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 Stock certificates and bonds might not sound particularly interesting to look at, but the museum does an admirable job of using them to tell the story of American growth and innovation. Certificates from pioneering organizations such as Ford Motor Co. and AT&T are on display, as are certificates related to canals, mining, transportation businesses, communication companies and utilities as these industries developed. Using an interactive touch screen, you can click, drag and zoom to learn about special features on a particular stock or bond certificate - or, taking a more passive route, sit back and watch a WWI-era film reel that includes Charlie Chaplin using a "Liberty Bond" mallet to bonk Kaiser Wilhelm over the head. Notable among the artifacts is a bond bearing the signature of George Washington himself - the first financial document to feature the use of the $ symbol.
In the back left corner, there's a display devoted to "market fluctuations and financial crises," which, unsurprisingly, has been the hot spot of the gallery in recent months. A line graph tracing the rise and fall of the Dow Jones Industrial Average from 1900 almost to the present dominates the background, while the foreground is filled with documents related to financial crises over the course of American history. Much of the space is devoted to the great crash of 1929 - there's a stock ticker from the day of the crash, a letter from a businessman relating his distress at seeing the body of a suicide victim and, cruelly ironic, the front page of the New York Daily Investment News bearing the headline "Stock Market Crisis Over." The paper is dated October 25, 1929, just after the "Black Thursday" crash - but mere days before the truly devastating crashes of October 28th and 29th. The display drives home the need for context and the challenge of understanding the true significance of events as they unfold. If you're feeling nervous, the iconic statue of the Bull and the Bear stands nearby - give it a quick rub for luck.
Other, smaller exhibits include a room dedicated to the history of money in which you can, among other things, explore the various security features hidden in currency. In a largely interactive exhibit on Banking in America, you can read about famous bank robbers, learn how to read a credit card statement or watch clips from It's a Wonderful Life that explain how banks work and how they keep your money safe. The entirely non-artifact based exhibit, "Entrepreneurs," allows visitors access to multiple touch-screen interactive stations where they can hear and see successful entrepreneurs of today tell their stories and share their wisdom. Finally, a temporary exhibit, "Banking on the Street," explores the history of Wall Street and will soon be supplanted by a temporary exhibit on Women in Finance.
The museum is certainly in tune with and well-equipped to help people through the period of extreme financial uncertainty we all face at the moment. In recent months the museum hosted several educational panels and discussions on the financial crisis and President Obama's economic programs. In late March the museum will open a new exhibit, "Tracking the Credit Crisis: A Timeline," which will trace the financial crisis from 2006 to the present. Overall the museum is dedicated to helping people "from K to MBA" become financially literate and empowered to make good economic decisions. As President Lee Kjelleren's welcoming statement from the museum's website reads, "You owe it to yourself to become more financially self reliant, and we are here to help you in a very user friendly way."
Museum of American Finance
48 Wall Street, New York, NY 10005
Phone: 212-908-4110
Fax: 212-908-4601
Museum Hours
Tuesday through Saturday, 10 am - 4 pm
Closed for national and stock market holidays.
Upcoming closings: April 10-11 and July 3-4, 2009.
Admission
Adults $8
Students/seniors $5
Museum members and kids 6 and under FREE
Media Contact
Kristin Aguilera
Communications Director
Phone: 212-908-4695
Fax: 212-908-4601
kaguilera@financialhistory.org
Museum Website
http://www.moaf.org/
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