Quarterly Newsletter- Q4 2026

     During my time at UTC, I have actively developed both my financial and leadership skills through several roles. I currently serve as a lead analyst for the SMILE Fund, where I conduct research for stock reports through financial analysis using tools like DCF Models, and Bloomberg terminals. Additionally, I serve as the President of Women in Business, where I lead young women towards the right direction when stepping into the professional world. I have also gained some professional experience through my accounting intern position at Lighthouse CFO Group, where I was responsible forassisting in financial recording and documentation. I am also a proud recipient of the Phillips Scholar in Free Enterprise Scholarship, which was given for understanding and appreciating the free market system. In my free time I enjoy painting anything and everything,arts and crafts.My goal when graduating is to work in the wealth management field. I am excited to see what knowledge I can gain at my time here at Baird over the next couple ofmonths!

Barrett Poe

     My name is Barrett Poe, and I am one of the summer interns at the Baird office in Columbia. I am going into my senior year at Freed-Hardeman University, where I am currently working on receiving a Master of Business Administration and a bachelor’s degree in both financial planning and accounting. Post-graduation, I plan on receiving my Certified Financial Planner certification and working in the Middle Tennessee area as your financial planner.

     Currently, I am on Freed-Hardeman’s cross-country and track teams and served as the team captain this past semester. I am also serving on Freed-Hardeman’s Hatchett Investment Team, where a group of students manages a real-time portfolio. In my free time, I enjoy running, camping, hiking, kayaking, and pretty much anything active outdoors. I have loved working with The Parker Group so far and am excited to serve for the rest of the summer!

History of American Currency

By Barrett Poe

     As the world shifts to the digital age, debit cards, mobile payments, and online banking have become the norm, while cash has been playing a decreasing role. Many businesses now have signs saying “Card Only” or “Cash Not Accepted”, and my generation often goes days or even weeks without handling physical currency. Yet the money that is gradually disappearing from daily transactions has a long and complex history. The evolution of American currency reflects our nation's struggles and innovations from the colonial era to the digital age.

     In the 17th century, the American colonists were under the British Empire's rule. Like the Brits, the colonists used the British pound; however, the British didn't send enough coins to the colonies to meet their needs. While some trade cities were able to rely on foreign currency, the rest of the colonists turned to trading. In the northern colonies, commodities such as beaver pelts and grain dominated the economies, while in the south, tobacco leaves and rice took over. In 1690, the colony of Massachusetts started printing its own currency - the "colonial note." The other colonies quickly followed suit and made their own notes. However, as the colonies started printing their own currency, the British started to crack down on the colonies. This all came to a peak in 1764.

     The British had just finished up the Seven Years' War and were in massive debt. This war had been fought over four continents, including North America. To cover the debt and increase military presence in the American Colonies, the British Parliament passed a series of eleven acts from 1764 to 1774. Some of these acts placed taxes on sugar, molasses, and coffee, but one notable act that angered many colonists was the Currency Act of 1764. This act prevented colonists from issuing their own currency. 

     However, on April 19, 1775, the American Colonies started the war for independence. Quickly, a problem arose for the colonies. The war was extremely expensive for the colonies and there wasn't nearly enough money to fund it. So, the governing body of representatives for the colonies, the Continental Congress, permitted the production of the first American paper currency, the "Continental." While the Continental did serve its purpose to help fund the new United States army, it was overprinted and quickly lost its value, leading to the phrase, "not worth a Continental." 

     After the war, Continentals were still overproduced, and counterfeits were rampant. The newly founded United States of America needed to make a change to the current currency situation. Since the early 1600s, numerous types of foreign currency, namely the Spanish dollar, had flooded the area. This led the new United States Congress to create the U.S. dollar and the United States Mint through the Currency Act of 1792. Due to the strength of the Spanish dollar, commonly known as a "Piece of Eight," the new U.S. dollar coins were based on the weight and value of the Spanish dollar. Finally, the US had a stable national currency.

     However, at the time, there still hadn't been enough US dollars produced to supply the quickly expanding frontier. Many traders and settlers turned to deerskins. The deerskin or "buckskin", as it was also called, was probably one of the stronger currencies along the frontier and it was worth about a dollar. This gave rise to the term "buck" being used in reference to the dollar. Foreign currencies were also being used due to the lack of U.S Dollars. In 1857, Congress finally ended the legal status of foreign currency in America with the Coinage Act of 1857. Citizens were allowed to turn in their foreign coins to the U.S. Treasury and then the U.S. would give an equal amount of American coinage. Coins had worked well in the U.S. for the last 85 years, but in 1861, things quickly changed.

     The Civil War started in April 1861, when the Confederates attacked Fort Sumter in South Carolina. The United States, or the Union, quickly realized that it needed financing to be able to fund the war. In 1861 and 1862, Congress authorized the production of Demand Notes and Legal Tender Notes. These notes, also called “greenbacks,” were printed in the current U.S. currency denominations and could be turned into the Treasury to receive the respective amount of gold. In fact, these notes are still considered legal tender and can be redeemed at face value. As the Civil War continued, counterfeits were produced and wreaked havoc on the United States’ money supply. By the end of the war, about one-third of all currency in the U.S. was fake. To combat this, on April 14^th, 1865, President Lincoln signed legislation that created the United States Secret Service, whose job would be to detect and remove counterfeits. Ironically, later that night, Lincoln would be assassinated at Ford’s Theater partly due to a lack of competent security. The Secret Service would remain a counterfeit detection agency until the assassination of President McKinley in 1901.

     As the nation became more established, changes in the currency system became less frequent. However, there were still some big changes happening. In 1913, President Woodrow Wilson helped create the Federal Reserve to meet the nation’s changing economy. With the new national bank and the end of the Great War (World War I) in 1917, the U.S. government began producing the $500, $1,000, $5,000, and $10,000 bills for circulation, which remained in production till 1945.

     Between 1920 and 1970, some design and security measures were put in place. In 1928, serial numbers made their first appearance on currency. In 1929, the banknote shrank by about 30% to its current size to cut costs. In 1955, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed into law the placement of the phrase “In God We Trust” on all bills and coins. The last major change for the U.S. currency occurred in 1971. President Nixon was faced with a major problem. The Vietnam War had caused the U.S. to overprint the dollar notes, which led to inflation. Additionally, foreign governments recognized that the U.S. would not be able to cover its debts with gold, so they started redeeming their dollars for gold. On August 15, 1971, Nixon decided to end the dollar’s attachment to the gold standard and switch to a fiat currency system. This announcement, also known as the “Nixon Shock,” caused chaos as foreign currency exchanges had to reevaluate the trading rates and led to much uncertainty during the 1970s.

     Since 1971, there has been virtually no change (no pun intended) to U.S. bills and coins. However, there has been a significant change in how currency is transferred and distributed. In 1966, the first debit card program started in Delaware and then quickly expanded across the United States with the introduction of ATMs and point-of-sale systems. By the late 1990s and early 2000s, debt and credit cards were quickly becoming more prevalent due to the ease of use. Since then, cashless transactions have continued to become a larger share of the market, so much so that some businesses do not accept bills and coins. According to research completed in 2022, Capital One predicted that 56% of Americans will no longer use cash in a typical week by 2026. Based on my observations, I’d say it’s likely that percentage is even higher.

     As Americans rely on digital payments, physical currency will continue to take a backseat in everyday life. Yet this transition is only the latest chapter in a long history of change. The United States has moved from bartering and foreign coins to paper notes, federally regulated currency, and electronic transactions. This shift shows that American currency has continually changed to reflect the economic and technological realities of each era.

     As someone still early in my own financial journey, I have come to realize just how little many people my age truly understand about money. While financial literacy is not built overnight, the earlier these conversations begin, the greater the long-term impact.

     A check can be spent in an instant—but financial literacy creates value for a lifetime. As Benjamin Franklin said, “An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.”