Spending $2 bills

d_lairson · 12-10-2007, 10:49 AM

I recently went to my bank to pick up the annual $2 bills I get for my nephews, and the bank would only sell me a strap, they would not break it up for some odd reason... Anyway they were all new, so I picked the top 2 and put them in the Christmas cards and mailed them off. Since then I have been stuck with $98 worth of $2.
It is actually kind of fun, I went into a KFC the other day, and paid with a $10 and a couple of $2's. The casher was so excited, he immediately swapped the $2 for a couple of singles in his wallet. While I was waiting for my food, He was showing everyone else who worked there so I ended up swapping a few more bills for singles so the staff could have some.
I got a hot dog from the vendor outside Home Depot, and paid my bill with a $2 a $1 coin and a half, he was pleased. He said that he did not know that they made them any more. He said he might hit up his bank for halves, as his bills usually are on the dollar or half and it would make change easier.
The worst reaction was at a grocery store, where the cashier took the bills, looked at them, sighed loudly, then proceeded to check each bill with the counterfeit pen. Then she called the manager to ask where she needed to put them in her tray, the whole time keeping me waiting. She gave me serious attitude about it. ( I guess I made her do her job... poor baby )
I did find out that you can use a $2 in the automated check out machines at Walmart, however if you use too many ( in my case 6 ) it calls the cashier over to empty our the money tray in the machine ( I guess there is an "other" tray in the machine that sorts out odd bills, it had the $2's I put in, plus some old style $20's and $100's ).

Cheers,
David

**Daggarjon** · 12-10-2007, 11:21 AM

thats some good use for the odd denomination. I have always had an affinity for the $2 note i guess for that reason. ever since i was a kid, i was always excited to get a $2 note.

gatzdon · 12-10-2007, 03:44 PM

I must have gotten your $2 bills today because I picked up a bunch at the bank and there were about 20 brand new ones that someone had checked with a counterfeit pen. When will people learn those pens are useless

**Daggarjon** · 12-10-2007, 03:49 PM

useless? I was always told it was foolproof? have the conterfeiters gotten smart enough to use the same ink as the govt?

gatzdon · 12-10-2007, 04:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daggarjon

useless? I was always told it was foolproof? have the conterfeiters gotten smart enough to use the same ink as the govt?

It's not the ink, it's the paper that the pen is designed to detect. More specifically, the pen is designed to react with starch in the paper to turn black. Hence a note printed on commercially available paper would produce a black mark when in contact with the pen. As US currency is a mixture of cotton/linen and contains absolutely no starch, the pen just fades away (and in many cases the ink will eventually disappear).

Now, a common technique for counterfeiters is to take low denomination notes (us or foreign), bleach them, then print the counterfeit notes. As the paper contains no starch and is of the correct composition, it will note only fool the pen, but even fool the casual person feeling the note. In these cases, it's the other security features that give the note away such as a missing security thread or magnetic ink.

In most cases, any counterfeit note that is detectable by the pen would not look right anyway to 95% of the population.

Now another consideration with the pen is if the note went through the washingmachine, it will usually turn black under the pen due to the starches it picked up in the washingmachine.

Currently, the best method for detecting counterfeits is with a UV light. A 365NM UV Pen Light can be purchased for as little as $60 and can be used to check for the color of the security thread. Furthermore, US currency does not glow under a UV light whereas most commercial papers would. I have always considered buying a bunch of these pens and going around to restaurants trying to sell them for $100 after giving a demonstration. I would even throw in free "Know Your Money" posters from the BEP.

**Daggarjon** · 12-10-2007, 04:16 PM

very true!!! i did know the evil people were bleaching $5's and printing $100's on the paper. I guess i just never thought of how the pen actually worked

go figure!!

BostonMike · 12-10-2007, 09:15 PM

I always try to use a $2 and a 50 cent coin to buy my coffee. It always gets a good reaction

"You sure you want to spend that?"

"yeah, i just go get more from the bank!"

luc87 · 12-10-2007, 09:52 PM

I don't care. We use toonies.

Phoenix21 · 12-10-2007, 10:27 PM

Wow, seems like you've had fun with the $2 notes! For some reason though that cashier does not surprise me.

Lol, man, that must have been fun spending them though.

Phoenix

mpcusa · 10-28-2009, 03:42 AM

It would be nice if they were at all rare!! But some people
Think they have struck Gold!!! Not knowing they could
Just go to the bank and pick some up!

jloring · 10-28-2009, 08:03 AM

Since the bridge I use every day has a two dollar toll, I try to pick up plenty of $2 notes whenever I visit the bank. If not I just use dollar coins.

mpcusa · 10-28-2009, 12:40 PM

What ever they are fun to collect, I have a nice assortment of Red Seal,s
They keep me really busy!!

andrew289 · 10-28-2009, 12:44 PM

Almost as fun as resurrecting 2 year old threads ... but not quite. hahahaha

illini420 · 10-28-2009, 12:47 PM

I like to use the "trifecta" when making retail purchases. I pay with an Ike Dollar, a $2 bill and a Kennedy Half. Confuses the heck out of the cashier since there usually isn't a place in the drawer for any of those

DoK U Mint · 10-28-2009, 01:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by illini420

I like to use the "trifecta" when making retail purchases. I pay with an Ike Dollar, a $2 bill and a Kennedy Half. Confuses the heck out of the cashier since there usually isn't a place in the drawer for any of those

That is cruel! I save my $2's for the track. Some folks jump out of line when they see them because they can be "BAD LUCK MONEY".

Gets me to the front of the line faster but they may be right at the rate I give them away.

Current Small dollar coins go even faster unless I have to explain what they are.

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