The Museum of American Financial History is a great museum to visit for your research. However, unlike museums with more wide-ranging holdings, this one will probably only help you if you’re focused specifically on American financial history. And though the museum’s exhibits are very interesting and detailed, the museum only has room to showcase two exhibits at a time, so check ahead of time to make sure the exhibits will be helpful for researching your topic.

When we went to the museum, we saw “Making Money: Bank Note Engraving and the Fight Against Counterfeiting,” which traces the history of U.S. paper money from colonial times all the way up until today. Did you know that the United States did not have a national currency until 1862? Until then, state banks produced their own notes. The variety of genuine notes resulted in some happy times for counterfeiters. With over 7,000 genuine notes in circulation, it was very difficult for banks and law enforcement to tell which notes were real and which were counterfeit. Even after the government created a national currency, designs on the notes had to be changed every 7 to 10 years to try and stay ahead of counterfeiters.

Should you opt to visit the museum, you will see displays of currency and stock certificates from the U.S. and abroad, as well as descriptions detailing the engraving process used to make the notes. Highlights include several raised notes (reworked by counterfeiters to be of higher denomination) and other altered notes, real notes, and stock certificates. There are several interactive areas where you can examine current U.S. money under a magnifying glass. You can even play detective and use a CD-ROM to help identify the current anti-counterfeiting features.

We also saw “Survival of the Fittest: The Evolution of the Dow Jones Industrial Average.” While this exhibit doesn’t have as many interactive elements as the Making Money exhibit, it does display many interesting artifacts related to the 12 companies that first made up the Dow Jones Industrial Average in 1896. But before we get to those companies, did you know that the Dow Jones is actually named after two men? An entire wall of the exhibit gives you a history not just of the Dow Jones company, but of their founders Charles Dow and Edward Jones. Another wall tells you about the Dow Jones Industrial Average today. If you’re playing the Stock Market Game (see below) or are just interested in the stock market, this is a great exhibit. You can find out why the Dow Jones Industrial Average isn’t really an average and why it isn’t really industrial anymore!

Okay, so maybe you’re not really interested in engraving or the Dow Jones. Don’t give up. You can still learn a lot about past exhibits on the museum’s website—everything from Wells Fargo to J. Pierpont Morgan to African currencies to migrant farm workers in the Northeast. Much of the information in the exhibits is available in the museum’s archives, so if you are stuck for a topic you should consider starting with a list of old exhibits.

Though the exhibits change frequently, they typically include certain features: paper documents, text, interactive parts, and a videotape that replays itself every couple of minutes. And regardless of when you visit the museum, you’ll see a piece of tickertape from the opening of the stock market on the fateful day of October 29, 1929, when the stock market crashed and the Great Depression is considered to have begun. In front of the tape is a real ticker tape machine that still works and will print out a message to you for free if you register on the museum’s guest list.

The museum also has an education program with classes for school groups, so if your teacher is looking for an idea for a field trip related to finance, this would be a great choice. They offer classes linked to the exhibits, as well as on the history of the Financial District, Alexander Hamilton—America’s first Secretary of the Treasury—and on stocks, explaining what stocks are, why companies issue them, and how trades occur at the New York Stock Exchange.

The museum organizes events in conjunction with the exhibit on display. For the most up-to-date information and to find out if an event requires a reservation or fee, check the museum’s website. The museum recommends that if you are interested in finance, particularly the stock market, you play the stock market game: go to the Security Industry Association’s website, www.sia.com, and search for “The Stock Market Game.” New York Newsday runs a similar program: check http://www.newsday.com/other/education/ny-smg.htmlstory.

The best feature of the museum is its archives, which you may use. You have to call first to make an appointment and to find out what is required. They’ll ask for a letter of recommendation from your school or teacher and an ID. Also, have a specific research topic in mind when you call, and tell the staff in advance so they have time to find relevant documents. You’ll need either to bring a disk, pay for a disk there, or pay for photocopying. These costs should be minimal, however.

Also, be aware that the museum puts out a quarterly magazine. Articles are catalogued on the museum’s website. You can call and ask them to send you a hard copy of the complete article. (Just remember you might have to cough up some change to cover the photocopy fee.) Realize that even though you might have to pay for an article, it will at least be cheaper and easier than trying to find and buy the entire magazine. And be grateful that the museum is being so accommodating to you, especially since it is very small and the staff always have their hands full. Although you should not be discouraged from calling the museum, keep in mind that nearly the entire staff stays busy during the block of time it takes to install new exhibits. So if you call at such a time, be a little extra patient if the staff doesn’t get back to you right away.