The Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. has a fake crystal skull. And so does the British Museum in London, as does Paris's Quai Branly Museum. As of 2019, it was estimated there are more than a dozen crystal skulls known to exist. Long considered pre-Columbian relics, they've also inspired theories about the occult, aliens, and psychic abilities. But the reality is, none of it's true. Meet Eugène Boban, the real provenance of crystal skulls.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sculptor Alceo Dossena was an impactful figure in the art world of the early 20th century because he created forged masterpieces capable of fooling even the most expert of experts. Critics attributed his pieces to famous classical and Renaissance artists, and his works were sold through dealers and purchased by museums and collectors. But in an unexpected turn of events, the forger sued the dealers who sold his work.

Executive Producers: Maria Trimarchi and Holly Frey
Producer & Editor: Casby Bias

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Virtuoso Fritz Kreisler was known and is remembered for his artistry as a violinist and composer -- and, also, as an unashamed showman. He was one of the most beloved and best known of the early recording-era artists, and a household name in his day. In fact, he was so adored by his audiences that when he revealed some of the pieces he'd performed and attributed to composers such as Vivaldi, Pugnani, and Couperin were, actually, his own compositions, the critics were irate, but his fans continued to pack concert halls.

Executive Producers: Maria Trimarchi and Holly Frey
Producer & Editor: Casby Bias

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Things are a little different on today's episode of our show. Today we're talking to Lisa Perrin, an award-winning illustrator, designer and entrepreneur. Lisa stops by to chat about her new book, “League of Lady Poisoners.” Enjoy!

Executive Producers: Maria Trimarchi and Holly Frey
Producer & Editor: Casby Bias

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Millions of people around the world collect, preserve, and trade or sell postage stamps; the hobby, or investment, is known as, philately. The first stamp forgeries began to show up, well, when the first stamps showed up. The Penny Black, the world’s first adhesive stamp, was issued in 1840, and the world’s first forged stamps followed later that year. Stamp collecting has been called, quote,  "the hobby of kings and the king of hobbies." And for a time in the early 20th century, a man named Jean de Sperati was king. 

Executive Producers: Maria Trimarchi and Holly Frey
Producer & Editor: Casby Bias

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Some historians believe Italian forger Tobia Nicotra may have produced hundreds of document and signature forgeries attributed to names like Mozart and Galileo, before he was caught in the 1930s. He faded into obscurity, but his forgeries didn't. And for more than 80 years the University of Michigan housed a Galileo manuscript they didn't know was fake -- until a historian named Nick Wilding called its bluff.

Executive Producers: Maria Trimarchi and Holly Frey
Producer & Editor: Casby Bias

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wilma Minor's 'Lincoln the Lover' forgery has been called one of the most audacious literary hoaxes of all time, and involves an alleged love story between a young Abraham Lincoln and a woman named Ann Rutledge. There was never any conclusive evidence the two had a romantic relationship; there was nothing in the historical record – no letters or notes between them, for instance -- that showed any indication of their love. Until 1928. 

Executive Producers: Maria Trimarchi and Holly Frey
Producer & Editor: Casby Bias

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's said his own handwriting was a neat and graceful script, not unlike Abraham Lincoln’s. He could fake the hand of Edgar Allan Poe, Mary Baker Eddy, and dozens of other historical figures. In fact, experts believe that a large number of the documents he produced in the early 20th century are still circulating today -- and inaccurately regarded as genuine. This is the story of Martin Coneely, alias, Joseph Cosey, who could sign Benjamin Franklin's name perhaps better than Ben, himself.

Executive Producers: Maria Trimarchi and Holly Frey
Producer & Editor: Casby Bias

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On Valentine's Day of 1961, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York had to, for the very first time, announce they were housing a fake. Three fakes, actually. After nearly three decades as a prized exhibit, their Etruscan Terracotta Warriors, as they'd become known, were determined to be inauthentic -- but here's the story of how and why The Met should have know that fact before they ever put them on display.

Executive Producers: Maria Trimarchi and Holly Frey
Producer & Editor: Casby Bias

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dutch painter Han van Meegeren has often been described as a dapper man, with, quote, “a small, birdlike frame constantly aflutter, and irreverent sense of humor.” His life story is anything but small. It's not just about art; it's about deception, fortune, Bakelite, and … Nazis. And, it has an unexpected twist at the end. Welcome to a new season of forgery and forgers, here on Criminalia.

Executive Producers: Maria Trimarchi and Holly Frey
Producer & Editor: Casby Bias

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.