The ability to maintain a stable currency is essential to a country's economy. Even now, countries battle to keep their economy in check by balancing inflation and deflation and the circulation of currency. Specifically, America has battled with currency after the Revolutionary War, after the Civil War, and after World War I, which led to the Great Depression. Although the United States is currently an economic powerhouse, they have not always been at the top of the charts. This Collection shows America's earliest forms of paper and coin currencies that existed prior to and during the Civil War, as found in the Smithsonian Archives, National Museum of American History, and Philadelphia Federation. This collection shows that the main issue with earlier currencies was a lack of solidarity. As one can see, there are 10+ different forms of currency that exist within the same borders of one country! This proved to be chaotic in contrast to the one solid currency that America has established now. Not only were bills not stable prior to 1865, they also weren't hard to imitate. Inflation was easily attainable through the mass amount of counterfeits, but this gallery demonstrates how over the years, adaptations were put in place to prevent such occurrences. Dollar bills and coins were also produced by many different companies which especially made it difficult for the government to monitor production until the US Mint was established in 1792. Even with the Mint, other companies still produced bills, leading to inflation and ultimately leading to depression. Over time, the growth and stabilization of currency in the United States allows citizens to have the standard of living that they do today, which is considerably higher than most countries.