Artifacts from 100 Years of Federal Reserve

Notice Announcing the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. On November 16, 1914, Secretary of the Treasury William G. McAdoo wrote a letter to all the member banks of the Federal Reserve System notifying them that “in accordance with Section 19 [of the Federal Reserve Act], you are hereby notified that said bank has been established and opened for business and that the reserve requirements…from and after this date, become effective.” This letter marks a seminal moment in Federal Reserve history. Years of tireless work had finally paid off and the Federal Reserve’s long history of public service had officially begun. Any state-chartered bank was able to become a member of the Federal Reserve System, but with the benefits of the membership came capital requirements and an agreement to be under the supervisory authority of the Federal Reserve System. Today, more than one-third of US commercial banks are members of the Federal Reserve System. National banks must be members, while state chartered banks may join by meeting certain requirements.

$1,000 War Finance Corporation Bond. In addition to Liberty Loan bonds, other US securities were sold to raise funds for World War I including War Finance Corporation (WFC) bonds. The WFC was established on April 5, 1918 to assist industries that supported the war, including the financial services industry. Because the war effort had drained a significant portion of private capital, there was little money available for corporations to borrow. Indirectly, the WFC also assisted in the post-war transition by lending money to US exporters in order to boost both US and foreign economies.

Second Liberty Loan Application Blank from Boy Scouts of America. Both the Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts of America participated in the Liberty Loan drives by selling bonds. In the first and second bond drives, boy scouts sold bonds to friends and family, but by the third drive, President Wilson asked them to canvas the country and sell bonds door to door. Their mission was to find subscribers not typically reached during the Liberty Loan bond campaigns. The boy scouts’ drive was structured so that they could reach every citizen, in order for everyone to have an opportunity to purchase bonds or war saving stamps. Scouts used this application to register bond purchasers in the second Liberty Loan drive.

Liberty Loan war bonds became an important fundraising model for the US. Funding efforts for World War II were similar in many ways to the efforts of World War I. The Series E bonds replaced the Liberty Loan bonds of World War I and were sold in numerous drives with the help of both volunteers and Hollywood celebrities. The Series E bonds were known initially as “defense bonds” when they were introduced in 1941, then “war bonds” during the height of the war years and finally just “savings bonds” until they were discontinued in 1980. Series E bonds were replaced by Series EE bonds, which are still sold today, though only in digital form. In total, Series E bonds raised $185.7 billion.

1970 Photograph of Currency Being Destroyed by Incineration. The authorization to destroy currency was given to the Federal Reserve Banks by the Treasury Department in 1966. All destroyed currency is replaced with new currency ordered by the Federal Reserve from the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. Reserve Banks provide the BEP with an estimate of new currency needs for the coming year based on the past year's usage.

Booklet: "Liberty Loan Meeting at the Metropolitan Opera House, NYC"

Second District Liberty Loan Recognition.

FRBNY Employee Identification Badges.

Photograph of First Female Officer, Madeline McWhinney.

Fraudeulent documents that uses the Federal Reserve Bank of New York name.

Desktop inkstand used by Bejamin Strong during his tenure as the governer of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York from 1914 to 1928.