guys/girls , what is the story/legend behind the u.s. two dollar bill ? i have always here there was some superstition about the bill and people just did not want them . i know that here in canada , we stopped making one & two $ bills because they were too costly and have a short lifespan . instead we now have one & two dollar coins - loonies & twonies .
Gerry, We're headed for a $5 coin next year apparently. Isn't there a US dollar coin, but it's wildly unpopular?
Yes, there is a US $1 coin. But as long as the paper bill continues to be printed, the coin will remain unpopular. I personally like the coins instead of paper bills. Don't know anything about suspicions re: the $2 bill though...
As a collecter of Canadian and American coins I too have heard about different reasons as to why the $2 bill was not popular. One story told of an election that was supposed to have been bought. One canditate paid a $2 bill to all who voted for him,hence the stygma of the bill. People did not want to be seen with one, because people would think they had sold their vote. I cannot say it is true, just what I have heard. I have a half dozen or so different ones, and have never voted in a US election. Harold Rolls
Don't know the story behind the $2 bills, but it reminds me of a frustrating incident with a friend's roommate. Since they stopped making them, the old ones were collector items. So when the "new" $2 bills came out a lot of people horded; expecting them to become collector's items as well. Some people, however, felt the new ones should be worth as much as the old (not even realizing the old are worth more than $2 only to collectors). I had a discussion with a friend's roommate once. She delivered pizza and told me that someone tried to pay her with $2 bills, but she wouldn't accept them because they weren't worth anything. "They are worth two dollars," I said. She objected. This exchange went on for quite a while. She had the reverse idea about Kennedy silver dollars. She was angry that her younger sibling bought icecream with one because the cashier accepted it, let alone as only $1.
canadian $2 bill back in 1967, 2 friends & i visited nashville tennessee to attend the grand old opry . at a local restaurant , we chatted with a waitress & in the process , she asked to have a look at our monetary notes , because she had heard that we had coloured bills . in the process she asked me if she could buy one of the cdn $2 bills i had in my wallet . she offered $5 u.s. for it . sold !
$5?!?! Wow! Next time I'm southbound I'll take my wad of Canadian Tire Money! "Uhhh, yeah... that little guy on there is Canada's King..."
Now don't forget the silver certificates, which are still occasionally found. As for the $2 bill, I think it was too close in value tothe $1 to be worth the trouble. I never heard of anyone avoiding them, but collectors hoarding, yes (I think I have one somewhere). The special thing is that every time a collector keeps some coin or bill, the treasury makes money. So "special editions" are a great boon to the treasury. Kinda like raising taxes without doing so.
So this non-too-bright counterfeiter whips up a bunch of $18 bills. Figures he'll have to find a real rube to accept 'em, so he heads up to the hills of (insert state name here), and finds an old, out-of-the-way general store. Goes up to the old coot at the counter and says, "pardon me, but would you have change for an eightenn dollar bill?" Old coot says, "Sure -- whatcha want -- three sixes or two nines?" We engineers love that joke.:grin: -- Steve
Gerry, I have a hand full of $2 US bills I have held on to. I too was under the impression that they were some sort of tale surrounding them. Ironically once when I was working in Wainwright Alberta I pulled out a Canadian 2 dollar bill and the two guys across the counter literally dove across the counter to grab it from me. So I asked what the **** was that all about. Apparently some places in the prairies there exists a story from years gone by that if you had a 2 dollar bill you had been to the whore house and you got change from a $5 bill, change being the 2 dollar bill. So apparently people still view a $2 bill as unpopular. Believe it or not ? Same reason down south, maybe ? Marcel
boy, if I ever go to a whore-house, I'm going to one in Canada. Don't think you'll even get a drink in a Nevada cat-house for $3! (not that I would know...)
