Victor Lustig. He was a con artist in the early 20th century. Most Famous for selling the Eifel Tower Twice.

Imagine being a banker in a small town in Missouri. You have been trying to sell a broken down farm that the bank repossessed a couple of years ago but you haven't had any luck. One day a man approaches you and offers you $22,000 in Liberty bonds for the almost worthless farm. He claims that he is from Austria and after the First World War he felt the need to leave and start a new …

…of his life and died in 1947 of pneumonia. It is said that these cons could not be performed today. I personally disagree with this. A con artist is not limited to new technological advances and anti counterfeiting procedures. A con artist is part of your base character. I don't think that Victor Lustig would have gotten away with as many scams as he did but he still would have been a con artist either way.