A patent print poster of a World War II era Enigma Machine invented by Safford et al. for the National Security Agency (NSA) The patent was issued by the United States Patent Office on January 16, 2001. The invention is called "Control Circuit for Electric Coding Machines". It is interesting to note that although this machine was around as early as the 1920s this model was only patented in 2001. The Enigma machines were a series of electro-mechanical rotor cipher machines developed and used in the early- to mid-twentieth century to protect commercial, diplomatic and military communication. Enigma was invented by the German engineer Arthur Scherbius at the end of World War I. Patent prints allow you to have a piece of history in your home, office, man cave, geek den or anywhere you wish to add an interesting touch.