07:50 - 15 September 2004
history of the 2 dollar bill
U.S. two dollar bill
The U.S. two dollar bill ($2) is a denomination of U.S. currency. The two dollar banknote is still one of the least-common denominations of U.S. currency. Because of its rarity, Americans remain remarkably superstitious about spending it, which further decreases its circulation. It is in fact so rare that cash registers and other money-handling machinery (such as vending machines) do not accommodate it at all. Many Americans have never held or spent one.
While being handed a two-dollar bill at a store (as change, for example) is certainly uncommon, it is not unheard of. The surest way to obtain a two-dollar bill, however, is to go to a bank and ask for one. Some people who are otherwise uninterested in currency nevertheless collect the bills.
Two dollar bills are delivered by Federal Reserve Banks in green straps.
The first two-dollar bill in the United States was released in 1776, under a Continental Congress call for "bills of credit for the defense of America". 49,000 were printed.
In 1928 the United States Department of the Treasury issued a two-dollar bill at the current size, with a portrait of Thomas Jefferson on the front. The 1963A series featured Jefferson on the front and Monticello on the back.
In 1976, the Treasury Department reintroduced the bill as a cost-saving measure. As part of the United States Bicentennial celebration, the note was redesigned. The front featured a new portrait of Jefferson, a version of an early 19th century portrait painted by Gilbert Stuart, and the picture of Monticello on the back was replaced with an engraved rendition of John Trumbull's painting "The Signing of the Declaration of Independence". 590,720,000 notes from the 1976 series were printed. The bills proved extremely unpopular and printing was quickly stopped.
In 1996, Series 1995 was printed. They bear the signatures of Robert Rubin and Mary Ellen Withrow. The newest bills are Series 2003, with the signatures of John W. Snow and Rosario Marin.
See what ya learn when ya read? שמח ר.ו.ש. האשאנאה ראש שנה שמח
