WIRED BusinessJust before the Civil War, and long before the Federal Reserve, the United States had 8,000 kinds of money. It was a chaotic, confusing time to buy your groceries. Private banks issued notes with the promise of backing in gold and silver, but their actual value was anybody’s guess. Soon other companies---drug stores, coal mines, and of course railroads, the wealthy connectors of their day---jumped into the fray.
