It is the least circulated of most of all the US currencies and some people even wonder whether it’s real. 2 Dollar Bill
But the United States two dollar bill is not only real and costs less to produce than a dollar bill, but it’s got a fascinating history dating to when it first saw life in 1862.
That was when the $2 bill was issued as a legal tender note and a profile portrait of Alexander Hamilton, the first treasurer of the United States was on the bill. That only lasted for seven years until the US Note was redesigned in 1869 and Thomas Jefferson replaced Hamilton.
Sure, it’s had its ups and downs since then, But the bill was in circulation for just over 100 years before the Treasury Department discontinued its production of the United States note and did not for some reason designate and issue it as a Federal Reserve note, like it did with the $5 bill.
So the bill that bears the image on Thomas Jefferson, third President of the United States on the front, and an engraving of John Trumbull’s Declaration of Independence on the reverse honoring Mr. Jefferson’s writing of the manuscript whose 250th anniversary we celebrate next year, while still printed and in circulation, isn’t very popular any more.
It was an act of Congress in 1862 that created the bill and at the time it was really a large-sized note. But in 1928, currency was redesigned and reduced to the size we know now. But the $2 bill remained a US Note rather than a federal reserve note. It remained that way until 1966 when US Notes were phased out and the $2 denomination was discontinued.
It was revived in 1976 and once again issued, this time as a Federal Reserve Note. The Treasury Secretary reissued the $2 note and made them available at banks on April 13, Jefferson’s birthday. They had some more minor changes and issued as a federal reserve note, still with Jefferson on the front, but the Trumbull painting of the Declaration signing replacing Monticello.
The $2 bill for whatever reason circulated less than ones or fives, so the Treasury printed fewer. That led to the legend that the bills would be collector’s items and worth more, so hoarders kept them, reducing their circulation even more. Because they were so rarely seen, merchants often questioned them, thinking they may not be real, so they sunk deeper into obscurity.
Had the bills been more popular, it would have saved the Treasury some money. It costs a little over six cents to print a $2 bill, the same amount that it costs to print a $1 bill, but since it’s worth twice the amount, printing it comes out less expensive.
The history of this bill remains a bit quirky. During the Depression, many people didn’t have much money, so $2 bills were not as popular as ones. Then they became popular in later years for placing those two-dollar bets at racetracks, or tips at strip clubs. There are legends that circulated saying a $2 bill to politicians was a comfortable bribe during the Depression.
Because military members were frequently paid with $2 bills, during and after World War II they began showing up in plenty at USO clubs, post exchanges canteens and commissaries; tourism and convention bureaus, recognizing the bills were not in profuse circulation, encouraged their tourists and attendees to use them, to show the impact the tourists or convention-goers had on the local economy. There were campaigns to encourage people to participate in a hunt for the bills to win prizes and bring more attention to them.
The bill, in spite of its limited usage, also underwent several minor changes over the years, in some numbers, a few words, some colors of ink and creating the treasury seal small and moving it to the other side of the bill. Among the changes made in 1963 was adding IN GOD WE TRUST to the reverse side of the bill visible over Monticello.
Since 1995, all $2 notes have been produced at the Western Currency Facility in Fort Worth, Texas. In 2004, some of the 2003 bills were printed for the Federal Reserve District of Minneapolis.
In 2013, Series 2013 $2 notes were printed for the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta and began circulation the following year. Series 2017A $2 notes were first issued to banks in December 2019 and are still among the ones in active use today.
