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Comment by nlh | Hacker News Reader

A great question - it's something the BEP offers to collectors basically for the cool factor. People frame them, give them as gifts, etc. It's just kind of fun to see real money as it comes off the press (and, thankfully, it inspires lots of collectors!)

$2 bills are SUPER fun. 99.9% are not worth more than $2, but they still bring a smile to peoples' faces when you leave them as tips, etc. I always keep a stack in my cash box at coin shows to give out as change to kids, tips to the pages, etc.

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I’m visiting Vietnam for Tet, and one cultural quirk of theirs that I’ve learned is that $2 bills are considered lucky money. So much so that kids there will hold onto those $2 bills as keepsakes (though they could spend them). And thus I made my first ever trip to the bank to special order a bunch of $2s.

Something I wonder is if an uncut sheet of $2 bills would be considered extraordinarily lucky, because it’s a bunch of $2s in nearly mint condition. Or if it would be considered incredibly unlucky because those kids would have no easy way of cutting them perfectly.

Why do people smile about $2 notes?

(In Europe no one would bat an eye about any € coin. Only the now-discontinued but still legal 500€ notes have this effect)

They are fairly rare. They are the least printed bill [1] and aren't included in a typical cash register, so just randomly stumbling upon one in the wild is a pretty rare. Sometimes people think they are fake because they've never seen one before. The only reliable way to get them is to specially request them from a bank or order them from the government. Also, because of the novelty, people tend to collect them, at least informally, so they don't tend to circulate much either.

[1] https://www.bep.gov/currency/production-figures/annual-produ...

When I worked fast food, a customer paid with a few $2 bills. It wasn't strange to me. But when I tried to hand them as change to another customer, they looked at me like I was an idiot and demanded that I pay them in real money.

Before then, I was cashing my paycheck at a bank. I'd occasionally ask them for $50 of it in $2 bills. The bank had them approximately half the time, and it was fun to pay for things with them.

They’re popular at strip clubs because it means a bigger tip rate for the dancers.

How do people know that they are rare? I don't even know what bills exist in my country but I know they keep changing them now and then. I wouldn't be able to tell whether it was rare or just a new bill I haven't seen before.

The US has a small set of valid bank notes. It's not like other countries that have multiple issuers, each with their own schedules for when to update designs.

On top of that, this isn't just a design that a person hasn't seen often, it's a denomination. Think of the 500 EUR notes, they were unfamiliar to many people.

There are collectable 0 Euro notes. I think they're fun.

Is there a market to buy 2 dollar bills for less than two? You say they’re worth less so maybe it’s an arbitrage opportunity

> You say they’re worth less

They said they're (mostly) not worth more than $2.

They aren't worth less than $2 either. They are worth $2.

$2 bills are somewhat rare and are considered lucky. We could use math to prove that on average $2 dollar bill is worth more than $2. 1 - There exist collectable $2 dollar bills which are worth significantly more than $2. 2 - there are no $2 dollar bills which are worth less than $2 due to being legal tender. From 1 and 2 - average value of all $2 bills is above $2.

Counterpoint: there are places in the world where people will not accept a $2 bill due to unfamiliarity - it may as well be a $7 bill. Therefore, there exists a $2 that's worth nothing as legal tender.

All it takes is a cooperating bank teller, $200, and some patience and you can order a strap of $2's. Chances are large that 100 uncirculated $2 bills in sequential order will be ready for you to pick up in a few days.

I don't expect there's much more value than $200 in there, but if you disagree, you're welcome to figure out what your local bank's limit on currency ordering is :P

The San Diego zoo used to make a point of stocking all their cashiers with $2 bills, as a subtle "this is how much we bring to the local economy" indicator.

It's not a bad idea for a small business, either, until everyone starts doing it.

There's a strip club in Portland that only gives out $2 bills in change, as the minimum you should toss on stage at any one time.

What's really funny is, if you walk into any other bar in Portland and tip with them, there's a good chance the bartender will ask if you've just been to that stripclub.

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