Can I request Two Dollar Bills? [Archive]

clayj

Dec 16, 2006, 07:08 PM

Does America have $2 bills?

Thought it went from 1,5,10,20,50 - 100.

:confused:Yes, we have $2 bills. They have Thomas Jefferson on the face side, and an engraving of the signing of the Declaration of Independence on the back. Despite what some people think, they are still being printed to this day. Most people don't mess with them... they usually find their way back to the bank, and they end up sitting on them until someone specifically asks for them.

Aside from the obvious difference in value, $2 bills are much cooler than those dumb $1 gold Sacajawea coins. Between those and Susan B. Anthony dollars, they're among the worst coins ever designed.

WildCowboy

Dec 16, 2006, 07:08 PM

Well, I said it first. That makes you the stalker. :p

Exactly...they pay me (in two-dollar bills) to stalk you and drive you nuts.

Does America have $2 bills?

Thought it went from 1,5,10,20,50 - 100.

:confused:

Yes, there are two-dollar bills in the US, but they are rarely used in general circulation. Very few are printed, and most people just hang onto them as novelty items or good-luck charms instead of spending them.

There are numerous cases of cops being called by sales clerks who think that someone trying to tender $2 bills is a counterfeiter. You'll usually get strange looks (at a minimum) when you try to spend one. The In-N-Out Burger near my house occasionally gives them in change at the drive-through. I spend them there the next time I go through.

Fuzzy14

Dec 16, 2006, 07:10 PM

Does America have $2 bills?

I had the same thought. Surely they haven't just introduced them? 2 dollars roughly equals 1 pound. Most of the UK stopped using pound notes about 20 years ago (replaced by coins.) Only us Scots and perhaps NI still use pound notes, but they are becoming pretty rare as everybody prefers coins. Last longer too, and you can use them in vending machines.

WildCowboy

Dec 16, 2006, 07:13 PM

I had the same thought. Surely they haven't just introduced them?

Read up on it here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_two-dollar_bill). It was used from 1862-1966, when it was discontinued due to lack of popularity. It was reintroduced in a big printing in 1976 to celebrate the US bicentennial, and has been produced in limited quantities since then.

dpaanlka

Dec 16, 2006, 07:14 PM

Does America have $2 bills?

Thought it went from 1,5,10,20,50 - 100.

:confused:

I had the same thought. Surely they haven't just introduced them?

American $2 bills have been in constant production since the 1920s. You see them every now and then... I think I have one in my wallet. I want a whole bunch though, that would be fun to shop with.

64235

clayj

Dec 16, 2006, 07:15 PM

I had the same thought. Surely they haven't just introduced them? 2 dollars roughly equals 1 pound. Most of the UK stopped using pound notes about 20 years ago (replaced by coins.) Only us Scots and perhaps NI still use pound notes, but they are becoming pretty rare as everybody prefers coins. Last longer too, and you can use them in vending machines.We've had two attempts in the past 30 years or so at replacing (or supplementing) dollar bills with dollar coins.

The first attempt was the Susan B. Anthony dollar coin, named for the founder of the American suffrage movement. The problem with the SBA was that it was EXACTLY the same size as the quarter (25¢) coin, and a lot of folks accidentally ended up putting them into vending machines. They felt just like quarters in your pocket, too. After a few years, they stopped minting them and now you never see them anymore.

The second attempt was the Sacajawea dollar coin, named for the Indian guide who went with Lewis and Clark to the Pacific Ocean. The Sacajawea coin is gold in color, but (again) it's practically the same size as the quarter, so people shun them. Sadly, if you use a postage vending machine at the Post Office, you get your change back in Sacajaweas. I haven't seen one in probably a year.

The English 50p coin is brilliant, if you ask me. You know when you've got one in your hand.

thedude110

Dec 16, 2006, 07:24 PM

Sadly, if you use a postage vending machine at the Post Office, you get your change back in Sacajaweas.

I have several Sacajaweas in my dining room (with my other coin jars). Likely going to Coinstar them into iTunes credit, as it isn't worth the hassle to use them.

Fuzzy14

Dec 16, 2006, 07:25 PM

Try going shopping in England with Scottish money, always makes me laugh how they check it 5 times before grudgingly accepting it. Made to feel a foreigner in almost your own country....

I checked wikipedia and read up on the notes. I believe you, they exist! I just hadn't come across any when I've been over there.

Why would somebody buy a sheet of notes? Do you have to cut them yourselves with scissors or is this strictly for collectors?

WildCowboy

Dec 16, 2006, 07:27 PM

Why would somebody buy a sheet of notes? Do you have to cut them yourselves with scissors or is this strictly for collectors?

It's for collectors...I remember my dad buying a quarter-sheet (I think) of $2 bills when we visited the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in the late '80s. He's not really a money collector, but it's kind of a neat novelty thing to have around. You wouldn't just cut them up and spend them because the sheet costs more than the total face value of the bills.

adk

Dec 16, 2006, 07:29 PM

We've had two attempts in the past 30 years or so at replacing (or supplementing) dollar bills with dollar coins.

And they're trying again soon too. The "new new" dollar coin is going to be similar to the sacagawea but will have images of old presidents on them. Nixon gets his coin in 2018.

source (http://money.cnn.com/2006/11/20/news/dollar_coin.reut/index.htm?cnn=yes)

WildCowboy

Dec 16, 2006, 07:31 PM

And they're trying again soon too. The "new new" dollar coin is going to be similar to the sacagawea but will have images of old presidents on them. Nixon gets his coin in 2018.

I think this effort's not really aimed at replacing the dollar bill. After the revenue-raising success of the state quarters as people hoarded those coins, they thought they'd try a repeat performance with coins worth four times as much. Any money that stays out of circulation is profit for the BEP. (Except for the pennies and nickels, which cost more to make than their face value, so they want those to be circulated.)

lord patton

Dec 16, 2006, 07:35 PM

I love the $2 bill. Jefferson and the Declaration of Independence... the good old day. :)

Anyway, I think the dollar coin continues to fail in the U.S. because it needs to be complemented by a _two_ dollar coin.

If you buy a pack of gum with a fiver, do you really want four heavy ass thick dollar coins in change? I don't. But I'd take two $2 coins in a heartbeat.

don't most other countries with a ~dollar unit coin also have a 2-unit coin? I think the euro does, and I don't think dollar coins can work without them.

Fuzzy14

Dec 16, 2006, 07:37 PM

The English 50p coin is brilliant, if you ask me. You know when you've got one in your hand.

Yep, the BRITISH 50p coin is a heptagon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heptagon) so you can't confuse it with anything, apart from the 20p which is also a heptagon! (albeit a lot smaller.)

As it happens, I was watching CSI Vegas tonight and I swear I saw a one-arm bandit (slot machine?) paying out 2p coins. They were copper colour and it looked like the Prince of Wales emblem on them.

WildCowboy

Dec 16, 2006, 07:40 PM

don't most other countries with a ~dollar unit coin also have a 2-unit coin? I think the euro does, and I don't think dollar coins can work without them.

Yes, they do, but the two-unit coin was often issued 10-15 years after the one-unit coin entered circulation. The Euro obviously doesn't hold to this pattern because the entire currency is so new.

CorvusCamenarum

Dec 16, 2006, 07:53 PM

clayj

Dec 16, 2006, 07:56 PM

IIRC, the last printing of the $2 was in 1995/6 or thereabouts. Check the series date. Personally, I love them, and the $1 and 50¢ coins as well. I always make it a point to get some whenever I go to the bank. Great for tipping and the like.Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_two-dollar_bill) says a new series was printed in 2003.

WildCowboy

Dec 16, 2006, 07:56 PM

IIRC, the last printing of the $2 was in 1995/6 or thereabouts. Check the series date. Personally, I love them, and the $1 and 50¢ coins as well. I always make it a point to get some whenever I go to the bank. Great for tipping and the like.

$2 bills are routinely printed. The newest issue (from Series 2003A) was printed earlier this year (July through September) and they are just now starting to appear in circulation.

Linkety (http://www.uspapermoney.info/serials/f2003ab.html)

devilot

Dec 16, 2006, 08:00 PM

These are great for the lucky red envelopes that some people pass out for Chinese (and or other variant of the Lunar) New Year. I've gotten quite a few of them over the year and they sure beat the single one dollar bills. :p

hana

Dec 16, 2006, 08:03 PM

We've had two attempts in the past 30 years or so at replacing (or supplementing) dollar bills with dollar coins.
.

And in 2007, the US is going to try the dollar coin again...this time seeing if they will be better used if you have presidents on them.
http://www.usmint.gov/mint_programs/$1coin/

Looks like they are the same size as the Sacageweas.

Maybe they'd look snazzy in a candy and coin lei....

http://eastcoasttropics.com/candylei2.html

pseudobrit

Dec 16, 2006, 08:06 PM

Anyway, I think the dollar coin continues to fail in the U.S. because it needs to be complemented by a _two_ dollar coin.

It continues to fail because the $1 bill is still available. Canada destroyed theirs and the people have gotten used to the loonie.

redAPPLE

Dec 16, 2006, 08:11 PM

2 dollar bills are great are strip clubs, the girls think u are giving them a 20.

what the...?

dejo

Dec 16, 2006, 08:14 PM

Just a bit of trivia: The operators of Thomas Jefferson's Monticello in Virginia commonly give change using $2 bills!

clayj

Dec 16, 2006, 08:16 PM

Just a bit of trivia: The operators of Thomas Jefferson's Monticello in Virginia commonly give change using $2 bills!And Illinois is the one state in the US (that I know of) where the tollbooths accept pennies. The sole reason? Abraham Lincoln (whose profile is on the penny) lived in Illinois as an adult.

What we really should be talking about is getting rid of pennies once and for all. You can't even buy anything with them anymore.

pseudobrit

Dec 16, 2006, 08:18 PM

And Illinois is the one state in the US (that I know of) where the tollbooths accept pennies. The sole reason? Abraham Lincoln (whose profile is on the penny) lived in Illinois as an adult.

What we really should be talking about is getting rid of pennies once and for all. You can't even buy anything with them anymore.

Today I bought a smoothie with a $20 and evened out my return change with a few pennies.

dpaanlka

Dec 16, 2006, 08:25 PM

Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_two-dollar_bill) says a new series was printed in 2003.

I think that's just the issue, not the printing. They are still printed according to every googled source I see.

Willis

Dec 16, 2006, 08:25 PM

What we really should be talking about is getting rid of pennies once and for all. You can't even buy anything with them anymore.

this is true. 1p and 2p pieces here get tiring after a while. you always find your pocket full of copper.

the one bank note that is always in short supply in shops is £5 notes. They're so commonly used, stores dont have enough, so give when possible, give you £5 in change in £1 coins. It strikes me as odd that when the £2 coin came out, everyone was using them... now... you get them now and then. I for one collect them, because they release collecting coins in general circulation. At the moment its WWII and Brunnel. I have one with the celebration of DNA on it with a double Helix, XVIII Commonwealth games. A rugby one, cant remember whats on it...

lord patton

Dec 16, 2006, 08:42 PM

What we really should be talking about is getting rid of pennies once and for all. You can't even buy anything with them anymore.

Oh God that is so spot on. Pennies suck.

iMetroid

Dec 16, 2006, 10:28 PM

Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_two-dollar_bill) says a new series was printed in 2003.

That link seems to have suffered from Wiki vandalism. Someone should report it.

WildCowboy

Dec 16, 2006, 10:53 PM

Just a bit of trivia: The operators of Thomas Jefferson's Monticello in Virginia commonly give change using $2 bills!

Yep, got my change has $2 bills last time I was there.

That link seems to have suffered from Wiki vandalism. Someone should report it.

I don't see any vandalism. :confused: If there is, there's no need to report it to anyone (unless the vandal is on a rampage and needs to be blocked)...just revert it to a clean version.

TheAnswer

Dec 16, 2006, 10:54 PM

I haven't been recently, but I think Disneyland also gives them out as change.

The thing I really dislike about the dollar coins is the hypocrisy. If some vending machine is going to give me $18 in dollar coins, I should be able to use those coins in that vending machine. Sadly, this is not the case.

hana

Dec 16, 2006, 11:35 PM

And I'm sure that people like carrying those coins around in the pockets or in their bag. All that weight for so little money.

Counterfit

Dec 17, 2006, 12:00 AM

Sadly, if you use a postage vending machine at the Post Office, you get your change back in Sacajaweas. I haven't seen one in probably a year.

You also get them as change from the new Charlie ticket machines in MBTA stations.

I don't get why people have so much trouble telling a quarter and a Sacajawea dollar apart, one has ridges on the edge, the other doesn't.
Penny, nickel, dollar = smooth, dime, quarter = ridges. :confused:

balamw

Dec 17, 2006, 12:05 AM

If some vending machine is going to give me $18 in dollar coins, I should be able to use those coins in that vending machine. Sadly, this is not the case.
I haven't run across any that dispense but don't take dollar coins. What a strange concept. I mostly get them at the post office or one of the drink machines at work that takes fives.

B

rockthecasbah

Dec 17, 2006, 12:23 AM

I would just like to confirm for you that you can go into a bank and ask for $2 bills. I did that when i was filming a movie that took place in 1926, you can just ask and they'll give them to you no problem :)

EricNau

Dec 17, 2006, 12:36 AM

I just have to bring this up every time american currency is brought up...

Am I the only one that is totally annoyed that there are three current designs for our currency? The $1 and $2 bills share the same deisgn, as do the $5 and $100 bills, as do the $10, $20, and $50 bills.

Why can't we have a consistent design theme? Is that really asking too much!

:mad:

OK, I'm done. :D

WildCowboy

Dec 17, 2006, 12:45 AM

Am I the only one that is totally annoyed that there are three current designs for our currency? The $1 and $2 bills share the same deisgn, as do the $5 and $100 bills, as do the $10, $20, and $50 bills.

Because they're trying to stay one step ahead of the counterfeiters...that's the driving force behind the redesign of the $10, $20, and $50. Since it costs a good chunk of money to redesign a bill, they haven't updated the rarely-counterfeited smaller bills and the $100.

But if the recent court ruling in favor of the visually-impaired holds, you may just get your wish.

emmawu

Dec 17, 2006, 01:08 AM

They're great to use when betting on horse races. :cool:

PS You almost always win (or at least break even)

EricNau

Dec 17, 2006, 01:27 AM

Because they're trying to stay one step ahead of the counterfeiters...that's the driving force behind the redesign of the $10, $20, and $50. Since it costs a good chunk of money to redesign a bill, they haven't updated the rarely-counterfeited smaller bills and the $100.

But if the recent court ruling in favor of the visually-impaired holds, you may just get your wish.
I realize they want to stay ahead of the counterfeiters, but why not come out with a redesign of the entire set? Truly, I don't care how much it costs, because relatively, it's an extremely small amount.

It's very important for our money to at lease match itself (considering it isn't extremely attractive in the first place). Our money represents our country. For example, our currency is the first item tourists will see upon coming to the US. ...First impressions are important.

dejo

Dec 17, 2006, 01:42 AM

For example, our currency is the first item tourists will see upon coming to the US.
I thought it was an immigration official. ;) (Which often isn't a great first impression)...

yg17

Dec 17, 2006, 01:42 AM

http://kurtkoller.com/Random/tacobell.html

EricNau

Dec 17, 2006, 01:53 AM

I thought it was an immigration official. ;) (Which often isn't a great first impression)...
Well, I was assuming they were smart enough to exchange their money before they crossed the border. ;)

...but otherwise, you would be right.

dejo

Dec 17, 2006, 01:56 AM

Well, I was assuming they were smart enough to exchange their money before they crossed the border. ;)

...but otherwise, you would be right.
Then that would've been "our currency is the first item tourists will see prior to coming to the US." ;) The fact that the bills all have the same color scheme probably doesn't help either. Although the newest design are starting to show some differentiation. :)

EricNau

Dec 17, 2006, 01:58 AM

Then that would've been "our currency is the first item tourists will see prior to coming to the US." ;)
Not if they have it in their hand and stare at it while crossing the border. ;) :p ...OK, I give up. :D

The fact that the bills all have the same color scheme probably doesn't help either. Although the newest design are starting to show some differentiation. :)
Ya, I actually like the new designs, I just wish they'd hurry up and finish the rest of 'em.

OutThere

Dec 17, 2006, 02:16 AM

You also get them as change from the new Charlie ticket machines in MBTA stations.

They have automated ticket machines for new york's MTA stations...which give dollar coins as change.

I found this out the hard way...I'd always paid by credit card before, but had lots of cash. Paid for a $4 train ticket with a $50. :eek:

Applespider

Dec 17, 2006, 04:57 AM

It continues to fail because the $1 bill is still available. Canada destroyed theirs and the people have gotten used to the loonie.

In the UK, they ran the two in parallel for a while but announced there would be no more £1 notes printed - aside from Scotland where everyone got so used to £1 coins that only one bank of the three Scottish banks still produces £1 notes. Unlike the dollar coin/quarter similarity, our £1 coins are relatively small (so not as weighty) and quite thick so they can't be easily mistaken.

And I'm sure that people like carrying those coins around in the pockets or in their bag. All that weight for so little money.
It's not quite so bad as you think since I'd guess most people don't carry around lots of coinage - you tend to spend it again pretty quickly. It's rare that I have more than £10 in coins in my purse...most of the time it's under £5 and then larger denomination notes.

I like them because they don't get as bedraggled as paper money and feel cleaner. For that reason, they're a lot easier to put in vending machines etc that trying to persuade a slightly creased note that it wants to go in. They're also easier to drop into busker tip bottles and charity tins. However, it's harder to tip people with coins in hotels where you can't just palm a rolled up note to them...

MalcolmJID

Dec 17, 2006, 06:23 AM

this is true. 1p and 2p pieces here get tiring after a while. you always find your pocket full of copper.

the one bank note that is always in short supply in shops is £5 notes. They're so commonly used, stores dont have enough, so give when possible, give you £5 in change in £1 coins. It strikes me as odd that when the £2 coin came out, everyone was using them... now... you get them now and then. I for one collect them, because they release collecting coins in general circulation. At the moment its WWII and Brunnel. I have one with the celebration of DNA on it with a double Helix, XVIII Commonwealth games. A rugby one, cant remember whats on it...

I work in a shop, and £5 are hardly ever in.
It's annoying in the morning when the OAPs come in for a paper (Daily Express - 40p) and then pay with a £20 note. *ROAR!* 'Coz I never have any £5 notes, it's always a £10 note and then 9 £1 coins. Meaning I always run out. It's so annoying. They should supply shops with £5 notes.

jimN

Dec 17, 2006, 06:35 AM

Try going shopping in England with Scottish money, always makes me laugh how they check it 5 times before grudgingly accepting it. Made to feel a foreigner in almost your own country....

You are a foreigner in our country;)

But why is it that not content with having your own notes, you then let every bank mint it's own variety? That's why we don't trust those damn monopoly-esque things.

Applespider

Dec 17, 2006, 06:57 AM

But why is it that not content with having your own notes, you then let every bank mint it's own variety?

Because they're pretty :D In all honesty, I don't mind someone checking there's a watermark etc when I hand over a Scottish note. It's when they feel obliged to wander off to find a manager since they don't seem to believe the 'pounds sterling' stamped on it that tends to bug me.

MalcolmJID

Dec 17, 2006, 07:00 AM

MACDRIVE

Dec 17, 2006, 07:24 AM

That's my job. MR pays me well for it. ;)

You get payed by MR? :confused: :confused: :confused:

Fuzzy14

Dec 17, 2006, 05:49 PM

You are a foreigner in our country;)

But why is it that not content with having your own notes, you then let every bank mint it's own variety? That's why we don't trust those damn monopoly-esque things.

I was waiting for somebody to rise to that quote!
It's historical, in England every bank issued it's own note up until the first world war (see this link (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_banknotes)). Scotland just continued doing so.

It's only Monopoly money if you aren't used to it. I personally don't like Bank of England notes just because I am not familiar with them. But if somebody hands me one I don't create a big fuss about it.

Many shops now don't accept Scottish notes for this reason. (inc. my own :) )

Sadly they aren't legal tender so we can't force you to accept them, this is because they are 'promise' notes although they do state 'Sterling' on them. The only things which are legal tender are coins (issued by the Royal Mint) and confusingly, the Bank of England one pound note which you abolished. Hey if you don't want our money we will take it elsewhere.

Does your shop accept Euros? I know many big department stores (i.e. M&S) will take them although they don't advertise the fact.

NATO

Dec 17, 2006, 07:03 PM

I was waiting for somebody to rise to that quote!
It's historical, in England every bank issued it's own note up until the first world war (see this link (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_banknotes)). Scotland just continued doing so.

It's only Monopoly money if you aren't used to it. I personally don't like Bank of England notes just because I am not familiar with them. But if somebody hands me one I don't create a big fuss about it.

Sadly they aren't legal tender so we can't force you to accept them, this is because they are 'promise' notes although they do state 'Sterling' on them. The only things which are legal tender are coins (issued by the Royal Mint) and confusingly, the Bank of England one pound note which you abolished. Hey if you don't want our money we will take it elsewhere.

Does your shop accept Euros? I know many big department stores (i.e. M&S) will take them although they don't advertise the fact.

Northern Ireland takes the situation in Scotland to another level. In addition to Bank of England and the Scottish notes (I know Clydesdale Bank prints their own notes, I'm not sure of the others), we have notes printed by Northern Bank, Ulster Bank, First Trust Bank and the Bank of Ireland.

I'm told by a friend who works for one of the 'local' banks here (Ulster Bank, which is just a specially branded Natwest) that it's cheaper for businesses/shops to buy in local notes, as Bank of England notes require an extra fee to be paid to the Bank of England to be able to purchase from them.

All said, I think the situation is a bit crazy as tourists coming to Scotland and Northern Ireland will find an array of banknotes of all denominations which all look completely different. Why can't the UK standardise it's banknotes? I know when I travelled to Spain on Holiday, it was reassuring to know what 'Banco de España' notes looked like so I would know how to tell a fake. I don't know how anyone apart from the people who live here could tell the current banknotes are real or fake.

I find it particularly amusing how on a trip to London, it's easier to spend Euros (a foreign currency) than it is to spend Pounds Sterling printed by a Northern Irish or Scottish Bank...

combatcolin

Dec 18, 2006, 01:33 PM

Many shops now don't accept Scottish notes for this reason. (inc. my own :) )

Same in a lot of places.

SilentPanda

Dec 18, 2006, 02:12 PM

Fuzzy14

Dec 18, 2006, 04:49 PM

Why can't the UK standardise it's banknotes?

UK banknotes will be standardised in a couple of years after Brown takes over from Blair. They are going to do away with local printing and rename the currency "Euro".

Hummer

Dec 18, 2006, 04:54 PM

They have automated ticket machines for new york's MTA stations...which give dollar coins as change.

I found this out the hard way...I'd always paid by credit card before, but had lots of cash. Paid for a $4 train ticket with a $50. :eek:

How did that work out? They usually only give back a max of 6 dollars in change.

Applespider

Dec 18, 2006, 04:54 PM

Same in a lot of places.

It's not that common to refuse. You get the odd extra scrutiny of the notes but I can't recall the last time someone refused to take a Scottish note and I tend to end up with them several times a year in London.

In fact, there's only been one shop in the past 10 years I've been in London who has been remotely antsy about it who started talking rubbish about it and drawing over virtually the entire thing with her marker pen several times. She really acted as if I was a fraudster but her card system wasn't working and that was all I had on me. The shop is just down the road from me but I've never been back since - more because of her attitude than anything else.

Fuzzy14

Dec 18, 2006, 04:58 PM

there's only been one shop in the past 10 years I've been in London who has been remotely antsy about it

You're right, London seems to be different (probably because of all the Scots who live there!), I've never had any trouble there.

Tanglewood

Dec 18, 2006, 05:45 PM

I've found that most non-US coins have the number on them whereas US coins don't have a number written on them. Makes my trips outside the US easy but I would imagine it could be difficult for a foreigner in the US to make change. Although usually I just let the cashier over seas make the change for me because I still take too long!

Well at least with the new dollar coin that should be easier since they are replacing "one dollar" with "$1".

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/54/2003_Sacagawea_Rev.png/150px-http://usmint.gov/images/mint_programs/$1coin/lineartPresRev.jpg

I've never had trouble getting ahold of a two dollar note though I have had trouble getting the one dollar coin last year at a bank. I asked to get a roll of them and they had to check ever teller's drawer and they could only find about 6, not ever enough for a whole roll.

---

What I like about the coinage in UK compared to the US is that if you have a lot of change in your pocket you know its worth something; where as if you had a lot of change in your pocket here at most its worth $1.50 which won't buy you much. I also compare change in Euros to having change in the US except that they have the one and two Euro coin.

---

Oh and just wondering would anyone accept this in England:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bf/Falkland1.jpg

or any other notes from Britain's overseas territories?

Cassie

Dec 18, 2006, 05:58 PM

Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_two-dollar_bill) says a new series was printed in 2003.

Steve Wozniak is mentioned in the article.

"Steve Wozniak has been known to pay for services using a $2 note from a "pad" of money—he buys uncut sheets of bills from the Treasury and has them bound into booklets; they are fully legal tender despite their perforated edges. On one occasion, this got him into a spot of trouble at a casino in Las Vegas."

Macmaniac

Dec 18, 2006, 07:02 PM

Heh I collect $2 bills from time to time, I got some nice old ones from the 1930s. They had a different background, which I like compared to the 1976 version.

Ish

Dec 18, 2006, 07:35 PM

If I go to a bank and want to make a withdrawal, can I request it in two-dollar bills? Is this something a bank is supposed to keep in stock?

You paying a ransom or something? :)

WithTea

Dec 18, 2006, 09:24 PM

Wow - I didn't realize money was so unregulated in Britain - and I've been there! I was twelve, though, so that could have something to do with it. It must be an awful pain for cashiers when authenticating bills.

By the way, can the US please put some colour into their money? I understand it takes away from the significance of the "greenback", but it's so much faster when every bill is a different colour.

Bibulous

Dec 18, 2006, 09:46 PM

I think the major fault with the $1 coin is that it does not work with most vending machines, were as the paper dollar does.

jimN

Dec 19, 2006, 06:07 AM

Many shops now don't accept Scottish notes for this reason. (inc. my own :) )

I know that in Boots they can actually get pictures up of all the notes just so that they know what they should look like - I can fully understand someone being suspicious of a note that thye have never seen before, especially if they think that thye know what Scottish money looks like.

MongoTheGeek

Dec 19, 2006, 08:10 AM

By the way, can the US please put some colour into their money? I understand it takes away from the significance of the "greenback", but it's so much faster when every bill is a different colour.

Problem is that to use the different colors make it look like play money. I imagine the uniformity and blandness is one of the things that makes US money universally accepted.

Jesus

Dec 19, 2006, 08:34 AM

Yep, the BRITISH 50p coin is a heptagon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heptagon) so you can't confuse it with anything, apart from the 20p which is also a heptagon! (albeit a lot smaller.)

As it happens, I was watching CSI Vegas tonight and I swear I saw a one-arm bandit (slot machine?) paying out 2p coins. They were copper colour and it looked like the Prince of Wales emblem on them.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_dollar_coin

I first saw these when I went to vegas, never seen them anywhere else.:confused:

MalcolmJID

Dec 19, 2006, 10:41 AM

Problem is that to use the different colors make it look like play money. I imagine the uniformity and blandness is one of the things that makes US money universally accepted.

Not necessarily. English notes have colour in them, but just in the actual artwork/print. The colour of the notes is a dull white, but then £5 have a blue/green tint, £10 have a red/orange/brown tint, £20 have a purple tint, £50 have a red/black theme, and I don't know if any other notes exist! :D

Tanglewood

Dec 19, 2006, 10:55 AM

Well the US has color in at least three of their notes
$10
http://www.moneyfactory.gov/newmoney/images/main/home_10.jpg

$20
http://www.moneyfactory.gov/newmoney/images/main/home_20.jpg

$50
http://www.moneyfactory.gov/newmoney/images/main/home_50.jpg

Everything else ($1, $2, $5, $100) is still the green back. Right now the $100 is probably the most likely to be the next in line to get a splash of color. Though as mentioned earlier the US is currently printing three different designs.

Small portrait
http://www.moneyfactory.gov/uploads/one1.gif

Large portrait
http://www.moneyfactory.gov/uploads/new100.gif

and the new colored notes pictured above.

combatcolin

Dec 19, 2006, 06:17 PM

From the pics above there as good as monocrome!

:eek: ;)

The Euro is an easy note to deal with, nice big difference's between demoninations.

friarbayliff

Dec 19, 2006, 07:29 PM

Problem is that to use the different colors make it look like play money. I imagine the uniformity and blandness is one of the things that makes US money universally accepted.

I wouldn't go so far as to say it looks/feels like play money. I personally like the color schemes of certain foreign bills. The color coding scheme of euros makes it that much easier to open my wallet and pull out the right bill without even having to recognize the number or portrait on the bill.

04440

Dec 19, 2006, 07:33 PM

I like the colors too.. Even though I think they should be working to get rid of change.. Or at least keep quarters and 50 cents in circulation.. So much of Americas money is wasted thrown away... Just hidden change

friarbayliff

Dec 19, 2006, 07:39 PM

I think I once read that based on the average amount of change needed in any given purchase, the most statistically efficient coin for us to have would be a 17.5 cent piece.

adk

Dec 19, 2006, 07:44 PM

By the way, can the US please put some colour into their money? I understand it takes away from the significance of the "greenback", but it's so much faster when every bill is a different colour.

The bills do have their value clearly and largely printed in every corner on both sides, is color really that helpful?

I have to say though, Canada's idea of putting the braille on the bills is absolutely brilliant, and I think the US should implement this immediately.