The Museum of American Finance (MoAF) opened its new exhibit headquarters this month in Boston’s Seaport, bringing its collection of financial history to a new permanent home. The free museum is intended to make finance more accessible, showing how markets and financial institutions shape everyday life. Traders Magazine caught up with Kristin Aguilera, Deputy Director of the Museum of American Finance, to learn more.
MoAF has not had a permanent exhibit headquarters since leaving 48 Wall Street in New York in 2018. Why was Boston the right place for this next chapter, and what does the new space represent for the museum?
As the nation’s only independent museum dedicated to finance and financial history, our mission is truly national. Therefore, when we began to search for a new permanent location after the Covid-19 pandemic, we expanded our search beyond New York. Our new home in Boston is an ideal fit, as it is situated on the newly redeveloped Commonwealth Pier, which is in a high-visibility area with excellent foot traffic from both locals and tourists. It is also an important location from an historical perspective, as much of the nation’s financial history traces its roots to the Boston Harbor area.
MoAF notes that “finance impacts everyone.” How did that idea shape the new museum and the experience you wanted to create for visitors?
Finance and money are topics that apply to all people, regardless of income, gender, race or nationality because participation in the financial system is not optional. But as an educational institution, we recognize that everyone who visits our Museum is not working from the same financial starting point. They will come in with varied circumstances, goals and knowledge. Therefore, it is our job to meet visitors where they’re at and provide information and tools they can use to take charge of their financial lives, while engaging them in entertaining and interesting exhibit experiences.
What can visitors expect when they walk through the museum, and are there any exhibits or artifacts you are especially excited for people to see?
The Museum features seven inaugural exhibits on topics ranging from the history of money to the founding of the US financial system to the digital future unfolding right now. We bring these stories to life through hundreds of rare historical artifacts from one of the world’s most significant collections of financial history, displayed alongside state-of-the-art interactive experiences. The first gallery features our currency exhibit, "America in Circulation," because money is a topic that most visitors are already familiar with. It’s exciting to watch them experience the incredible artistry and stories behind the hundreds of examples of US paper money in this exhibit—which span over 300 years.