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American Museum of Finance

aurel53
Apr 6, 2015
2 min read

Do you know which is Alexander Hamilton's monetary bill? See if you can guess.

Alexander Hamilton is best known for the duel that took his life. One could say that next to George Washington, Hamilton was the second most immportant founding father of our country. When you visit the Museum of American Finance, you learn quite a bit about this patriot and you also get to learn a great deal about money.

The building which houses this museum was the Bank of New York established by Alexander Hamilton in 1784. The building you enter completed in 1928, you walk up the grandiose staircase to the main exhibition. The main hall is so large and beautiful, you get to see what it was like to bank in the 1930's, before ATM's.

Here you learn the history of money. There are stories about the stock exchange and more stories on Alexander Hamilton.

There is a room devoted to Hamilton and his contribution, with an original copy of "Report on the Public Credit". There are murals on the main hall walls depicting different professions of the time.

Another exhibit that fascinated many was Sydney Mobell's Golden Monopoly game. Mr. Mobell created every inch of this monopoly game in gold and jewels. The play money is actually made of gold. It is no longer "play money". He is a unique jeweler for he has designed a dog in gold, a hat in gold, a baseball in gold and so many every day items.

You will see a sculpture of "Bull and Bear" originally located at the Luncheon Club. It is not as large as the bull down Wall Street, but Isadore-Jules Bonheur sculpture is another great attraction at this museum.

Visit the American Museum of Finance to learn more about the financial history of our country.