Yes, Virginia, There is a Two Dollar Bill
Tip It!A funny thing happened at lunch the other day… While waiting at the counter for the cashier to take my order, I overheard an interesting exchange between the guy next to me and the cashier that was helping him. He ordered his sandwich and then went to pay with a couple of two dollar bills. The cashier, a young woman of about twenty, was incredulous…
Cashier: What’s this?
Guy: A two dollar bill.
Cashier: Huh? Really?
Guy: Yeah, really.
Cashier: Are you sure it’s real money?
Guy: Yeah, it’s real.
Cashier: Are you sure? When did they start making these?
Guy: Over a hundred years ago. [Note: The $2 denomination was first introduced in July 1862]
Cashier: No way. There’s no such thing as a two dollar bill.
Guy: Yeah, there is. They don’t make ‘em anymore [Note: They actually do still make these -- see below], but it’s real money.
At this point, I interjected that she needn’t worry unless he tried to pass off a three dollar bill. She gave me a quizzical look and then checked with a co-worker. Sure enough, two dollar bills are real, the co-worker said. And shortly thereafter life at the lunch counter returned to normal.
Kind of reminds me of this story, or perhaps this one (login required, use BugMeNot), although security didn’t get involved, nobody was arrested, and the secret service wasn’t needed to straighten things out.
Published on July 22nd, 2005 - 11 Comments
Filed under: Miscellany
About the author: Nickel is the founder and editor-in-chief of this site. He's a thirty-something family man who has been writing about personal finance since 2005, and guess what? He's on Twitter!
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July 22nd, 2005 at 10:17 am
The $2 bill is actually still made.
http://www.treas.gov/education.....s.shtml#q5
July 22nd, 2005 at 11:03 am
I love carrying around “funny money” like that — $2 bills, silver and gold dollars, half dollars. They’re fun to give as tips.
July 22nd, 2005 at 1:25 pm
When I was in college, I worked as a cashier for two years and I never saw a 2 dollar bill. This is a news to me. Interesting!
July 22nd, 2005 at 1:30 pm
tomdobb, you’re right… According to WikiPedia they were printed as recently as 2004:
July 22nd, 2005 at 6:11 pm
geez, i always thought these kind of stories were just for jokes.
only currency I dont see regularly is the gold dollar coins. which I only received once through all these years…
July 23rd, 2005 at 1:52 am
Heck, I keep a supply of the gold dollar coins in the key tray of my car…the local self-serve car wash (great for getting off those stubborn deposits of pigeon-sh!t that accumulate when parking downtown) gives a 25% discount if you pay with golden dollar coins, vs the price if paid in quarters or bills.
July 23rd, 2005 at 9:37 am
I work at a movie theater and get all sorts of bills and coins. I have a Silver Certificate($1 bill), A couple of silver quarters, nickels and A ton of Silver 50 cent peices. one is a 1932 Liberty coin.
July 25th, 2005 at 3:07 pm
Apparently $2 bills are popular at betting places.
Dollar coins are popular in the Boston Public Transportation System and in some automated Postal Office Stamp Selling Machines.
July 26th, 2005 at 3:00 pm
I love $2 bills, they’re such a novelty and, as your story attests to, still many people don’t know they exist.
August 2nd, 2005 at 2:42 pm
I use $2 bills all the time just to see the reaction of the cashier. The first problem they have is that they don’t know what part of the draw to put it in since there is no slot for the $2 bill.
October 4th, 2008 at 8:42 pm
Speaking of ‘funny money’ I’m reminded of when I was travelling in Latin America in the late 60’s and 70s. I always carried JFK halves for tip money. He was idolized down South and on later visits I’d always have people going out of their way to assist me in any way.