The First Green Money: Nature-Printed Currency
Benjamin Franklin used naturalist Joseph Breintnall’s botanic prints of leaves on his paper currency to foil counterfeiters.
Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission: Annotated
The 2010 decision, enabling the rise of super PACS, made possible new and more covert mechanisms for funding election campaigns in the United States.
Demystifying Sovereign Wealth Funds
Opaque, state-controlled investment vehicles, sovereign wealth funds wield enough power to redirect or disrupt global economies.
The Numbers vs. the Lottery
Between the 1960s and 1980s, state governments created lotteries to supplant illegal gambling operations that brought revenue to marginalized communities.
A People’s Bank at the Post Office
The Postal Savings System offered depositors a US government-backed guarantee of security, but it was undone by for-profit private banks.
Marbled Money
Marbled paper was a way to make banknotes and checks unique—a critical characteristic for a nascent American Republic.
The Magic of a Crooked Sixpence
Coins were used for centuries in many ritual contexts, but the English silver sixpence was a particularly common charm—for several reasons.
Environmental, Social, and Governance Factors v. Fiduciary Duty
Asset managers have a fiduciary duty to act in your best interests. Does that include considering ESG factors when investing your money?
A Bank of Her Own
The first US bank for women was opened by a fraudster in 1879. It took 40 years for a reputable women’s bank to be founded in Tennessee.
Why is the US Dollar So Strong?
Not only did post-World War II policy give the United States a managerial position in the world order, it gave it an outsize role in shaping the global economy.