Uniform Coat
Photo credit: Jin S. Lee
Accession Number: C.2022.134.2
Dimensions: 29 in X 26 in
Dimensions (Metric): 73.66 cm X 66.04 cm
Dimensions (Metric): 73.66 cm X 66.04 cm
Source: Michael J. Ferraro
Credit Line: Gift of Michael J. Ferraro
Description
Dark blue New York Board of Trade uniform coat. The coat is made of mesh material with two breast pockets and two hip pockets. "MJF | 5112" is embroidered in white on the right breast pocket. A blue plastic identification tag is attached to the left lapel with "5112 | MJF | Michael Ferraro" printed in yellow letters. A red, white, and blue looped ribbon is pinned to the left lapel by the tag.
Dark blue New York Board of Trade uniform coat. The coat is made of mesh material with two breast pockets and two hip pockets. "MJF | 5112" is embroidered in white on the right breast pocket. A blue plastic identification tag is attached to the left lapel with "5112 | MJF | Michael Ferraro" printed in yellow letters. A red, white, and blue looped ribbon is pinned to the left lapel by the tag.
Historical Notes
The New York Board of Trade (NYBOT) was founded in 1870 as a commodity futures exchange formed from the merger of the New York Cotton Exchange and the Coffee, Sugar, and Cocoa Exchange. The NYBOT trades in futures and options on currencies, coffee, cotton, orange juice, cocoa, and sugar. The NYBOT was one of the four largest exchanges regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, an independent regulatory agency created by Congress in 1974. On 9/11, their trading floor was located on the seventh, eighth, and ninth floors of 4 World Trade Center, where they had been located since the Commodity Exchange Center became the building’s first tenant in 1977.
Michael Ferraro’s twenty-plus-year career at the New York Board of Trade (NYBOT) placed him at the World Trade Center on February 26, 1993, and September 11, 2001. Born in Brooklyn, NY, in 1963, Ferraro began working at the NYBOT in 1982 and purchased his “seat” on the exchange in 1993. He traded coffee, sugar, cocoa, and orange juice futures there until his retirement in 2008.
When Flight 11 struck the North Tower at 8:46 a.m. on September 11, two NYBOT markets had already opened for trading. The NYBOT and its subsidiaries immediately suspended trading, and President Mark Fichtel began to evacuate all staff from their 4 WTC offices. Ferraro and his colleague were caught in the dust cloud when the South Tower collapsed. Eventually, they made their way toward the North Cove Marina, where Ferraro helped other evacuees board ferries across the Hudson River to New Jersey. Late in the afternoon, Ferraro himself boarded a boat. Ferraro was wearing this blue trading coat during his evacuation. It was subsequently washed.
The New York Board of Trade (NYBOT) was founded in 1870 as a commodity futures exchange formed from the merger of the New York Cotton Exchange and the Coffee, Sugar, and Cocoa Exchange. The NYBOT trades in futures and options on currencies, coffee, cotton, orange juice, cocoa, and sugar. The NYBOT was one of the four largest exchanges regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, an independent regulatory agency created by Congress in 1974. On 9/11, their trading floor was located on the seventh, eighth, and ninth floors of 4 World Trade Center, where they had been located since the Commodity Exchange Center became the building’s first tenant in 1977.
Michael Ferraro’s twenty-plus-year career at the New York Board of Trade (NYBOT) placed him at the World Trade Center on February 26, 1993, and September 11, 2001. Born in Brooklyn, NY, in 1963, Ferraro began working at the NYBOT in 1982 and purchased his “seat” on the exchange in 1993. He traded coffee, sugar, cocoa, and orange juice futures there until his retirement in 2008.
When Flight 11 struck the North Tower at 8:46 a.m. on September 11, two NYBOT markets had already opened for trading. The NYBOT and its subsidiaries immediately suspended trading, and President Mark Fichtel began to evacuate all staff from their 4 WTC offices. Ferraro and his colleague were caught in the dust cloud when the South Tower collapsed. Eventually, they made their way toward the North Cove Marina, where Ferraro helped other evacuees board ferries across the Hudson River to New Jersey. Late in the afternoon, Ferraro himself boarded a boat. Ferraro was wearing this blue trading coat during his evacuation. It was subsequently washed.
