Wildcat banking was the issuance of paper currency in the United States by poorly capitalized state-chartered banks. These wildcat banks existed alongside more stable state banks during the Free Banking Era from 1836 to 1865, when the country had no national banking system. States granted banking charters readily and applied regulations ineffectively, if at all. Bank closures and outright scams regularly occurred, leaving people with worthless money.
Notes of the Bank of Singapore, Michigan
Andrew Dexter Jr., a wildcat banking pioneer
Jacksonian Democrats in Michigan advocated for free banking rather than a state monopoly.
A note issued by the banking arm of the Erie & Kalamazoo Railroad
History of central banking in the United States
This history of central banking in the United States encompasses various bank regulations, from early wildcat banking practices through the present Federal Reserve System.
Privately issued note, 1863
1908 cartoon arguing that an elastic currency is needed
Woodrow Wilson signs bill creating the Federal Reserve System, December 24, 1913