Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Monetary Museum
1000 Peachtree Street
N.E., Atlanta, GA 30309
Tel: +1 (404)-498-8777
The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta’s Monetary Museum uses historical artifacts, rare coins, currency, videos, multimedia, and interactive exhibits to assist visitors learning about the Federal Reserve System and its role in the economy.
The Atlanta Fed is one of 12 regional Reserve Banks in the United States that, together with the Board of Governors in Washington, D.C., make up the Federal Reserve System-the nation’s central bank. Since the Federal Reserve System was established by an act of Congress in 1913, its primary role has been to maintain a sound financial system and a healthy economy.
The Story of Money
The Museum, whose theme is “The Story of Money,” is contained entirely on the Bank’s first floor. Coins and banknotes are interspersed with other items throughout the Museum.
Within the main Museum area, visitors can explore the story of money, from barter to modern times, as told through an exhibit of artifacts, coins, and currency notes in 16 display cases. With gold nuggets, wampum, and much more, visitors trace the evolution of money from barter to modern currency along with the story of banking and money in America right up to the founding of the Federal Reserve System in 1913.
Monetary Policy and Payment Services
The main area of the Museum also houses exhibits that explore two of the Fed’s three main functions: monetary policy and payments services. Visitors learn how and why the Federal Reserve conducts monetary policy and how its actions affect their lives. They also learn about the many ways the Fed provides payments system services to help the nation’s economy run smoothly and maintain the stability of the financial system through exhibits that explore the evolution of payment methods.
Walking down the corridor of the Museum, guests can learn about counterfeiting measures, view a gold bar, large denomination notes, and see rare gold coins, including a complete collection of the gold coins minted at the Dahlonega mint in northern Georgia.
Automated Vault
The Museum also gives visitors an opportunity to a look at the Bank’s cash-processing operations where millions of dollars are counted, sorted, or shredded daily. They also get a glimpse into the Bank’s automated vault and see the robotic transports that do the heavy lifting. Interactive wayside stations in the “cash overlook” area not only detail the Bank’s cash operations, but also allow visitors to view the Bank’s night-time check processing operations.
Within the Museum’s pocket theater, visitors learn about the Fed’s third main function: banking supervision and regulation. By playing the “Banker’s Challenge” game, visitors have a chance to manage a bank’s risk. The theater also offers two short movies about the Federal Reserve: The Fed Today and Monetary Policy: Part Art, Part Science.
Aktivitäten
This text was written by Howard M. Berlin and first published in his book Numismatourist in 2014.
You can order his numismatic guidebook at Amazon.
Howard M. Berlin has his own website.
