text: I decided to visit the Money Museum at the Federal Reserve Bank while I was aimlessly wondered around Chicago one day. Note that I was only aimless as I was yet again lost.
  Did you know there are 12 Federal Reserve Banks in The United States? Me either. (PS if you did know that – you might know too much :-)).
  Federal Reserve Banks have a few main functions; they hold cash reserves for depository institutions (ie banks), they move currency in and out of circulation. The Chicago branch alone shreds 23.5 million USD a day of bills that are no longer suitable for use. Of that 23.5 million 20 to 30 bills are counterfeit. Reserve Banks also provide the US treasury with checking accounts and issue and redeem government securities.
  Have you ever wondered where your USD bills have come from? Well all bills are coded as to which reserve bank they come from along with a lot of other miscellaneous coding that makes a super organized person look like a hot mess. The dollar bill makes no secret of which reserve bank it comes from as it is proudly stamped on the front of the bill on the left side. All other denominations of money printed after 1996 no longer have the Reserve Bank stamp, just the letter code and designation of the bank.
  While at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago you can take either a guided tour of the money museum or take a self-guided tour. I opted for the self-guided tour as the guided tour is only offered at 1pm and did not mesh well with my packed schedule. Plus I like to move at my own speed.
  Hawaii money dating back to WWII
  After I cleared the airport like security I entered the small museum where I found several forms of US currency from over the years. Here there were several large bills on display, both large in size and in denomination. The largest bill was for $10,000 USD. This denomination is no longer in circulation however. The $100 USD bill is the largest bill in current circulation.
  The next section of the museum was identifying counterfeits where I was tested to see if I could tell which bills were real or fake. I did very poorly identifying the fakes against the real bills. So needless to say if you’ve got some fake bills you can slip them to me and I won’t know the difference.
  The “Fed Shreds” is the next stop on the money learning adventure where you can pick up a bag of free shredded US dollars that totals around $364. They jokingly say “some assembly is required”.
  Resistance is futile
  The Million Dollar Cube orbits off to the side like an odd Borg Cube lurking but it is an impressive example of what a million dollars in one dollar bills would look like.
  The million dollar theme continues as you move into the inflation section of the exhibit … as though I needed to be told my money is worth less than it was yesterday. It explains with projections what money today will be worth in the future. Sigh.
  My awkward photo taken with a suitcase of $1 Million Dollars!
  The last stop again keeps with the million dollar theme. You can have your photo taken with a suitcase filled with one million dollars USD. The exhibit said taking my photo with the money would impress my friends and family but I’m not sure they would be impressed unless I came home with the suitcase. Which I didn’t so that was a bummer, especially since I had just lost my job a few weeks prior to this trip.
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  Tags Chicago Museums, Chicago tours	
  ← The Rookery Building, Chicago Illinois → Chicago Architecture Foundation Cruise Photo Essay
  10 replies on “The Money Museum at the Federal Reserve Bank, Chicago Illinois”	
  Catsays:	
  September 5, 2014 at 9:07 pm	
  Didn’t know that you can actually tour around in the bank! That will be on my to do list when I visit Chicago next time.
  Reply
  Paws For Beersays:	
  September 5, 2014 at 9:13 pm	
  It’s a pretty small museum but it has some interesting exhibits. It was fun how interactive it was, especially identifying the counterfeit money!
  ReplyBy Post Author
  Laurensays:	
  September 10, 2014 at 8:25 am	
  I didn’t know this was something that you could do! I doubt I could identify the counterfeits either. Very cool!
  Reply
  Paws For Beersays:	
  September 10, 2014 at 8:56 pm	
  haha… Guess people can pass along counterfeits to you and I!
  ReplyBy Post Author
  Nicolesays:	
  September 10, 2014 at 9:18 pm	
  Love your humor…And yes, your friends would have been very impressed if you had come home with the suitcase of money. Share the wealth, right? 😉
  Reply
  Paws For Beersays:	
  September 10, 2014 at 10:17 pm	
  you feed me… so yeah you’d get some of the wealth !
  ReplyBy Post Author
  Adelina // PackMeTosays:	
  September 11, 2014 at 10:08 am	
  This sounds like a pretty cool thing to check out. You never really think about where your money comes from.
  Reply
  Paws For Beersays:	
  September 11, 2014 at 6:26 pm	
  it was a fun stop and I’m glad that I visited the museum even though I did not intend to!
  ReplyBy Post Author
  SJ @ Chasing the Donkeysays:	
  September 11, 2014 at 2:42 pm	
  What a neat tour. I’d be thinking about where all of the gold is hidden… Big thanks for linking up with us for #SundayTraveler again.
  Reply
  Paws For Beersays:	
  September 11, 2014 at 6:28 pm	
  It’s a big controversy if the gold is still around or not… chaos would probably happen I think if we ever found out it was gone.