The core of the collection was acquired by the Chase National Bank from numismatist Farran Zerbe in 1928, who became the first curator of the new museum, and contained legal tender in a variety of forms, including wampum, ancient and modern coins, and paper money.
[1] After several moves, the museum opened at Rockefeller Center on Sixth Avenue in Manhattan, New York City, on July 10, 1956, on the ground floor of the RCA Building.
[2] After Vernon Brown left the museum in 1963, Francesco Cantarella succeeded him until Don Taxay was appointed curator in April 1964.
David Nolan, who went on to become a well-known author and historian, worked at the museum in the summer of 1963 as acting assistant curator.
An 1862 $1 Legal Tender note with Serial Number 1 (the first dollar bill issued by the United States) is now in the Chase Bank.