The word bank comes from the Italian word banco, meaning a bench or counter, because medieval Italian bankers sat at benches while conducting business.

Some of the earliest “bank-like” institutions were temples in ancient Mesopotamia around 2000 BCE, where people deposited grain and received receipts.

The institution that became the world’s oldest central bank is Sveriges Riksbank in Sweden, founded in 1668.

Many banking innovations (such as paper money, checks, and deposit systems) evolved from merchants’ needs for safer, lighter, and more flexible ways to conduct trade.

Early checking (or “cheque”) systems began in Amsterdam in the 1500s. Merchants deposited money with cashiers and then used written orders instead of carrying coins.

One of the world’s oldest chartered banks, the Bank of Saint George in Genoa, Italy, founded in 1407, is often considered the first “modern public” bank.

In ancient Rome, temples functioned as banks, storing valuables, accepting deposits, and making loans.

In the United States, the largest single bank failure in American history (at the time) was the collapse of the Bank of the United States in 1931, with more than $200 million in deposits lost.

The “free banking” era in U.S. history (roughly 1837–1863) allowed state banks to issue their own currency notes backed by bonds, with minimal federal oversight.

At one point in U.S. history (before the Civil War), there were over 10,000 different banknotes in circulation because each bank could issue its own notes. Before national regulation, banknotes issued by one bank might be worth less when used far from the issuing bank.

In the United States, the first bank to be chartered (though short-lived) was the Bank of North America in 1781.

The first “national bank” system in the United States was created by the National Bank Act of 1863.

The modern U.S. central bank, the Federal Reserve System, was created in 1913. The U.S. central bank model was heavily influenced by the nation’s first banks, including the First Bank of the United States and the Second Bank of the United States.

The collapse of the Knickerbocker Trust Company in 1907 helped trigger the creation of the Federal Reserve System.

The use of the dollar sign “$” is thought to have derived from the Spanish “pieces of eight” symbol or a modification of the letters “P S” for peso or silver, though the exact origin remains debated.

The term “piggy bank” dates back to the Middle Ages, when people stored coins in jars made of inexpensive orange clay called pygg. Later, potters began crafting these jars in the shape of pigs.

A regional bank in Italy once accepted Parmesan cheese wheels as collateral for loans.

The largest vault key at the Bank of England is about three feet long.

The U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing recycles shredded or damaged currency, it’s composted, used in landfill projects, or burned for energy.

A suitcase containing $1 million in $100 bills weighs over 20 pounds; the same amount in $1 bills would weigh more than a ton.

Around 80% of U.S. currency (by value) exists in $100 bills.

When merchants in the Middle Ages found it risky to carry gold along trade routes, they used sakk-type notes (early ancestors of checks) to direct payments through banks.

Medieval Italian banking families, such as the Medici Bank, were immensely powerful. The Medici Bank became the largest in Europe after backing a future pope.

The Long Depression (beginning in 1873) was triggered by widespread banking and financial failures and had global economic consequences, underscoring the crucial role banks play in economic stability.

Some of the world’s largest central bank gold reserves belong to the United States, which holds thousands of tonnes of gold in its vaults.

Many banks prohibit writing below the endorsement line on checks because the back area was historically reserved for bank stamps tracking the check’s journey through intermediary institutions.

The modern concept of a “bank account” is relatively new in human history. Earlier societies relied on barter, metal coins, or commodity storage long before banks in their current form existed.

Bank runs or panics often occurred when depositors feared that banks could not redeem currency in gold or silver or that unification of money would cause all dollars to vanish if a bank failed. Ironically, these panics almost guaranteed the bank’s collapse.