The Museum of American Finance

American finance is not really a subject I have any interest in, but I thought this museum was okay. They had a lot of interesting things on display. The place is appropriately located in the Wall Street area and is very sleek and modern. You will learn about things like the history of of the stock market, the Great Depression, and Alexander Hamilton. They’ve also collected many old pieces of stocks, banknotes, checks and pieces of currency throughout history.

We really enjoyed this museum. It’s not for everyone, and it’s not the largest museum about, but it’s a nice hidden gem that a lot of people don’t know about. It has a number of very interesting artifacts, including ticker tape and newspapers from the 1929 stock market crash, the first handheld computer used on the floor of the NYSE, and some nice explanations of how the stock market and federal reserve systems work. There was also a nice exhibit on currency and on Alexander Hamilton. I’d say it’s about an hour, hour and a half worth of time to see everything, and it cost $ 8 per person. For New York City that’s not too bad, particularly if you are already in lower Manhattan to see other locations.

Excellent museum.
1) If you like finance, this is your museum.
2) Check online before coming. Many times they have specials where the museum is free. Usually Saturdays.
3) I loved the exhibits showcasing Alexander Hamilton and the different currencies/​payment used from Native Americans to present.

Very nice museum. Takes 1 ½ to 2 hours. Wish it was bigger. Plenty of interactive screens. Also near Federal Hall, NYSE and Trinity Church.

Nothing special…
I visited during a lunch break while attending a workshop in Wall Street. All museums give something to learn. I was not sure why anyone would have come up with this museum idea…

Broken, non-​functioning exhibits. No tours. Theater closed. I’d say skip this one until they fix things up.

The staffs are really helpful. The great brief collection about different assets classes, financial technology, and interesting exhibition about Akexandra Hamilton. really enjoyed the two hours tour in there.

Went to the MOAF as part of the Smithsonian «Museum Day Live!» event, but it turned out it was free on Saturdays anyway. It was very enjoyable as a free museum, but I’m not sure I would have felt I got my money’s worth out of an $ 8 museum ticket.
The special exhibit currently on rotation is the «Fed at 100», which featured several cases of 100 objects relevant over the course of the Feds first century. None of the objects had explanatory cards accompanying them, so one had to either call a code with their phones, or use one of the handful of hard copy booklets on the sides. We opted for the latter and the written explanations really enhanced the exhibit (I can’t imagine calling the designated phone line with 100 different codes!).
In addition, the Alexander Hamilton Room had some interesting artifacts, and the Monopoly board made of gold was fun. About a third of the museum’s real estate is dedicated to how things like stocks, bonds and commodities work. While there were some cool bits in there (a stock certificate from Andrew Carnegie, for example), I think this information could be condensed somewhat in favor of more special exhibit space.
Overall, it was a fun hour or so, as someone interested in history and as a dork who had just read an 800-​page tome on the history of the Morgan family. I won’t be making a return trip any time soon but it was worth checking this off of the NYC to-​do list.

A nice little museum set in a former bank hall on Wall Street. The museum follows the history of American finance starting from Alexander Hamilton’s tenure as the first Secretary of the Treasury right until today. There are exhibits dedicated to central banking, Hamilton, bonds, stocks, checks, loans, currency, accompanied by rather detailed explanations of how these instruments work and how they benefit the economy.
It will definitely be quite boring for children and people disinterested in finance, unless they were guided around by a tour guide who could condense the information into a more accessible and fun format.
It’s free on Saturdays so there is no reason why you shouldn’t visit.

Glad I stopped in during Night at the Museums since the complimentary ‘Fed at 100′ passes I scored via
were essentially not honored since they closed early unannounced a couple weeks later (other reviewers mention similar issues). Stick to free Saturdays otherwise you’re gonna bore yourself out of some cash.

Great museum, and its free on saturdays which is great!
I learned a lot and the exhibits were fun. It is smaller than anticipated, though.
They need to step up security a bit, kids on school trips are running everywhere (but that was just on the day I went — maybe on a day they charge that wouldn’t happen)
Its a great time!

The MOAF is a great museum for those with an interest in financial history. The museum is small, so it won’t take you long to get through it. The exhibits on the second floor are well-​thought out and organized, with all sorts of interesting financial history stories, such as the financing of the erie canal and history of sovereign debt. The museum also offers walking tours on weekends and the few I’ve been on are very enjoyable; they offer a different perspective on NY history and the history of the downtown area. I would definitely recommend that you attend some of the lectures at the museum as well.

Great, if small museum. The exhibits were all very well thought out. They had an experimental exhibit where you read about a few essential companies when they first started and had to choose between which ones to invest in on an iPad game. It was a great concept though the iPad game could have been slightly improved. I came on a groupon, but my friends were able to purchase tickets for $ 5, which was a great deal for ~2 hrs of interesting history and finance trivia.

It’s a small museum but I learned a lot! Loved it, and it admission was unexpectedly free — a huge plus!

I was not expecting to visit this place, I was staying right across the street from it and I had no idea that it was there until I happened to be walking back from the National Museum of the American Indian. I decided to give it a shot because hey, it’s a museum and it was free that day! When you walk in, the first thing you see as you walk to the top of the stairs are life-​sized statues of Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr aiming pistols at each other. That’s good grabber!
The place is a good walk through the history of the Stock Market, talking about how the markets work, how the technology has evolved, about eh crashes. There’s a small section on the history of money, and a nice bit about Alexander Hamilton.
If you have an interest in finance, it’s a good stop, and the exhibit isn’t huge, but it’s well-​done!

I wanted to see this really bad but they were closed at 2 pm where the door says they close at 4pm.
Also make online reservations with couple months in advance at the «Federal Reserve Bank of New York» to see their gold vault in the basement.

Saturdays are free admission for the entire summer. This kind of sucked for me since I was trying to use a Groupon voucher by taking my husband & this is the only day he had off while they’re open.
If you’re not interested in finance, you will probably be bored but you don’t have to be a financial wiz to get something from a visit here. They definitely explain financial concepts in a clear & easy to understand manner as well as why things like the Great Depression happened. Check out the room dedicated to Alexander Hamilton; you’ll probably find out things you didn’t know about him. The space is also filled with history and it’s definitely a museum you have to go to if you want to call yourself a museum buff. Get here early if you want to make the most of your visit.

Show me the money!!!
This museum isn’t big like all the other museums in the city, but it’s definitely full of interesting facts and information. Admission fee was $ 5 per person and included a 10% off coupon to the small museum store.
I’m not the biggest expert when it comes to U.S. banking history, but visiting this museum made me recognize its rich history & system and how much rich people suck. Just kidding about the last part (kind of).

I really enjoyed my visit to this museum. It’s not too big, but you can easily spend 1 – 2 hours here walking all around, learning about the history of US banking policies, the stock market, US currency and how it’s changed over time, and major frauds and scandals in US history.
There are some really cool exhibits and artifacts scatter throughout. Most importantly, the museum doesn’t try to make an argument for any politics. it discusses market fraud, the sub-​prime crisis, and the Lehman Brother collapse in an informative matter and leaves visitors to draw conclusions.
I already knew a lot of the things presented here; it’s geared for even visitors without any knowledge of American economics. Still, I learned and enjoyed my visit. I recommend this place while checking out Wall St of the financial district.

If you don’t like money, you won’t like this museum!
The Museum of American Finance will be a fascinating visit for people in the business of finance or studying finance or just interested in the «where, how and why» of the Financial world.
The entrance and lobby is a grant spectacle of marble and granitic.
The museum displays are interactive and informative. They cover the history of the Wall St. world from the «Curb» to the present electronic trading and the recent Wall St. meltdown; «Tracking the Credit Crisis: A Timeline.» A nice history of currency is also on display and an informative movie. Give yourself one to two hours.
Tip: They open late on Wednesday so I visited after work and fortunately it was free on that evening. The only problem with going late is the lack of a live feed from the floor of the NYSE which stops after 4PM.
Address: 48 Wall St.; Subway, J, M
Streets are closed to cars in this area.