Kinderhook Plates

Record summary

A set of purported inscribed metal plates was reported at Kinderhook, Illinois, in 1843 and brought to Joseph Smith for examination. Later historical research identified the episode as a nineteenth-century fabrication, with a surviving plate and documentary evidence becoming central to the controversy. The case matters for comparing religious interpretation, antiquarian collecting, and the authentication of inscribed objects in the early United States. Questions about the exact circulation of the plates and the evidentiary status of Joseph Smith’s reported response require attention to primary documents and later forensic analysis.