Is there such a thing as a two dollar bill?

Answer 1

Most definitely. Two dollar bills have been in regular production since the 1860s, although in much smaller quantities than other denominations. Its original purpose was to pay military forces. At one point in the last century, a military town in Georgia was complaining about the forces stationed there. The base commander requested specifically the two dollar bill to pay his troops from the treasury. The payroll arrived, the troops were paid, and the bills appeared all over town. The towns people then realized just how much the troops shopped in their town...and the complaints disappeared.

The bill received a bad reputation in the late 19th century when it was commonly used to pay the then-standard betting amount at racetracks. It was assumed that anyone who had a $2 bill was frequenting the ponies, so in those Victorian era years it became a symbol of disrepute. Some rather benighted individuals actually believed the bills themselves to be "cursed". Into the 1950s there were parts of the U.S. where you could find twos with a corner torn off to "let the curse escape" (!!!!!)

The two dollar bill is legal tender and is in general circulation today. Its use has gradually been increasing due to inflation. There is speculation that if the new dollar coins become more widely used the $2 bill will become the primary low-denomination bill, but that very much remains to be seen.