United States two-dollar bill
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The United States two dollar bill ($2) is a current denomination of U.S. currency. Former U.S. President Thomas Jefferson is featured on the obverse of the note. The painting The Declaration of Independence by John Trumbull is featured on the reverse. The design on the obverse (excluding the elements of a Federal Reserve Note) is the oldest of all current U.S. currency having been adopted in 1929; the reverse is the second oldest design having been adopted in 1976.
In spite of its relatively low value, the two dollar bill is one of the most rarely-seen denominations of U.S. currency. This is mainly due to the low production of the note; approximately 1% of all notes currently produced are $2 bills. This low production has led to an overall lack of public knowledge of the $2 bill and has also inspired urban legends about it. There are also folk beliefs centering on the $2 bill.
Throughout the $2 bill's life as a large-sized note, it was issued as a United States Note, Silver Certificate, Treasury or 'Coin' Note, and a Federal Reserve Bank Note. When U.S. currency was changed to its current size, the $2 bill was issued only as a United States Note. After United States Notes were discontinued, the $2 bill later began to be issued as a Federal Reserve Note.
Contents |
[edit] Denomination overview
The denomination of two dollars was first used by the United States federal government in July 1862. The denomination was continuously used until 1966 when the only class of U.S. currency it was then assigned to, United States Notes, began to be discontinued. The $2 bill initially wasn't reassigned to the Federal Reserve Note class of United States currency and was thus discontinued; the Treasury Department cited the $2 bill's low use and unpopularity as the reason for not resuming use of the denomination. In 1976 use of the two dollar denomination was resumed and the two dollar bill was finally assigned as a Federal Reserve Note. It has remained a current denomination since then.
Today, two dollar bills aren't frequently reissued in a new series like other denominations which are printed according to demand. When the Federal Reserve Banking System runs low on its current supply of $2 bills, it will submit an order to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, which will then print more. Demand for $2 bills is low enough that one printing can last for many years.
Though many cash registers accommodate it, its slot is often used for things like checks and rolls of coins. Few money-handling machines (such as vending machines) accommodate it, but self-checkout lanes have been known to do so, even if the fact that they are accepted is not stated on the label. Although they usually are not handed out arbitrarily, two dollar bills can sometimes be found at banks by request. Two dollar bills are also appropriately given as change at the gift shop of Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's Virginia estate.
Two dollar bills are delivered by Federal Reserve Banks in green straps of 100 bills ($200). They are often packaged in bundles (10 straps/1000 bills equaling $2000) for large shipments, like all other denominations of U.S. currency.
[edit] Perceived rarity
The perceived rarity of a $2 bill can be attributed to its low printing numbers that sharply dropped beginning in the late 1950s when the $2 bill was a United States Note and recently the sporadic printings of still relatively low numbers as a Federal Reserve Note. Lack of public knowledge of the $2 bill further contributes to its perceived rarity. This perceived rarity can lead to a greater tendency to hoard any $2 bills encountered and thus decrease their circulation.
After United States currency was changed to its current size, the two dollar bill, unlike other denominations, was only assigned to one class of currency, the United States Note. United States Notes had a legal statutory limit of $346,861,016 that could be in circulation at any one time which was not a significant amount of money at the time. The bulk of this amount was assigned to the $5 United States Note. From 1929-1957 (from Series of 1928 to Series 1953), the $2 bill on average was printed in quantities of 50 million notes per series with only several variances to this number. From 1957 onwards, $2 bill production figures steadily decreased from 18 million notes in Series 1953A to just 3.2 millions notes in its final printing, Series 1963A, which ended in 1966. By contrast, an average of 125 million per series of $5 United States Notes were printed from 1929-1957; the final Series 1963 printing of the $5 United States Note included 67.2 million notes.
When the current note was first issued in 1976, it was met with general curiosity, and was seen as a collectible, not as a piece of regularly circulating currency, which the Treasury intended it to be. The main reason it failed to circulate was that businesses never really requested them as part of their normal operations to give back out in change. This failure is linked to the gradual disappearance of the former $2 United States Notes.
Supplies of the Series 1976 $2 bill were allowed to dwindle until August 1996 when another series finally began to be printed; this series, however, was only printed for one Federal Reserve Bank. Once again, in October 2003, the $2 bill was printed initially for only one Federal Reserve Bank after supplies dwindled. A Series 2003A was also issued starting in 2006, with larger numbers & for multiple Federal Reserve Banks, due to an increase in demand for supplies the note.
Nowadays, there is a common misconception that the $2 bill is no longer in circulation. According to the Treasury, they "receive many letters asking why the $2 bill is no longer in circulation." [1]. In response, the Treasury states: "The $2 bill remains one of our circulating currency denominations. According to B.E.P. statistics, 590,720,000 Series 1976 $2 bills were printed and as of February 28, 1999, there was $1,166,091,458 worth of $2 bills in circulation worldwide." However, 'in circulation' does not necessarily mean that the notes are actively circulated, only that this is the amount that hasn't been redeemed for shredding. The Treasury states that the best way for the $2 bill to circulate is if businesses use them as they would any other denomination.
The most significant evidence of the $2 bill's reawakening would be that in 2005 alone, 61 million $2 bills were printed by the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing. This is more than twice the number of $2 bills that were printed between 1990 and 2001.
[edit] Large size notes
(approximately 7.4218 × 3.125 in ≅ 189 × 79 mm)
- July 1862: The first $2 bill was issued as a Legal Tender Note (United States Note) with a portrait of Alexander Hamilton; the portrait of Hamilton used was a profile view and is unlike the portrait used currently for the $10 bill.
- 1869: The $2 United States Note was redesigned with the now familiar portrait of Thomas Jefferson to the left and a vignette of the United States Capitol in the center of the obverse. This note also featured green tinting on the top and left side of the obverse. Although this note is technically a United States Note, TREASURY NOTE appeared on it instead of UNITED STATES NOTE.
- 1874: The Series of 1869 United States Note was revised. Changes on the obverse included removing the green tinting, adding a red floral design around WASHINGTON D.C., and changing the term TREASURY NOTE to UNITED STATES NOTE. The reverse was completely redesigned. This note was also issued as Series of 1875 and 1878.
- 1880: The red floral design around WASHINGTON D.C. on the United States Note was removed. This note was also issued as Series of 1917.
- 1886: The first $2 Silver Certificate with a portrait of United States Civil War General Winfield Scott Hancock on the left of the obverse was issued.
- 1890: Two dollar Treasury or "Coin Notes" were issued for government purchases of silver bullion from the silver mining industry. The reverse featured large wording of TWO in the center and a numeral 2 to the right surrounded by an ornate design that occupied almost the entire note.
- 1891: A new $2 Silver Certificate was issued with a portrait of U.S. Treasury Secretary, William Windom in the center of the obverse.
- 1891: The reverse of the Series of 1890 Treasury Note was redesigned because the treasury felt that it was too "busy" which would make it too easy to counterfeit. More open space was incorporated into the new design.
- 1896: The famous "Educational Series" Silver Certificate was issued. The entire obverse of the note was covered in artwork with an allegorical figure of science presenting steam and electricity to commerce and manufacture. The reverse of the note featured portraits of Robert Fulton and Samuel Morse surrounded by an ornate design that occupied almost the entire note.
- 1899: The $2 Silver Certificate was redesigned with a small portrait of George Washington surrounded by allegorical figures representing agriculture and mechanics.
- 1918: The only large-sized, Federal Reserve Note-like $2 bill was issued as a Federal Reserve Bank Note. Each note was an obligation of the issuing Federal Reserve Bank and could only be redeemed at the corresponding bank. The obverse of the note featured a border-less portrait of Thomas Jefferson to left and wording in the entire center. The reverse featured a World War I battleship.
[edit] Small size notes
(6.14 × 2.61 in ≅ 156 × 66 mm)
In 1929, when all U.S. currency was changed to its current size, the $2 bill was kept only as a United States Note. The obverse featured a cropped version of Thomas Jefferson's portrait that had been on previous $2 bills. The reverse featured Jefferson's home, the Monticello. The note's seal and serial numbers were red. The Series of 1928 $2 bill featured the treasury seal superimposed by the United States Note obligation to the left and a large gray TWO to the right.
In 1953 the $2 bill received design changes analogous to the $5 United States Note. The treasury seal was made smaller and moved to the right side of the bill; it was superimposed over the gray word TWO. The United States Note obligation now became superimposed over a gray numeral 2. The reverse remained unchanged.
The final change to $2 United States Notes came in 1963 when the motto IN GOD WE TRUST was added to the reverse over the Monticello. And, because dollar bills were soon to no longer be redeemable in silver, WILL PAY TO THE BEARER ON DEMAND was removed from the obverse. These $2 bills were officially discontinued in August of 1966.
In 1976, the Treasury Department reintroduced the $2 bill as a cost-saving measure. As part of the United States Bicentennial celebration, the note was redesigned and issued as a Federal Reserve Note. The obverse featured the same portrait of Jefferson, a green instead of red seal and serial numbers, and an engraved rendition of John Trumbull's The Declaration of Independence on the reverse. It is commonly thought that the picture on the back of the bill is the Signing of the Declaration of Independence but it is not. It could be of the Committee of Five (that wrote the Declaration of Independence) submitting it to the Second Continental Congress. It is also thought the painting is a combination of the submission of the document and the signing (neither event occurred on July 4, 1776.) First day issues of the new bicentennial $2 bills could be taken to a post office and stamped with the date "APR 13 1976". In all, 590,720,000 notes from Series 1976 were printed.
In 1996 and 1997, 153,600,000 bills were printed [2] as Series 1995 for the Federal Reserve District of Atlanta. In 2004, 121,600,000 of the newest $2 bills, Series 2003, were printed for the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank. Both of these issues have the same design as the Series 1976 $2 bill.
A new issue of Series 2003A $2 bills is currently being printed for all 12 Federal Reserve Banks, but none of them have been released yet.[3]
There are currently no plans to redesign the $2 bill.
[edit] Collectible $2 bills
[edit] Most current $2 bills are not valuable
Current $2 bills, which are Federal Reserve Notes, are uncommon enough to rarely be encountered in circulation but are not uncommon enough to be valuable. All small-sized $2 United States Notes with a red seal and older large size notes are obsolete and are collectibles. The only $2 Federal Reserve Notes that are collectibles are special products consisting of notes not put into circulation and are sold through the B.E.P; also, Series 1976 $2 bills with a canceled stamp are also collectibles.
In addition, current United States currency, regardless of its denomination can be considered collectible if:
- There is an interesting pattern in the serial number
- There is a star in the serial number (Star note)
- The bill were to have some sort of an error, such as an ink spill, missing the third printing (which includes the serial number and the seal), or improper cutting.
[edit] From the B.E.P.
[edit] Premium products
In recent years, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing has sold a variety of two dollar bill products. All of these $2 bill products have been made up of special issues of star notes.
Some of these products have been based on extremely limited printings of the $2 bill that also, unlike regular circulation issues, were printed for all 12 Federal Reserve Districts instead of just one. However, there is no real significance of these $2 bills having all 12 Federal Reserve Banks' features printed on them as they were never released to any Federal Reserve Bank. In celebration of the new millennium, the B.E.P. printed 9,999 Series 1995 $2 bills that began with a '2000' in the serial number (e.g. K20000886*) for each Federal Reserve District. In 2005, 16,000 $2 bills from each of the 12 Federal Reserve Districts were sold and had a low serial (i.e. L00000001* through L00016000*). Premium Federal Reserve Sets were also sold for both of these series and consisted of $2 bills from all 12 Federal Reserve Banks with matching serials numbers.
Another product sold by the B.E.P. was the '$2 Evolutions Set'. Ironically, 'Evolutions' sets sold by the B.E.P. showcase new designs recently introduced, but the $2 hasn't had any modern design changes. The set instead consists of a regular circulation issue Series 2003 $2 bill and a star note with a matching low serial number.
Another item for sale by the B.E.P. is the '$2 Independence Note'. It is simply a star note from Series 1995.
Most of these premium products all sold out quickly after they went on sale to the public, but the Series 1995 Independence Note is still offered for sale by the B.E.P.
[edit] Uncut currency sheets
Uncut currency sheets are also available from the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. Some of the recent $2 uncut sheets from Series 1995 and Series 2003 have indeed been collectibles as they come from special non-circulation printings. Most of the Series 1995 $2 uncut sheets had a higher suffix letter in the serial number than regular circulation $2 bills. Uncut $2 sheets from Series 2003 were printed from the Boston (A), Atlanta (F), Chicago (G), Minneapolis (I), and Dallas (K) Federal Reserve Districts despite the fact that notes from the Minneapolis district were the only ones released for circulation.
Uncut sheets of $2 bills are available in various sizes. A 32-subject sheet, which is the original size sheet that the notes are printed on, are available. Other sheets sizes available have been cut from the original 32-subject sheet. These include half (16-note), quarter (8-note), and eighth (4-note) sheets for $2 bills. All these uncut sheets cost higher than their respective face values.
[edit] The two-dollar bill in American consciousness
[edit] Urban legends
[edit] Marked money
An amusing and perhaps apocryphal story regarding two dollar bills being paid to military servicemen has circulated intermittently in American public consciousness over the years. This story being constantly retold reflects how some Americans view the two dollar bill.
The basic premise is as follows: a coastal town somewhere has a business district that, while successful financially, is plagued by uncouth Navy servicemen on shore leave. They come in, make a ruckus, get drunk, and generally upset the town's otherwise quiet atmosphere. The locals, who do not appreciate the intrusion, finally get together and lodge a formal complaint with the Navy.
The Navy, in response, decides to teach the arrogant town a lesson in economics and pays a substantial portion of its servicemen's following months' salary in two dollar bills. When the sailors subsequently descend on the town to spend their wages, the local businesses are inundated with two dollar bills; in fact, they realize that they have more two dollar bills than anything else, which certainly grabs their attention.
The message, of course, is that the Navy servicemen on shore leave might very well be boorish and intrusive, but the money they spend represents the livelihood of the store owners responsible for the letter of complaint. Needless to say, they were more patient with the sailors thenceforth.
The fact that this tactic worked, of course, is entirely a result of the two dollar bill's rarity. One dollar bills or five dollar bills would not have been so readily noticed. Two dollar bills drive the point home; there is no way they can be ignored, given that they are almost never seen.
A similar story [4] involves the use of two dollar bills by Clemson University fans when their football team travels to away games. Some two dollar bills are even stamped with the school's logo, an orange tiger paw, to reinforce the message that the money came from a Clemson fan.
[edit] Non-acceptance
Another story is also documented on Snopes. In this story, a Taco Bell patron attempts to pay for a burrito with a two dollar bill. The cashier and the store manager both refuse to accept it as valid U.S. currency, believing that there is no such thing as a two dollar bill. When the patron insists on paying with it, they call security who then explains that two dollar bills are actually valid U.S. currency.
Others have written into Snopes to report similar incidents.
[edit] $2 bill scam
When the $2 was reintroduced in the 1970s there were people who used it as part of a scam. They would cut the ends off a $20, being sure to leave enough of the bill intact so they could get reimbursed for their damaged money, then cut the ends off the $2 bill and replace them with the ends from the $20. They would then try to pass the $2 bill as a $20. Since the portrait of Jefferson on the $2 bill is similar to the portrait of Jackson on the older $20 the altered $2 bill would often successfully pass a casual examination and be honored as a $20.
[edit] Documented stories
[edit] Monticello change
At Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's historic Virginia home, the adult admission price was $13 in 2004, usually requiring change to be made in multiples of $2. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the operators of Monticello kept $2 bills, with Jefferson's portrait, on hand for this purpose.
[edit] Non-acceptance at Best Buy
In February of 2005, [5] an annoyed patron of Best Buy was attempting to pay for an electronics installation with 57 $2 bills. The cashier refused to accept them and marked them as counterfeit. The cashier then called the police and the patron was handcuffed until a Secret Service Agent arrived and straightened things out. The suspicion was supposedly caused by ink smearing on the bills which is not totally uncommon.
[edit] Steel Mill raises awareness of economic impact
A documented case of using two-dollar bills to send a message to a community is the case of Geneva Steel and the communities in the surrounding Utah County. In 1989, Geneva Steel paid its employee bonuses in $2 bills. When the bills began showing up everywhere, people recognized the importance of the company to the local economy. This incident was referred to in a subsequent article in the Deseret News.
[edit] Woz
Steve Wozniak has been known to pay for services using a $2 note from a "pad" of money—he buys uncut sheets of bills from the Treasury and has them bound into booklets; they are fully legal tender despite their perforated edges. On one occasion, this got him into a spot of trouble at a casino in Las Vegas. [1]
[edit] Strip Clubs
Some strip clubs will hand out $2 bills as change and for tips instead of singles to increase the amount given to dancers, and will only hand out singles when they are specifically asked for.
[edit] Currency tracking
Over half a million $2 bills are entered at the American currency tracking website Where's George?. A certain niche of site users have made the $2 bill their preferred denomination, and use it frequently. An unofficial club called "Top Toms" has even appeared for those who have entered 2,000 or more $2 bills into the system. The hope of the Top Toms is to increase the circulation of $2 bills by demanding them from banks. Some members and aspiring members simply ask for the few $2 bills that a particular bank may have in stock at the time of their visit. Some also have their banks order 'straps' (100 bills) or 'bricks' (1000 bills) of $2s direct from the Federal Reserve. Many of the Top Toms will also mark "This is not a rare bill." on the notes before introducing them into circulation. Several dozen people are on this list, and many more aspire for this goal. As of December 2006 there are 43 known Top Toms.
[edit] Folk beliefs
In the past, gamblers considered two dollar bills to be unlucky. The idea comes from the "deuce" being the lowest value card in a card deck. Gamblers often tore or cut a two dollar bill's corners to counter the bad luck that might occur.[citation needed]
Some wait-staff counter the bad luck from a two dollar bill by kissing or pretending to kiss the bill when it is received.[citation needed]
Practitioners of hoodoo, a form of African-American folk magic, often see a symbol of "reverse bad luck" -- that is, something nominally unlucky that can bring good luck in the two dollar bill. It is common to tear a corner off the two-dollar bill and place it inside a mojo made with the intention of increasing good luck in gambling. A two-dollar bill may also be written upon with a monetary wish, such as "Return to Me," before being put back into circulation.[citation needed]
[edit] References
- Standard Catalog of United States Paper Money, 17th edition published by Krause Publications
- The Official REDBOOK A Guide Book of United States Paper Money by Arthur L. and Ira S. Friedberg
- The Bureau of Engraving and Printing website
- [6]
The "Superstition" portion of this article was drawn from:
- A Treasury of American Superstitions by Claudia de Lys
| United States currency and coinage |
| Topics: Federal Reserve System | Federal Reserve Note | US dollar | US Mint |
| Paper money: $1 | $2 | $5 | $10 | $20 | $50 | $100 | Larger denominations |
| Coinage: Cent | Nickel | Dime | Quarter | Half Dollar | Dollar |
| See also: Commemoratives | Confederate dollar | Fake denominations |
