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Welcome to Reddit, the front page of the internet. Become a Redditor and join one of thousands of communities. x 154 155 156 Why did the US $2 bill fail to become commonplace, while $2 coins in Canada and elsewhere are fairly common? Why did the US $2 bill fail to become commonplace, while $2 coins in Canada and elsewhere are fairly common? (self.AskHistorians) submitted 13 hours ago * by Old_Army90 My friend and I, both in the states, were chatting about how he had a jar full of toonies he came across just by living near the Canadian border. In comparison, the last time either of us had even seen a US $2 bill in person was well over a decade ago. It made me wonder what could have caused such a difference in availability. If this is a better question for /r/askeconomics, please let me know. I wasn't sure if the answer would have to do with political/cultural reasons or monetary, so I took a chance and asked here first. * 39 comments * share * save * hide * report all 39 comments sorted by: best topnewcontroversialoldrandomq&alive (beta) [ ] Want to add to the discussion? Post a comment! Create an account 1 [-]AutoModerator[M] [score hidden] 13 hours ago stickied comment locked comment (0 children) Welcome to /r/AskHistorians. Please Read Our Rules before you comment in this community. Understand that rule breaking comments get removed . Please consider Clicking Here for RemindMeBot as it takes time for an answer to be written. Additionally, for weekly content summaries, Click Here to Subscribe to our Weekly Roundup. We thank you for your interest in this question, and your patience in waiting for an in-depth and comprehensive answer to show up. In addition to RemindMeBot, consider using our Browser Extension, or getting the Weekly Roundup. In the meantime our Twitter, Facebook, and Sunday Digest feature excellent content that has already been written! I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns. * permalink * embed * save * report [-]itsallfolkloreMod Emeritus | American West | European Folklore 121 0Answer Link120 points121 points122 points 10 hours ago (33 children) Many regard the $2 bill as bad luck. This bit of folklore (it is, after all, all folklore!) has been shared in Canada, where the widespread North American concern seems to have been addressed in Canada by the toonie - a coin as opposed to a bill. The US $2 bill dates to 1862 and has appeared in various forms since then. As is often the case with folklore, no one is exactly sure why there is a concern about the $2 bill. As is often the case with folklore belief where the origin is not understood, a folk explanation arrives to fill the void. In this case, the "folk" described various explanation as to why it was originally bad luck to carry a $2 bill: it was the price of a cheap sex worker (if you have a bill you must be seeking a sex worker); it was the price used to bribe people during an election (if you have a $2 bill, you must have sold your vote); it was a typical amount for betting on the horses (if you have a $2 bill, you must be gambler); the US Navy paid its sailors with $2 bills, and they were trouble in port towns, therefore the $2 bill became associated with the misconduct of young sailors; the $2 bill is bad luck because it is difficult to spend since not all vendors will accept it (this may be more fact than folklore!). None of the explanations (except perhaps the last) appear to have any grounding in fact, but that has never inhibited folklore from arriving on the scene (much like me!). That said, I could not find an indication as to when this folklore began to coalesce - but that is often the case with folk traditions. The folk also arrived at a solution: if one had the misfortune of receiving a $2 bill (many refused them), the bad luck associated with the bill could be handled by tearing off a corner. Each subsequent recipient would tear off another corner to dispose of the bad luck, but woe to the person who receive a bill with all four corners removed! Growing up in the mid twentieth century, I frequently came across $2 bills with one or more corner torn off, and I began collecting bills that were intact, believing them to be of more value. In the 1960s, I found complete bills to be scarce! Because of the mutilation, damaged bills were frequently taken out of circulation. In August 1966, the US Department of the Treasury discontinued the printing of the $2 bill, making them even more scarce. At the time, I heard that it was discontinued because of the constant mutilation - was this folklore? I don't know. Certainly, the situation left the US Department of the Treasury with the question about whether it was worth printing the bills, and historically, there have been fewer of them produced than $1 and $5 bills. The $2 bill was reintroduced with a new design in 1976 to coincide with the bicentennial celebration. I have heard less concern about the $2 bill in recent decades than I heard in the 1950s and 1960s. * permalink * embed * save * report * reply [-]Darmok47 42 points43 points44 points 9 hours ago (3 children) The $2 bill was reintroduced with a new design in 1976 to coincide with the bicentennial celebration. I've also heard that people assumed the $2 released on the bicenntinial was some sort of one-time commemorative event, and started hoarding them as collector's items. That trend has persisted. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * reply [-]itsallfolkloreMod Emeritus | American West | European Folklore 24 points25 points26 points 8 hours ago* (2 children) I remember hearing in 1976 that the production would be limited, and I saved several of the bills - which were cool because of the image on the back with the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The $2 bill is not produced in same quantities as other bills, so I imagine they can easily become the subject of hoarding. Of course, that can serve as a form of tax: sell people a peace of paper for $2, and then they keep it and lock it away: such a practice amounts to simply giving the government $2 (minus the minimal cost of producing the paper document) - which is little more than a tax. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * reply [-]Live_Brain_2816 18 points19 points20 points 7 hours ago (1 child) Bro just discovered seigniorage https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seigniorage * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * reply [-]itsallfolkloreMod Emeritus | American West | European Folklore 11 points12 points13 points 7 hours ago (0 children) I did not know this term - but not surprising (that there is a term for it AND that I should not know something!). Thanks. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * reply [-]-Vault-tec-101 7 points8 points9 points 5 hours ago (1 child) It's interesting that you mention the sex work thing. My grandfather from Alberta, Canada would always refer to a $2 bill as a 'hooker bill'. Even growing up my mother would never carry $2bills in her purse, if she received them as change she would put them aside once she got home and tell my dad to take them to the bank when there was a bunch. I actually had no clue this wasn't just a local thing. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * reply [-]itsallfolkloreMod Emeritus | American West | European Folklore 0 points1 point2 points 5 hours ago (0 children) As indicated elsewhere - thanks for this. Fascinating. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * reply [-]RiskAssessor 20 points21 points22 points 9 hours ago (11 children) Canada had $2 bills before it was converted to a coin. Same thing happened to the $1 bill. As the currency devalued, they were converted to coins. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * reply [-]itsallfolkloreMod Emeritus | American West | European Folklore 4 points5 points6 points 9 hours ago (10 children) If I wasn't clear, I was attempting to assert that the Canadian $2 bill was also viewed with suspicion before converting to the coin. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * reply [-]crymeariver2p2 22 points23 points24 points 7 hours ago (9 children) Do you have any citations for this? I don't recall any issues with the $2 bill in Canada and the only reason the Loonie (1987) and Twonie (1996) were widely accepted is nobody had any choice as the bills were withdrawn from circulation. IMO this is the same reason $1 coins have all failed in the US. Given a choice, virtually everyone except vending machines prefer bills to coins. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * reply [-]itsallfolkloreMod Emeritus | American West | European Folklore 5 points6 points7 points 7 hours ago (7 children) The Snopes site asserts that the superstition was active in Alberta in the 1970s. That's all I have. Not much - sorry! I think you're right about bills v. coins. Ironically, 150 years ago, people generally demanded the coins over paper, but then, the coins were made of gold or silver! * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * reply [-]crymeariver2p2 12 points13 points14 points 7 hours ago (1 child) All, well, Alberta and in the 70s no less.. :) * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * reply [-]itsallfolkloreMod Emeritus | American West | European Folklore 2 points3 points4 points 7 hours ago (0 children) Everything is understandable - with the proper context! * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * reply [-]-Vault-tec-101 5 points6 points7 points 5 hours ago (4 children) My family is from Alberta, my grandfather would always refer to $2 bills as 'hooker bills' and my mother would refuse to carry them. When asked why when I was younger the response was 'that's what you pay a prostitute'. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * reply [-]itsallfolkloreMod Emeritus | American West | European Folklore 5 points6 points7 points 5 hours ago (3 children) Fascinating. Thanks for this. You collected folklore! You may be endanger of becoming a folklorist. Tread carefully!!! * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * reply [-]-Vault-tec-101 2 points3 points4 points 5 hours ago (2 children) I've always loved listening to a good (or bad) story. And folklore has always been an interest of mine, in high school I got involved in 'the memory project' , we got to sit down with veterans and allow them to talk to us and tell us their stories and experiences so they could become comfortable enough to enter schools and talk to groups of kids about it. The stories these men had were amazing and tragic and horrible all rolled into one. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * reply [-]itsallfolkloreMod Emeritus | American West | European Folklore 2 points3 points4 points 3 hours ago (1 child) Nice! There is an important caution here: a story - good or bad - does not need to be false to be folklore. A story that has become traditional - repeated by only the storyteller or by other people - can be regarded as folklore even if it is (largely) true. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * reply [-]-Vault-tec-101 0 points1 point2 points 3 hours ago (0 children) Oh by bad I meant the more morally dark stuff like how my older relatives (white, conservative, religious) viewed events like the 60s scoop. Not bad as in false, more bad as in opinions quietly talked around the table. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * reply [-]JMAC426 3 points4 points5 points 5 hours ago (0 children) *Toonie And yes I have fond memories of the 2$ bill and the robins on it, and have one tucked away somewhere. Makes me think of childhood trips to the corner store. They were very common and commonly used. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * reply [-]AllowFreeSpeech 5 points6 points7 points 4 hours ago* (0 children) It would be nonsense to say that it's bad luck as of today. At least since the turn of the millennium, almost everyone who encounters it regards it as as a valuable and as a good luck charm. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * reply [-]millerlit 2 points3 points4 points 5 hours ago (1 child) Could it also have had to do with existing point of sale equipment. Cash registers are only so wide and the denominations of 1,5,10, and 20 already take up those slots. It would have been expensive to replace all those cash registers. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * reply [-]skorps 0 points1 point2 points 4 hours ago (0 children) Exactly. If they were common there would have been a slot designed in. They weren't common so there is no where to easily put them in a register and now no one stocks them making them even more rare. And no large business is going to switch out registers. Especially so when cash transactions as a whole are not encouraged and change is kept low. Credit/debit payments, electronic pay methods and self check out all encourage less cash use * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * reply [-]ChaserGrey 1 point2 points3 points 4 hours ago (1 child) There's some truth behind another one of those reasons, but only some. Multiple Navy veterans have attested that when the police in a port town started harassing sailors on leave, the base CO would order the pay office to hand out $2 bills for the next couple of paydays. The idea was that whenever a merchant got a $2 bill they'd know it entered the local economy by a sailor spending it, and subtly underline the base's economic importance to the area. Of course, for that to work $2 bills would already have to be rare in circulation, so it can't be the original reason for the rarity. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * reply [-]pokey_hedgehog 4 points5 points6 points 3 hours ago (0 children) There's actually a similar phenomenon with fans of Clemson University sports. Their football rivalry with Georgia Tech was cancelled, with 1977 being the last planned game. Clemson boosters decided to bring $2 bills to Atlanta to show vendors how much money they were spending. Nowadays they'll still bring those bills for tipping when going on road trips, and even stamp their tiger paw logo on them. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * reply [-]RenaissanceSnowblizz 2 points3 points4 points 8 hours ago (5 children) So 2 dollar bills are real. That actually explains a joke in the "Lucky Luke" album "The Dalton's Loot" that always puzzled me. Where part of the plot revolves around a problem of fake 3 dollar bills circulating amongst the cast. As a child it always confused me why anyone could think a 3 dollar bill was real it was so obviously off the normal values used in most currencies (1 5 10 20 50 100). But if 2 dollar bills are real then of course 3 dollar bills could be as well. As long as they aren't signed by US Treasurer Fenimore Buttercup and tagged with "The Law Rewards the Counterfeiter" on them at any rate. Didn't expect to learn this today, but am happy to. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * reply [-]itsallfolkloreMod Emeritus | American West | European Folklore 3 points4 points5 points 8 hours ago (0 children) So 2 dollar bills are real So says the folklorist! Approach all "facts" with skepticism and source criticism! * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * reply [-]ElCaz 2 points3 points4 points 7 hours ago (0 children) Could this exact phenomenon could also possibly have contributed to the decline in production of $2 bills? If the circulation of the bill drops off, more and more people encountering them might doubt their legitimacy. That reduces the actual utility of the bill, possibly further discouraging the treasury from printing more. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * reply [-]DakeyrasWrites 2 points3 points4 points 6 hours ago (1 child) As a child it always confused me why anyone could think a 3 dollar bill was real it was so obviously off the normal values used in most currencies (1 5 10 20 50 100). Usually the pattern is much simpler, where you just have multiples of 1, 2 and 5 and then go up an order of magnitude (e.g. for the UK, 1p 2p 5p 10p 20p 50p PS1 PS2 PS5 PS10 PS20 PS50, and the Euro has the same pattern). The US stands out in this regard with a lack of a 2 cent coin, and it also doesn't have a 20 cent coin, instead opting for a quarter. It's a lot less regular than some other modern currencies in that regard. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * reply [-]MooseFlyer 2 points3 points4 points 5 hours ago (0 children) I wouldn't say the US stands out that much. 25-cent coins are reasonably common, existing in 37 currencies: American dollar, Eastern Caribbean dollar, Barbadian dollar, Belize dollar, Bermudian dollar, Canadian dollar, Cayman Islands dollar, Liberian dollar, Bahamian dollar, Trinidad and Tobago dollar, Surinamese dollar, Aruban florin, Bahraini dinar, Bhutanese ngultrum, Botswana pula, Brazilian real, Netherlands Antillean guilder, Egyptian pound, Eritrean nakfa, Ethiopian Birr, Gambian dalasi, Guatemalan Quetzal, Maldivian rufiyaa, Moldavian leu, Nepalese rupee, Nicaraguan cordoba, Turkish lira, Omani rial, Philippine peso, Qatari riyal, Saudi Riyal, Seychelles Rupee, Sierra Leonean leone, Tajikistani somoni, Thai baht, Transnistria ruble, UAE dirham, And you have the following 8 currencies that have coins worth 25 of the unit instead of the subunit: West African CFA franc, Central African CFA franc, Comoros franc, Costa Rican colon, Domincan peso, Guinean franc, Iraqi dinar, Syrian pound, Plus Lebanon which has a 250 pound coin. Zimbabwe also has quarter dollar "bond" coins pegged to the American dollar. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * reply [-]GotGRR 1 point2 points3 points 6 hours ago (0 children) I had to pay an exit fee to leave (I believe) India one time. They required cash, and it took some other tourists to convince them that my $2 bills were real. It was all I had left. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * reply [-]pihkal 2 points3 points4 points 7 hours ago (3 children) The $2 bill was brought back in 1976, and is still printed in limited quantities. See https://www.bep.gov/currency/production-figures/ annual-production-reports It's quite prominently used at the gift shop at Monticello, because the bill has Jefferson on the front and (since 1976) Monticello on the back. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * reply [-]itsallfolkloreMod Emeritus | American West | European Folklore 3 points4 points5 points 7 hours ago (2 children) Great insight about this - not surprised to learn it is used at Monticello, but in 1976, Treasury used the painting of the Declaration of Independence. Has Treasury reverted back to the Monticello back? I can't find information on that. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * reply [-]notcaffeinefree 2 points3 points4 points 5 hours ago (1 child) No, Monticello is only the pre-1976 bills. The most recent $2 series still has the Signing of the Declaration on the reverse. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * reply [-]itsallfolkloreMod Emeritus | American West | European Folklore 0 points1 point2 points 3 hours ago (0 children) Thanks. That's what I found, but I thought I might be wrong. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * reply [-][deleted] 3 hours agolocked comment (1 child) [removed] [-]Georgy_K_ZhukovModerator | Post-Napoleonic Warfare & Small Arms | Dueling[M] 0 points1 point2 points 2 hours agolocked comment (0 children) This reply has been removed as it is inappropriate for the subreddit. While we can enjoy a joke here, and humor is welcome to be incorporated into an otherwise serious and legitimate answer, we do not allow comments which consist solely of a joke. You are welcome to share your more lighthearted historical comments in the Friday Free-for-All. 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