This Day in the History of Hoaxes: June 4

June 4, 1872: The Great Diamond Hoax
Two prospectors arrived with a group of investors at a field in Colorado that appeared to be full of diamonds lying close to the surface — just as the prospectors had promised it would be. The investors enthusiastically paid a large finding fee, but later discovered (after the prospectors had disappeared) that the field had been artificially salted with diamonds. [Smithsonian]

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