Crisp $2 bills in red envelopes are a popular gift for Lunar New Year as a token of good luck. The rare nature of the bill has also made it an item collectors covet, but unless it was printed prior to the reintroduction in 1976, it's unlikely to be worth more than a couple bucks.
The $2 bill was often thought to be bad luck, as “deuce” was a name for the devil. Recipients would tear off one corner, believing it would negate the bad luck of the bill. This caused many of the bills to be taken out of circulation as mutilated currency.
But here's the thing, the $2 bill saved the government a bunch of money. “It's more cost-efficient to print twos instead of ones,” Bennardo says. “You can print half as many twos and get the same dollar amount.” Today, for example, it costs about 5 cents to make a dollar … and it costs the same amount to make a 2.
Even an uncirculated $2 bill won't be worth more than face value if it was printed after 1976. However, most $2 bills were created between 1862 and 1918, and these are highly collectible, fetching at least $50 in well-circulated condition.
Most Current $2 bills Are Not CollectibleEdit
Current $2 bills, which are Federal Reserve Notes, are not commonly encountered in circulation but are too common to hold additional value. All small-sized $2 United States Notes with a red seal and older large size notes are obsolete and are collectibles.
Is the 1976 $2 worth any money? A 1976 two dollar banknote is worth face value; if you sell your note, the most you'd get is $2 for a circulated bill in good condition. An uncirculated bill may be worth $5 to $10.
The $2 bill, first printed in 1862, is hard to find due to its lack of use. There have been several editions of the $2 bill, with the most recent version designed in 1963, according to the U.S. Treasury Department.
Not all two dollar bills are worth ten thousand times their original market price. Only 1986-series bill with an AUH-prefix on the seven digit serial number below the bill's pic is worth the whopping 20 grand.
We're going to dive into that but, spoiler alert: A $2 bill is legal tender, and therefore, you should be able to use it at any establishment that accepts cash. Now that we have that out of the way, let's learn more about that paper.
If you're in the US, you can get $2 bills at the bank. Depending on the size of the bank, the teller may need to go to the vault to get the bills for you, but if you ask for them then you shouldn't have your request refused. You may even get a brand new stack, if you swap a $100 bill (or other bills totaling $100).
It is easier than you may think to acquire these. Go to the largest bank in your area and simply ask the teller to exchange $100 for 50 crisp new $2 bills. If they don't have them on hand, then they should be able to order them for you.
Though a gold three-dollar coin was produced in the 1800s, no three-dollar bill has ever been produced. Various fake US$3 bills have also been released over time. These generally poke fun at politicians or celebrities such as Richard Nixon, Michael Jackson, George W.
1976 $2 Bill, Mismatched Serial Numbers
But a rare error during the production of one 1976 $2 bill saw it end up with two different serial numbers on its obverse. On the left of Jefferson's portrait, the note bore the number B59208497A. But the number to the right of Jefferson had one different digit.
Just as this $10,000 bill, produced in 1918, is rare, the likeness on the front might be unfamiliar. It shows Salmon P. Chase, who served as President Lincoln's Secretary of the Treasury from 1861 to 1864.
A major reason: The the $2 bill was considered bad luck. Superstitious people would rip off the corners of the bill to “reverse the curse,” making the bills unfit to use.
The United States five-dollar bill ($5) is a denomination of United States currency. The current $5 bill features a portrait of Abraham Lincoln, the 16th U.S. president (1861-1865), on the front and the Lincoln Memorial on the back. All $5 bills issued today are Federal Reserve Notes.
If you have a $2 bill with a red seal that was printed in 1890 and uncirculated, it is now worth $4,500. Other $2 bills with a red seal can fetch between $300 and $2,500, while ones with brown or blue seals can fetch hundreds of dollars. The $2 bill is not rare, but it is uncommon.
There are two uncirculated $2 bills that have a value that can exceed $4,500, according to U.S. Currency Auctions. Both are treasury notes from 1890. One has a brown seal, while the other has a red seal.
According to the USCA website, any $2 bill with a red seal printed between 1862 and and 1896 is worth big bucks. The top payout is $4,500, and that's if the bill was printed in 1890 and uncirculated. Other $2 bills with the red seal range in worth from $300 to $2,500.
In reality, there are over 774 million $2 bills in circulation, and they're all valid currency. The Federal Reserve has been printing $2 regularly since 1976, after ending a decade-long hiatus. You can walk up to the teller at your bank, ask to withdraw a $2 bill, and they will give it to you.
More than half a billion series 1976 $2 notes were printed and a very large number were saved and hoarded upon their original issue. A typical, single uncirculated 1976 $2 bill is worth only slightly above $2 face value. An average circulated Series 1976 note has no additional value above its $2 face.
The value of a 1953 2-dollar bill largely depends on its condition. Generally, those used for everyday transactions are worth less than $10, but uncirculated banknotes can cost anywhere from 20 to 30 dollars.
How Much Is a $1 Silver Certificate Worth? That depends on the type of $1 silver certificate. For instance, a Series 1896 $1 Silver Certificate Educational note in good condition is worth more than $500 while a $1 Black Eagle Silver Banknote Certificate in the same condition can fetch just above $110.