My post discussing whether the penny should be eliminated reminded me of the other redheaded stepchild of US currency: The $2 Bill. You may not realize that $2 bills are still in circulation, but I have a friend on a mission to change that perception.
Every time his supply of $2 bills is depleted he goes to the bank and withdraws $100 worth. I didn’t realize that you could do this, but as I said $2 bills are still legal tender so it should be no surprise that banks still have them. My friend doesn’t waste his bills, he just uses them in place of other cash. Using them as a tip is ideal because then he doesn’t have to explain his rationale each time he uses them. He effectively places them blindly into circulation.
On those occasions when he does discuss their use, they make a great conversation starter. I suspect that he has even scored a few dates using this approach. It might not be the smoothest method ever used, but certainly isn’t the worst.
You might suspect that the life cycle of a $2 bill in my friend’s plan goes something like this:
- He takes it out of the bank
- Uses it for a tip
- Waiter/Waitress deposits it in bank, perhaps thinking he/she can’t spend it
- Repeat
If so, you can imagine my friend’s delight when I reported that at least one of his attempts to reintroduce the bill into circulation had found success. After paying in cash at a fast food restaurant (a rarity for me on multiple levels) a portion of my change was in the form of a $2 bill. While the restaurant was in the same general area as where he had left tips, he didn’t actually spend it there himself. So at least on a small scale, his experiment was a success.
For a fun website that tracks the whereabout of $2 bills, as well as other denominations, check out wheresgeorge.com
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