground Zero Flag

This is the American flag from Ground Zero in New York City.

Hank Sloan-Designed Holster

The Hank Sloan-designed holster was created exclusively for the FBI’s S&W Model 10 M&P .38 revolver.

Harvey’s Casino Bomb

This is the trial model of Harvey’s Casino Bomb.

aHow to Take Fingerprintsa Instruction Book

“How to Take Fingerprints” Instruction Book

This booklet, printed in 1932 in the U.S. Government Printing Office and titled How to Take Fingerprints, details the best techniques for obtaining a clean, useful set of fingerprints.

Huntington Oil Spill Specimen Jars

The FBI’s Los Angeles Division transferred several items from the investigation of the Huntington Beach oil spill. These samples contain marine life samples—barnacles—from the damaged pipeline preserved in ethyl alcohol.

J. Edgar Hoover’s Fedora

Pictured is J. Edgar Hoover’s fedora—the hat style traditionally associated with the iconic G-Man image.

John Anthony Walker, Jr. Spy Case

Pictured are identification documents used by spy John Anthony Walker, including a driver’s license, U.S. passport, and military ID.

John Dillinger's Death Mask

Pictured is the death mask of John Dillinger.

Laptop from Operation Ghost Stories

Spy Anna Chapman used this laptop to create a private wireless network for communicating with a Russian government official.

Limousine Piece from Reagan Assassination Attempt

Pictured is a piece of the limousine struck during the assassination attempt of Ronald Reagan.

Lindbergh Kidnapping Gas Can

This gas can was found in the garage of Bruno Richard Hauptmann. Gold certificates hidden inside the gas can tied Hauptmann to the Lindbergh kidnapping.

Macintosh Plus

FBI Laboratory professionals used to create crime scene drawings on the Macintosh Plus computer.

Mailmobile

Mailmobiles used to deliver mail at FBI Headquarters.

Microdot Doll

This doll was more than just a toy—it was used to smuggle secret photographs to Nazi Germany using a technique called microphotography.

Mignon 4 Typewriter

This Mignon 4 is a mechanical index typewriter from the early 20th century.

Nagra SNST

A Nagra SNST is a miniature reel-to-reel audio recorder.

Olympic Torches

These Olympic Torches are from both the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul and the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. The FBI has been gifted both of these Olympic torches in appreciation for the Bureau’s ongoing support in ensuring the safety of the events.