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Fun Facts
Twenty-eight of them, every one with a document behind it. No "some say."
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Twenty-Eight Facts, All Sourced
01
The Comeback Was a Cost-Cutting Move
The Treasury expected that replacing about half the $1 notes with $2 notes would "save about $27 million (in 1976 dollars) in printing, handling, storage, and shipping costs between 1976 and 1981." Every note cost 1.525 cents to print at the time; the arithmetic, then and now, is on The Economics of the $2. Richmond Fed, 1976
02
Eleven Million a Day
To have 225 million notes ready for April 13, 1976, the Bureau printed "11 million $2 bills each day," starting about seventeen weeks after it began work in late summer 1975. Richmond Fed, 1976
03
A $2 Used to Outlive a $1 Four Times Over
When the note was discontinued in 1966, "the average life of a $1 bill is 18 months, of a $5 bill is three years; when it was discontinued, the average life of the $2 bill was six years." It lasted because nobody spent it. Richmond Fed, 1976
04
Five Men Are Missing From the Back
"The original Trumbull painting portrayed 47 people, 42 of whom were signers of the Declaration (there were 56 total). However, because of a limited amount of space on the note, five of 47 men in the painting were not included in the engraving." BEP
05
It Was Never Meant to Be a Bicentennial Souvenir
The Treasury said the 1976 note "signifies the permanent addition of another U. S. denomination" and that "there will be no 'collector's' or other special issues of it." The New York Times reported the same at the November 1975 announcement. Richmond Fed, CoinWeek
06
Serial Numbers Stop at 96 Million
"Serial numbers above 96000000 are not used; thus F96000000A is followed by F00000001B." A $2 with a serial in the 97 to 99 million range came from an uncut sheet or an older printing convention. USPaperMoney.info
07
There Are 1.8 Billion of Them
As of December 31, 2025, per the Federal Reserve. That is the smallest count of the seven denominations, behind the $50 at 2.5 billion, but it is up from 0.7 billion in 2005, so the $2 has more than doubled in twenty years. Federal Reserve
08
The Fed Orders Twos Every Two to Four Years
Instead of every year like other denominations. It orders a big batch and works the inventory down, which is why some years show zero $2 production. U.S. Currency Education Program podcast, the year-by-year table
09
Released on Jefferson's Birthday
April 13, 1976, and the same date was used by post offices to postmark more than ten million first-day notes. CoinWeek, First Day Postmarks
10
No Redesign, Ever, Is the Plan
"Because the $2 note is infrequently counterfeited, the government has no plans to redesign this note." The face has looked the same since 1976 and Jefferson has been on it since 1869. U.S. Currency Education Program
11
Every Modern Two Is a Texan
Since Series 1995 all $2 notes have been printed at the Bureau's Western Currency Facility in Fort Worth, marked with a small "FW" by the face plate number. The BEP's September 2025 report shows the Fort Worth plant printing Series 2021 twos for Atlanta and San Francisco. Wikipedia, BEP, September 2025 (PDF)
12
1976 Is Still the Biggest Series
575,360,000 regular notes and 15,360,000 star notes, printed December 1975 through September 1979. Series 2013, the long six-year run, managed 300,800,000. USPaperMoney.info
13
The Government Once Had to Print Twos by Law
Federal statutes required about $320 million in United States Notes to be outstanding at all times, and "the 1963 issue of the $2 note was partly to meet the legal requirements." Today that requirement is met entirely with $100 United States Notes. Richmond Fed, 1976
14
An 1896 Two Is a Masterpiece
The Educational Series $2 shows Science presenting Steam and Electricity to Commerce and Manufacture. Only 20,652,000 were printed before the design was retired. See it.
15
A Note Can Get You Detained for Lunch
In 2016 a Texas middle schooler's genuine $2 bill failed a cafeteria counterfeit pen; school police took it to a bank, which confirmed it was real. Forbes, Real or Fake
16
There Is a Feature-Length Documentary
"The Two Dollar Bill Documentary," directed by John Bennardo, released October 19, 2015, 103 minutes, shot across a dozen states. A version is free on the film's YouTube channel. 2dollarbillmovie.com, IMDb
17
The Most Valuable $2 Bill Went to the Moon
Gene Cernan's Series 1953 red seal, his father's good-luck charm, flew on Gemini 9A, Apollo 10, and Apollo 17, where it reached the lunar surface. It sold for $91,519 in April 2026. RR Auction, The $2 Bill in Space
18
A Nebraska Company Paid $61,000 in Bonuses in Twos
Hornady Manufacturing did it in 2014 to show Grand Island's city council what the company meant to the town: "If people look at you funny, tell them where you work." Time, Paid in Twos
19
The Saying Is About a Three-Dollar Bill
"Queer as a three-dollar bill" is in print by 1943 and "phoney as a three-dollar bill" by 1937. The two-dollar version is a later mix-up; no dictionary records it as original. Barry Popik, Folklore
20
Someone Was Chained to a Pole for Spending Them
Lutherville, Maryland, 2005: 57 new $2 bills at a Best Buy got Mike Bolesta handcuffed and put in leg irons until the Secret Service confirmed the money was real. The Baltimore Sun, the story
21
The World Record Collection Is 1,808 Bills
Set by Michael Moreno in New Britain, Connecticut on February 15, 2017, per RecordSetter. The runner-up had 1,204. RecordSetter
22
A Lawyer Spends Up to $70,000 a Year Giving Them Away
Steven Reisman has handed out $2 bills for luck since 2005, which is why half the 2026 Grammy red carpet was photographed holding one. Upworthy, Paid in Twos
23
The $2 Was the Only Bill Allowed Across the Mexican Border in 1942
The Treasury barred carrying U.S. currency into Mexico that year, "The only exceptions to this blockade were $2 notes and silver dollars," and "demand for $2 notes skyrocketed along the border." BEP $2 fact sheet
24
Ford Got His Two the Day Before Everyone Else
The President's Daily Diary for April 12, 1976 records Secretary Simon, his family, and the BEP director presenting "a $2. Federal Reserve Note" at 12:40 p.m. On the thirteenth, release day, Ford was at the Jefferson Memorial making it Thomas Jefferson Day. Ford Library
25
The Educational Note Was Drawn for a $50
Edwin Blashfield designed "Science presenting Steam and Electricity to Commerce and Manufacture" for a fifty that never came, and objected that a two could not hold his pyramid composition. It became the most admired $2 ever printed anyway. PCGS, PMG
26
People Tore the Corners Off, and the Treasury Noticed
"$2 notes were often returned to the Treasury with corners torn off, making them mutilated currency and unfit for reissue," the Bureau records, the physical trace of the bad-luck superstition. BEP $2 fact sheet, Folklore
27
A Note Survives About 4,000 Folds
"It would take about 4,000 double folds (first forward and then backwards) before a note will tear," and any note weighs about one gram. BEP FAQ
28
The $2 Federal Reserve Note Was Legal for 13 Years Before It Existed
Public Law 88-36 of June 4, 1963 inserted "$1, $2," into the Federal Reserve Act. The $1 came out that year; the $2 waited until April 13, 1976. 77 Stat. 54