Money Museum Profiles History Of U.S. Currency

You'll find treasures like a $50 coin, printing errors, and rare-print bills at the American Numismatic Association Money Museum in Colorado Springs.

"This is the only museum that's dedicated to the study of numismatics," said Curator of the Money Museum Douglas Mudd.

Numismatics is the study of money.

At the Money Museum, history is told through money.

It was during the Civil War Americans first saw paper money, and the I.R.S.

"The first income tax was created to pay for the war," said Mudd.

Because the South had little gold or silver, all they could do was print money.

"By the end of the war, Confederate paper money had lost its value to the tune of about 9,000 percent," said Mudd.

It was during the Civil War the mottos "God And Our Country" and "God Our Trust" were tried out, before settling on "In God We Trust."

"... to show we were a religious people who had the support of God in the great endeavour to keep the Union together," said Mudd.

Visitors can view rare bank notes known as the "Educational Series."

The series was only produced for a few years.

"They're considered by many to be the most beautiful paper money ever produced by the United States," said Mudd.

There is also a display dedicated to money mistakes.

Visitors can see a bill that is $20 on one side, and a $10 on the other, along with ink blotches, folds, omissions and other errors from the printing process.