They’ve been printed for 250 years and are prized by collectors, but a veteran bank teller reveals the reason you really don’t want a $2 bill in your change.
The unusual bills – of which there are believed to be 1.5 billion in circulation in the United States – are a headache for bank staff and consumers alike.
“When you use them to pay anywhere, they’re just useless,” the cashier said. GO Banking Fees.
‘Novelty is nice at first, but it’s not so nice when the line behind you at Target grows longer.’
The current design, which features a portrait of Thomas Jefferson, dates to 1928.
“Because $2 bills are so rare, many places simply won’t accept them,” the teller said.
The first $2 bills rolled off the printing press in 1775 when the Continental Congress authorized their use “for the defense of American independence.”
But despite their longevity, many consumers and retailers simply don’t recognize them.
“Because $2 bills are so rare, many places simply don’t accept them,” cashier Rachael P. told the site. “Their systems aren’t set up for it and their employees might not know what to do with them. You could end up with bills that are hard to use.
“When people get a $2 bill, they tend to hold it like a four-leaf clover,” he added.
“They think it’s cool or it brings luck. That’s great, but it means those bills don’t actually circulate. They just gather dust in people’s souvenir collections.”
The current design of the notes, which feature a portrait of Thomas Jefferson, dates back to 1928, but banks are not well equipped to handle them, Rachael revealed.
“When someone orders them, we usually have to special order them, which is honestly a pain,” he explained.
‘Our cash registers are set up for the bills we use every day, you know, ones, fives, tens, twenties. We don’t have a specific place for two-dollar bills, so we have to put them where they fit.
‘This throws our system out of whack and makes it harder to balance everything at the end of the day.
“Do you know how many days my cash register has been two dollars late? More than I care to share!”
The country’s banks are seeing more $2 bills than they would like because businesses are desperate to get rid of them.
“If a company ends up with a bunch of $2 bills, they often just hand them right back to the bank,” Rachael said.
‘So we are left with this surplus of banknotes that nobody wants. It can be very difficult to get them back into circulation.
‘It may sound a little ridiculous, but when we count cash, we are in total zone.
‘We’re used to dealing with standard bills, but when you add $2 bills, it’s like hitting an obstacle that slows us down and disrupts our rhythm.
There are about 1.5 billion $2 bills in circulation in the United States.
‘Novelty is nice at first, but it’s not so nice when the line behind you at Target grows longer.’
‘Many of the newer ATMs have never even seen a $2 bill.
“When one shows up, they might think it’s fake or there’s a typo. I’ve had to get in line with someone else more than once to help clear things up. That just makes everything slower.”
And the ATMs won’t thank you if you ask them to get one from the vault.
“Seriously, you don’t want to be that person,” Rachael said.
‘Unless you’re a serious collector, these extravagant bills are best left in the bank.
Trust me, your local ATM will thank you.