The author joined the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis in 1981 and retired in 2012. His research focuses on monetary and banking theory and history, with particular emphasis on banking in the United States before 1861. This paper was written while the author was a visiting scholar at the Bank of Canada's Currency Department. He is currently a visiting scholar at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta and visiting professor at the University of South Carolina. Bank of Canada working papers are theoretical or empirical works-in-progress on subjects in economics and finance. The views expressed in this paper are those of the author. No responsibility for them should be attributed to the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, the Federal Reserve System or the Bank of Canada.