Does the two dollar bill have something special about it besides being a two dollar bill?

Answer 1

Not unless they're older than 1953 and in new or almost new condition.

$2 bills are legal US currency. Anything dated 1976 or later is only worth $2 in circulated condition.

There are a lot of myths and legends about $2 bills being rare, or even "cursed". All of them are completely FALSE.

Answer 2

The two dollar bill is unique among U.S. currency because it is not as widely circulated as other denominations. Some people consider it to be rare or collectible, contributing to its perceived novelty. Additionally, the two dollar bill features a portrait of Thomas Jefferson, making it distinct from other bills in circulation.

Answer 3

The US $2 bill is the least used and most misunderstood denomination currently in circulation. Contrary to popular misconceptions, the US has not discontinued production of $2 bills and has no plans to do so. They only make up about 1% of all bills in circulation but that's still hundreds of millions of bills. That relative scarcity leads many people to assume that the bills are rare rather than simply uncommon, so they hoard any they receive which further reduces the number in circulation.

The $2 bill was introduced during the Civil War along with many other denominations of paper currency. They circulated regularly but received a bad reputation in the late 19th century when they were commonly used to pay the then-standard betting amount at racetracks as well as the, uh, "going rate" at brothels. In those Victorian years it was assumed that anyone who had a $2 bill was frequenting one or both of those disreputable venues. Some rather benighted individuals actually believed the bills themselves to be "cursed" by those associations. 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" (!!!!!)

Lack of use led the Treasury to discontinue printing of $2 bills with the 1963 series. It was revived in 1976 for the US Bicentennial, with a new reverse design and a slightly-changed front. Huge numbers were printed in anticipation that the $1 bill would be withdrawn and replaced with a $1 coin. Unfortunately the coin turned out to be the miserably-designed Susan B. Anthony dollar which was rejected by the public. Then Crane Paper, the company that makes the special paper for $1 bills, successfully lobbied Congress to protect their business by requiring continued production of paper notes. Those two actions managed to keep the $2 bill as a marginal denomination.

Despite the fact that $1 bills now make up almost half of the notes in circulation, beginning in the 1990s inflation and convenience led to an uptick in the demand for $2 bills. Since the 1995 series about 750 million new $2 bills have been printed.