In case you did not know, April marks financial literacy month! With the staggering cost of continuing education as well as the unstable job market, it is even more important to make sure students are prepared to handle their own finances. In order to help, HSP has included images from the Bank of North America collection that contains photos of old currency, checks, and bank notes. This collection spans hundred of years and will be the focus of an upcoming Unit Plan on teaching financial literacy through history.

Check out this note for twenty shillings, or one pound, and an example of continental currency used during the Revolutionary War. Based on these pictures, the design of the continental currency was very similar to the shilling.

This currency is as an excellent teaching tool when learning about how to handle money properly and the fractions involved with money. Since some of the denominations listed are no longer part of our standard currency, these examples are able to bring a new discussion to how and why things have changed. Students should pay attention to how each bank printed their own money unlike the standardized dollar you see today and why this would have caused a problem for travelers. You can see an example with the three dollar bill seen below.

To see more about the conservation of this collection please visit our other blog, Fondly Pennsylvania. Also, for more lesson plans related to economic history, check out our Progressive Era Political Cartoons and stay tuned for another financial literacy lesson plan.