When did the US stop printing 2 dollar bills?

Answer 1

Never. The U.S. two dollar bill is still in production. The latest run is in the 2013 series. Demand is low but has increased slightly in recent years. Unfortunately, they tend to be hoarded as a novelty because people thought they would be worth something one day. However, anything dated 1976 or later is now and will only be worth $2 for the foreseeable future.

The $2 bill is not commonly used for a number of rather foolish reasons. The denomination was very popular in the late 19th century among gamblers because $2 was the most common amount bet on horse races. As a result the denomination developed a reputation of being used only by low-lifes and criminals. In that puritanical age, other people refused to accept the bills because the considered them to be "contaminated" by their use in gambling. As a result they became uncommon in ordinary commerce.

Low use today is a kind of circular problem. Because 2s are seen infrequently people who do get them in change tend to hold them as "curiosities" instead of returning them to circulation. That makes them even less common so still more disappear into drawers and safe deposit boxes. In addition, their low circulation means that cash drawers don't have slots for 2s and many vending machines aren't programmed to read them, giving people still more reasons not to use them and again making their use even less frequent.

There have been many calls to eliminate the $1 bill in favor of the $1 coin and print many more $2 bills to help with change-making. Most other major countries long ago successfully replaced their $1 bills or equivalent currency with coins. However all attempts to do so in the U.S. have failed due to a combination of inbred tradition and lobbying by the company that makes paper for $1 bills; they are afraid they will lose profits if fewer bills need to be printed. Check out the two Related Links for more information: