The "Whitman Encyclopedia of Obsolete Paper Money" is a multiple-volume study of currency issued from 1782-1866, before the modern era of National Banks and the Federal Reserve. Over the course of these decades more than 3, 000 state-chartered banks issued their own paper money. The "Whitman Encyclopedia of Obsolete Paper Money" is a project of grand scope, a gathering of stories about our nation - from small town to big city, from the early days following the Revolution to the tribulations of the Civil War. It paints a beautifully detailed landscape of America and its early money.