awesome story. You could make an entire blog about your two dollar bill stories. Just make sure your wallet is always full of Jeffersons.
A similiar experience might be had with dollar coins. Though people are more familiar with 2 dollar bills. Too many people don't know about the dollar coins.
And then you could have people submit their own 2 dollar bill stories and you could publish them on your 2 dollar bill blog.
My father collected two dollar bills for a while. He even had an old one with some red ink on it as opposed to all green.
You must have gotten a younger teller at the bank, as most experienced tellers probably wouldn't be fazed by your request. We get all kinds of strange requests here at banks.
Posted by: Mark on Jul 18, 07 | 11:18 am
Great post Spudart!
Actually I wonder if you would get twice the excitement if you combo the $2 bills with the new dollar coin for your odd numbered transactions.
We received 30 George Washington dollar coins for my wife's 30th birthday. As unlikelymoose pointed out most people simply don't know about them. When I try to pay with them I need to tell people that they are worth $1. They are sooo gold, shiny and irresistible!!! that I have a hard time handing them over.
Posted by: Andy on Jul 20, 07 | 3:11 pm
Wonderful.
My co-worker and I spent far too long reading this, laughing, and coming up with similar schemes. We were thinking he might try carrying around a velvet sack of $1 coins, sort of pirate-style.
Posted by: Kelly on Jul 21, 07 | 6:13 pm
Kelly, a velvet sack of $1 coins would be remarrrrrrrrrrrkable! But fo' real. That would be so cool to whip out a velvet sack (sack is such a funny word, is it not?) and then rummage your hand into it grabbing several golden coins to pay the cashier. When you get change back, I would advise not putting into your sack, because then your sack would just be a mere coin sack, and not a golden dollar sack. I'm trying to see how many times I can say sack.
Posted by:
spudart on Jul 21, 07 | 7:01 pm
I'm totally going to do this!
And BTW, I think you're more E than you realise even if you claim I.
:oP
Posted by:
Tom on Jul 22, 07 | 1:00 pm
I claim "I" as in the Extroverted versus Introverted in the Meyer-Briggs personality test, because I find spending time with other people to take a lot of energy. After hanging out with someone, I need lots of time to relax. I dunno. Just how i'm wired. Introverts are like that. Whereas extroverts find spending time with people to increase their level of energy afterwards.
But, thanks for the insight. :-)
Posted by:
spudart on Jul 22, 07 | 11:05 pm
I always thought the 2 dollar bills I have saved over the years were something very special and do't ever plan to spend them. Let me know if I am wrong. I am 75 and have bills over 50 years old.
Posted by: Helen Franklin on Jul 26, 07 | 11:48 am
Helen, I think your 50-year-old two-dollar bills are VERY special! Wow. All the bills I got from the bank were from 2003. There were none older than that. So 50-year-old bills are very special. :-)
Posted by:
spudart on Jul 26, 07 | 11:50 am
Thanks for answering my question. I think I will hang on to them and pass them on to my grandchildren. But I may go to a local bank and see if they will exchange a large sum for the 2 dollar bills like you did. It wold be fun i think to carry a wallet full like you.!!!
Posted by: Helen Franklin on Jul 26, 07 | 12:36 pm
Yes Helen! I cheer you on! Our world could certainly use more two-dollar bills!
Posted by:
spudart on Jul 26, 07 | 12:41 pm
I have been using $2 bills and 1 dollar coins for many years now. Please check out my web site at
http://wcdc42.com
Blimpy Burger in Ann Arbor, MI gives $2 bills for change.
Posted by: MPM on Sep 11, 07 | 9:21 pm
Everytime I go to the bank to get cash I get all two dollar bills. I get one of two reactions.
1) Oh my gosh! I totally want to keep this!! Blah blah blah, these are so rare and I am an idiot!
OR
2) So YOU are the one with the $2 bills.
Yeah, I've been doing it for a couple years now.
Posted by:
Monica on Sep 18, 07 | 2:33 pm
That is too cool Matt, I will have to try that next time I go to the bank.
Posted by: on Oct 29, 07 | 2:20 pm
THIS. IS. AWESOME.
Posted by: Becky on Jan 07, 08 | 9:17 am
im 91 and ii am still collectin 2 dollar bills, sonny ill have to try that
Posted by: Uzaam on May 24, 08 | 7:47 am
Ha, that was great.
I have an idea of my own...I shall have the bank convert about 30 bucks into 2's and also withdraw a twenty. Go around buying like 15 dollar items make sure they see the twenty and then hand them a handful of 2's hahaha.
Posted by: Curtis on Oct 05, 08 | 2:41 pm
you can track them online (and other denominations) at
www.wheresgeorge.comPosted by: Henry on Jun 11, 09 | 12:22 pm
Me and my wife today at the mexican restaurant came up with this same idea of getting all of our spending money in two's not only for people's reaction, but to bring back the awareness of the two dollar awesomeness. Keep up the good work.
Posted by: Bobbit on Jul 15, 09 | 10:20 pm
Bobbit, you should totally do it! Join!
Posted by:
spudart on Jul 16, 09 | 12:10 am
All the times I've tried to get ones at my bank, they don't have any. :(
Posted by: Henry on Jul 16, 09 | 3:40 pm
Henry, I've had that happen to me a couple times, the teller will say they don't have any. But what the teller is actually saying is, "I don't have any in my drawer at the front." Most banks will have two-dollar bills in the back. If the teller says he doesn't have any, ask if they have any two-dollar bills in the back. They may roll their eyes at you, but it's part of their job to service you. If they have two-dollar bills in the back, they aren't doing any good just sitting in the back.
In fact, I would say 100% of the time the cashier said they don't have any, I would ask if they have any in the back, they always do. My bank is LaSalle Bank, now known as Bank of America. I don't know what other bank's policy is but Bank of America should have two-dollar bills.
Often times if i express great shock over the lack of two-dollar bills and ask if they have any in the back, one of the other tellers will overhear, and if my teller is being stubborn (or uneducated about their supplies), someone else has helped me.
Posted by:
spudart on Jul 16, 09 | 4:19 pm
Thanks. There is a BofA near my house and I will check there for two's.
Posted by: Henry on Jul 16, 09 | 5:46 pm
I should note that whenever I get my two's at BofA, it's a withdrawal, so it shows the bank teller that I'm a member of BofA. I'm not sure how they would react to someone who is not a member.
Posted by:
spudart on Jul 16, 09 | 7:24 pm
i came across this page looking for "what does a 2 dollar bill in the wallet of someone who dies represent." when my father died he had 2 2$ bills in his wallet prolly for my sister and i and i have found no clues as to what it could mean, and have went on a collecting binge ever cents(lol) then and have collected about 14. if anyone knows more about this please help. ty for your time.
Posted by: Smokey on Jul 21, 09 | 9:46 am
I have 2 $2 bills with a purple stamp on them printed with APR !3 1976. Looks like a PObox stamp,and along with that, a regular eagle postage stamp. Any signifigance? Thanks.
Posted by: Nature Girl on Aug 03, 09 | 6:50 pm
AMAZING!
Posted by: lafawnda on Jan 12, 10 | 1:25 pm
I regularly get $100 in $2 bills and spend them freely. Once I gave a $2 bill to a cashier (who is originally from Germany) to buy a bottle of iced tea. She gave me change back as it was a $5. Being that it was way to early in the morning and I wasn't on the ball, I didn't think much about it. By the time I got to the other side of the door I realized what happened and saw her running and yelling towards me. Luckily, I dealt with her everyday for 2 years. She didn't laugh about it, but all of her coworkers did. They love when I handed over Kennedy halves and Ikes all of the time.
The best is paying tips in $2 bills and bar and restaurants. The waitstaff usually take care of me a little extra better the next time I come it.
So many cashiers ogle at the money. Some think I'm crazy for spending money that's worth more than face value (?!?!). They conveniently switch the $2 bill for 2 1s in their own pocket.
Then there was the cashier who ran over to his manager and asked if my $2 bill was legal tender. The manager replied "yes, you stupid idiot." I think the cashier quit soon after.
Posted by:
Robert on May 25, 10 | 2:49 pm
Another $2 bill story, when I was 16 my father gave me a $2 bill and said to keep in my wallet. It's "bus fare" if I'm ever stranded someplace and need to get home. That was 21 years ago. My father passed away in 2001 and the cost of a one way fare is now more than $2 around here. I guess if I'm stranded now, I'll have to walk!
Posted by:
Robert on May 25, 10 | 2:51 pm
I started carrying $2 bills 40 years ago (I was 10yrs old). It was my emergency money. When I was real hard up I could always get $2 of gas, food, what ever. It wasn't until I was 40 yrs old that I realized that I had gone an entire year without having to use my last two bucks. Now that I'm 50 yrs old, I've added a Franklin to go with my Jefferson.
Posted by: Win on May 25, 10 | 6:54 pm
I remember when I was working as a flight attendant, a passenger pulled out a stack of $2 bills that were actually gummed together like a note pad. He tore one off the stack and offered it to me as a tip. It was something I'll never forget.
Posted by: Alma on Jun 26, 10 | 10:48 am
Alma, I think that passenger might have been Steve Wozniak, the co-founder of Apple Computers. I read that he buys uncut sheets of two dollar bills and puts them in to pads like that.
Posted by: John on Jul 02, 10 | 3:33 am
ok... i exchange 100 dollar bill for 50 2 dollar bills and took all my friends to McDonald 's to celebrate my burfday!... i walked in last, after holding the door for every. once inside, i screamed "excuse me everyone! May I have your attention please!! every person in this facility will be receiving a free bigmac, compliment of the burfday kid!!" then i busted out my backpack of 2's... every single soul in the store was shocked... we all started laughing frantically...
My Life Is Awesome...
Posted by: Turk Garip on Dec 12, 10 | 7:53 pm
Im planning on giving my dad a stack of 2 dollar bills and gold coins :)
I had to go to three banks just for 14 $2 dollar bills
Posted by: Kiki on Dec 22, 10 | 2:28 pm
When I was in the Navy in Bremerton, WA, I used a $20 bill to buy maybe $4 or so of food at a little cafeteria near my boat. She handed me back my change. I saw a $10 bill, and didn't really bother looking at the other bills.
After I ate, I pulled the moey out of my pocket to put in my wallet, and what to my sparkling eyes did appear? A $2 BILL!!! I couldn't believe it! I showed everyone it. It was in really good condition too. I think its from 2006, and this happened in 2008.
I crumpled it a little bit, but put it under some heavy stuff, where it sat for a couple of years, and its near perfect now.
Posted by: Jeff on Jan 28, 11 | 8:03 pm
My local bank does not have $2 bills! They also gave me attitude when I asked for some.
Posted by: Some girl on Mar 05, 11 | 9:20 am
It must be a Commercial Bank like New York Commercial Bank.
Posted by:
Bill on Mar 05, 11 | 1:57 pm
The last "TWO'S" were made in 2006 (maybe), but were dated as 2003A. They haven't been printed since. I believe that when the stock gets low they will either print more 2003A's or make a new date.
Posted by:
Bill on Mar 05, 11 | 2:15 pm
Some girl, you need to have Bank of America be your bank. I never had problems with them.
Posted by:
spudart on Mar 06, 11 | 4:57 pm
My bank is Fifth Third Bank, but I've gone to many different banks to get $2 bills. I've never had any problems getting them, although some of the smaller banks may not keep any in the vault and can only supply you out of the tills. I've never received any grief for asking though; usually the tellers are more than happy to give them to you.
The worst I've ever had is certain banks trying to get me to open an account at their bank, or to switch banks. I just say no, and if they press the issue (like one certain bank did) I don't go to that branch anymore.
Posted by: tatersgravy on Mar 13, 11 | 1:35 pm
I went to a local Chase bank and they only had 10 bills. Oh well, at least I got some!
Too bad I was in a hurry or I would have asked if they could order some. When I asked at my bank they said they only ordered during the holiday season at the end of the year.
Posted by: Some Girl on Mar 29, 11 | 7:50 pm
Hi
I am visiting la from London and got given a 2 dollar bill as Change from a Hollywood gift shop. I thought I was being conned but didn't say anything as too embarrassed after all it wasn't a lot of money in fact I thought perhaps they sold 2 dollar bills as gimmick gifts and he was flogging one off on me! I thought I would check online if it it real and maybe worth something and came across your post. I really enjoyed reading and wish I could plAy the 2 dollar bill game too! I must check uk currency when I get back, doubt I will come across anything remotely interesting there though!
Posted by: Beejmira on Apr 19, 11 | 11:19 pm
...have you ever seen "A Dinner for Shmucks"? good movie...
Posted by: dude on May 03, 11 | 1:31 am
CHECK OUT THE NEW "BRING BACK THE 2" BLOG...PLEASE POST YOUR STORIES AND PHOTOS THERE!
the $2 dollar bill is a conspiracy to keep more gold in the federal reserve. It is clear from this article stupid people out there actually forget its worth money and wont dare to spend it. If these bills remain out of circulation than the government is only amassing more actual gold, what the dollar is based on, people. wake up . helllooo
Posted by: duh on Jun 21, 11 | 3:54 am
Dear duh,
Yes, that is part of the point of why the government made the state quarters. If people keep the quarters, then each person is essentially paying the government. It's like someone is paying the government twenty-five cents to keep that quarter. It's kinda like one big huge eBay sale where people can pay the government twenty-five cents for a piece of metal.
And what's wrong with that? If it helps our government, it ultimately helps us.
Posted by:
spudart on Jun 21, 11 | 10:06 am
When I used to run a dessert shop, I would give out $2 in change as well. Our local bank didn't always keep enough in stock to meet our needs, but the teller offered to order them for me. Being a business probably helps.
I'll tell you that the $2 bills in change made our customers very happy, and people would even come back to our place because they remembered us for that. Unfortunately, it is operationally more difficult and our register was more often out-of-balance when we did the $2 thing, but it was worth it to see so many smiles on people's faces from such a simple thing.
Posted by: Valeries on Aug 18, 11 | 12:31 pm
I was given the first of my several $2 bills by my father-in-law. He really believed that these are "lucky" bills. I don't know how and when but I also started believing in this "luck" superstition. Anyway, once we were at a restaurant and it broke my heart to part away with a couple of these bills.
Nevertheless, reading this article has re-kindled my love for these bills. Will go to the bank and ask if they have a few, which I can withdraw. Thanks for the lovely article!
Posted by: Omar Sadiq on Sep 15, 11 | 6:01 pm
