NationStates Jolt Archive

When I went to the bank today to make a deposit, I decided to go out on a limb and get a $10 worth of $2 bills. I did some research last night and it got me thinking-how far does a dollar go anymore? Except for candy/gum and stuff from vending machines, almost everything out there is more than $1.

Therefore, wouldn't it make more sense to carry around twos instead of ones? Instead of shelling out two ones for a small purchase, you could pay with one two. The same amount of money in your wallet, but half the mass.

It would also save you money. The government spends about a cent and a half to produce a dollar bill. Ones currently amount to about 60%+ of the notes in circulation. Think about it-that's a lot of bills, and a lot of money to make them.

If the government were to not nessicarily take ones out of circulation, but just stop issuing them, and instead issue lots more twos, every taxpayer could get a little off his/her return, because the Federal Reserve wouldn't need so many bills.

But then what about odd-numbered amounts, like $3, or the $1 you need for a vending machine? Simple-the mint already produces the Sacagawea dollar coin, easily distinguisable and usable in most vending machines.

In order for the $2 bill or the $1 coin to succeed, the $1 bill would need to come out of production-as long as they are available, Americans will always want ones-it's just a national habit. Many people act as though this would be an economy-destroying measure, but since we already have dollar coins in ready supply (in addition to the Sacagawea coins out there, there are a ton of those nasty, hard-to-distinguish-from-quarters Susan B. Anthony dollars locked up in various Federal Reserve Banks), it wouldn't be that big of a transition. It's not like people would have their ones ripped away from them-the BEP (Bureau of Engraving and Printing) would simply stop making them, allowing the ones in circulation to live out their useful life before being declared "unfit for re-issue" by the Federal Reserve. They would slowly fade, and in about 6-7 years, you'd hardly see them, kind of like an old-style (series 1995 or before) $5-$100 bill today. Instead, $2 bills and $1 coins would take its place.

The slot in cash registers that had originally accomidated ones would now hold twos.

It's worked in other countries-Canada replaced both their $1 and $2 bills with coins a few years ago. Their economy didn't die-why should ours?

Some people either think that the government never made a $2 bill or that it stopped making them 25-30 years ago. Both are wrong. The U.S. has made $2 bills in one form or another since 1862, and the most recent printing ("series") was in 2003-just two years ago.

All this ignorance is created by the fact that there is so little demand for twos that they account for only about 0.05% of all money printed. Because there is so little demand, people either don't know they exist or else when the get one they tuck it away in their pocket and don't spend it, thus further decreasing awareness, and in turn creating less demand, in turn creating fewer $2 bills. If awareness is increased, demand will also increase, thus giving the Fed more reason to make twos. People also wouldn't have ones anymore, so the two would become much more attractive.

There's also the argument that the two is redundant because it's just two ones. O.K.-a dime is two nickels, a half dollar (they still make those, too) is two quarters, a ten is two fives, and a hundred is two fifties. So why don't we just carry around wads of low-denomination currency? Because of just that-we'd be carrying around wads of low denomination currency. Heavy and inconvienient.

So we are back to my original point. A one can do little on its own anymore-a two would be much more convienient. Experience tells us that much of American culture is based upon the premise of convienience, even financial stuff. The ATM and the credit card are good examples. Again, increase awareness and you will increase demand.

So where do you get them? Many of us have never even laid eyes on a two, they are so rarely encountered in normal circulation. Just do what I did-next time you go to the bank, ask if they have any. Ususally they have a few dozen around. If they don't, you should be able to order them at a minimum quantity. Or you can go to a racetrack. The abundence of $2 bets ensures that there will be quite a few around there.

Clearly, I think it's a great idea to use twos. What do you all think?

For more info on $2 Bills, see http://www.moneyfactory.com/document.cfm/18/96

ones are great when splitting up a check, though...plus I don't want all the extra change from the soda machine.

ones are great when splitting up a check, though...plus I don't want all the extra change from the soda machine.

O.K.-Use a combination of twos and $1 coins when splitting a check along with the other denominations. As to the accumulation of change, instead of letting it become an ever-growing bulge in your pocket, use it whenever you can to keep it down.

$2 bills are also great for tipping waitresses-a nice easy increment that often comes out to around the right amount.

Totally right and the mechanical conversions needed for $2 bill. That would be crazy and people would be more inclined to use fives and twos and then ones will be needed. So you need more bills and less ways to use them effectively.

Bad luck dude.

People seem to be happy enough with one dollar bills. Anyways, it is pretty obvious that the majority of Americans don't like change, why do you think the metric system failed with the public.

People seem to be happy enough with one dollar bills. Anyways, it is pretty obvious that the majority of Americans don't like change, why do you think the metric system failed with the public.

Haha. It did, but that was kinda a mistake don't you think?

i'm not qite getting your pint,pikistan.

you said you wouldn't want all the one-dollar-bills in your wallet. well, you are right about a two making up for two ones, so that would, short-sightedly, split the amount of bills in your wallet in half.
but i'm rather sure that this advantage will very soon be evened out by the increasing amount of coins you'll receive when you get the change from your two-dollar-bill.

but what i really don't understand is your notion to turn the one-dollar-bills into coins. so then you've got fewer bills, but do you really think that more coins are any improvement? after all, bills are much less likely to fall out of your pocket or wallet and spill everywhere..
plus, just as you mentioned it first, i'm sure that making coins woould cost a heck lot more than making bills!

do not let me be misunderstood. i think introducing more two-dollar-bills would be a cool idea, to lessen the gap between ones and fives. but i don't see the point of wanting to abolish the ones! you can ahve both, you know..;)

i'm not qite getting your pint,pikistan.

you said you wouldn't want all the one-dollar-bills in your wallet. well, you are right about a two making up for two ones, so that would, short-sightedly, split the amount of bills in your wallet in half.
but i'm rather sure that this advantage will very soon be evened out by the increasing amount of coins you'll receive when you get the change from your two-dollar-bill.

but what i really don't understand is your notion to turn the one-dollar-bills into coins. so then you've got fewer bills, but do you really think that more coins are any improvement? after all, bills are much less likely to fall out of your pocket or wallet and spill everywhere..
plus, just as you mentioned it first, i'm sure that making coins woould cost a heck lot more than making bills!

do not let me be misunderstood. i think introducing more two-dollar-bills would be a cool idea, to lessen the gap between ones and fives. but i don't see the point of wanting to abolish the ones! you can ahve both, you know..

O.K.-I shouldn't have said it would cut the number of bills in half, which it wouldn't, and it really wouldn't make you that much lighter.

But really-why is it that we find the concept of a dollar coin so unfeasable? Other countries have done it, like Canada, as I said above, and the Canadian dollar is lower than the U.S. dollar, meaning that they have more coins jangling around in their pockets. Somehow, they survive. The EU is another good example. In fact, most countries are. Why are we so hell-bent on inefficiency?

And people used to use dollar coins much more frequently than dollar bills. Back in the 18th, 19th, and early 20th century, the government issued $1 gold and silver coins. They were popular, more so than the dollar bills of the time.

Also, how did people ever handle all the change they got back when a dollar was worth more and when ice cream was 15 cents? The answer is simple-they actually used it . It didn't form mountains on their dressers and didn't get lost everywhere in their cars.

Granted, I chuck pennies in the garbage bin (I know it's needed to maintain stability, but I can't justify carrying them), but it only reinforces my point-natural inflation has made the one dollar bill inadequite (pennies on their own used to be worth saving, too). A two dollar bill could serve the purpose better.

Coins don't cost more than making bills. How do you think they can still afford to make the penny? If every penny made cost 1 cent, then where would we be? The current dollar coin is 88.5% copper, with some nickel, zinc, and manganese thrown in. All of these are dirt cheap metals. So it would still be more cost effective to produce a dollar coin instead of a dollar bill.

Plus, coins last longer. When was the last time you encountered a dollar bill marked "Series 1975"? I don't think I've ever seen one. But I've seen plenty of quarters marked that, or earlier. This means that they wouldn't have to make as many dollar coins as they do dollar bills. The greater longevity of coins, combined with their lower cost of production, equals savings for the taxpayer.

There can't be a dollar bill and a dollar coin because if both exist, the population will automatically default to the dollar bill. The government will have to take it away from us (gradually, by just not making any more) if the dollar coin or the two dollar bill are ever to have a shot at becoming accepted.

As to vending machines and anything else with a bill changer in it-when the new dollar coin came out a couple of years back, many were modified by the company to accept them. There wasn't any great economic impact as a result of that. All that would have to be done would be a slight modification of the bill changer to recognize two dollar bills. And they could still recognize ones, because they'd be with us for years yet.

People don't have to walk around with gobs of dollar coins in their pockets-wallets could be made to accomodate them. You can also get them exchanged for bills, if you so please. A coin is sufficient for all the things we now use a dollar bill for.

At some point far in the future, when people are paying two or more dollars for a 5-pack of gum, they may finally get it. But I'm starting now.

if we only carry 2s, then what will happen wen we need to spend 3s? Also if a purchase is like 50.45 its easier giving them a 1 for change then it would be giving them a 2.
Also are currency rate is based on the 1 dollar the USD it makes for easy currency exchange rates.

if we only carry 2s, then what will happen wen we need to spend 3s? Also if a purchase is like 50.45 its easier giving them a 1 for change then it would be giving them a 2.
Also are currency rate is based on the 1 dollar the USD it makes for easy currency exchange rates.

I think you missed the whole "dollar bill replaced by dollar coin" thing.

Last summer, myself and a couple of coworkers cleaned out the bank of twos on one of our pay checks. We then spent them like mad. The funnest part was watching the clerks (especially the dumb ones) trying to figure out where to put them.

Last summer, myself and a couple of coworkers cleaned out the bank of twos on one of our pay checks. We then spent them like mad. The funnest part was watching the clerks (especially the dumb ones) trying to figure out where to put them.

That's half the reason I got mine. The other half was because I thought it was a good idea.

Search "two dollar bill" and "taco hell" together in Google and read the story. It's pretty funny how moronic people in this country can be about their own money.

shouldnt the question be "why not use the $2 bill and the $1 coin?" the 2 must go together if it is to make any sense

its fine by me but it seems to have great resistance in the US. maybe its because walmart bought up all the $1coins.

i'm not qite getting your pint,pikistan.

you said you wouldn't want all the one-dollar-bills in your wallet. well, you are right about a two making up for two ones, so that would, short-sightedly, split the amount of bills in your wallet in half.
but i'm rather sure that this advantage will very soon be evened out by the increasing amount of coins you'll receive when you get the change from your two-dollar-bill.

but what i really don't understand is your notion to turn the one-dollar-bills into coins. so then you've got fewer bills, but do you really think that more coins are any improvement? after all, bills are much less likely to fall out of your pocket or wallet and spill everywhere..
plus, just as you mentioned it first, i'm sure that making coins woould cost a heck lot more than making bills!

do not let me be misunderstood. i think introducing more two-dollar-bills would be a cool idea, to lessen the gap between ones and fives. but i don't see the point of wanting to abolish the ones! you can ahve both, you know..;)
I do Agree that coins are even heavier to carry and they spill out unlike bills. and it would cost more to produce,I would rather suggest in including few more bills along with others by producing $2 bills and 1/2 $ coins,so when U buy something for $ 2.49.....and U only have a $ 5....the change U get will be lesser....like a $2 bill , a 1/2$ and a penny ....instead of 2 $1 bills and 2 quaters and a penny.

I do Agree that coins are even heavier to carry and they spill out unlike bills. and it would cost more to produce,I would rather suggest in including few more bills along with others by producing $2 bills and 1/2 $ coins,so when U buy something for $ 2.49.....and U only have a $ 5....the change U get will be lesser....like a $2 bill , a 1/2$ and a penny ....instead of 2 $1 bills and 2 quaters and a penny.

I agree with you that there should be more twos in circulation-if people saw them on a frequent basis, they might stop thinking they were something special. This would also be good for the half dollar. Flood the market, and suddenly people get that there's quite a few out there.

However, I don't get why people think that it would be more expensive to produce coins than bills. Again, the dollar coin is 88.5% copper. A penny is all copper. A one or two dollar bill each cost about 1.5 cents to produce. If each penny cost more than 1 cent to produce, we'd be running up some serious internal debt, which we aren't (and what we are is attributable to other stuff). It's just a disk of cheap metal with some bas-relief that's worth something because the government says it is (much like a bill is a piece of very nice paper that the government says is worth its face value). If anything, it would cost less to make coins than bills because:

A)The base cost is less

B)They stay in circulation longer so the mint dosen't have to make as many.

Also, because fewer twos have to be manufactured to make up for the ones, you save money in the paper money arena, too.

Hopefully, these savings are passed on to the taxpayer.

You should notice another fact: if we keep the number of $1 bills in circulation unchanged, it still costs money. Since, once you print a $1 bill, it's going to tear or otherwise be damaged pretty quickly, and the cents you spent on making it are lost. So, a population of paper dollars kept in circulation is just an expense. If you minted $1 coins, they'd be in use about 30 years, and would need little replacement. (How do you destroy coins?)

(How do you destroy coins?)
Train rails.

I don't see why anyone would need $1 or $2 bills

I just remembered Mexico introduced a plastic $20 bill. The thing is virtually indestructible. That could be an alternative for the US, to make plastic $1 bills instead of paper.

And besides, why do US people have to be so anal retentive about everything? It's just money, for crying out loud. One is as good as the other.

I don't see why anyone would need $1 or $2 bills

It's not that we would need them-we could have a $5 coin if we wanted (anything bigger would be too attractive to fake), but Americans have this thing with paper currency. They love it. They also have this thing with coinage. They like it less than paper currency, and don't like sorting through it to spend it, so it piles up and they dislike it even more.

Replacing both the one and the two with coins would, I think, be too much of a shock to the American population. If you only replaced the one, though, people would soon realize the economics behind the move and begin to utilize the coin and the two much more than they do now.

But the government won't get the people to change their money of their own free will-they'll have to change it for them, and they'll just have to deal with it if they don't like it.

Not entirely relevant, but I actually got offered (and accepted) as change a 5GBP coin (edit: In reference to the previous post, I checked it wasn't a fake... :)) in change over here in the UK.

Whereas regular UK coins are 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 pence and 1, 2 pound values, the 5 quid and 10 quid versions are generally commemorative ones (as are some others, and some versions of the regular denominations) and this was one. Like the £10 Millenium Dome coin in presentation pack (that cost £20) that could be legally spent at face value, but is probably worth more in a collectable (and packaged?) context.

The fact that it's legal currency (hence how it entered circulation?) didn't stop me from deliberately not spending it and giving it as a birthday or christmas present to someone who is much more numismatistic than I.

(In my wallet at the moment are Scottish five and ten pound notes, which I got in change while in that area a couple of months back. I've been so tempted to see if any shop (here in the England portion of the UK, way away from the border) would reject them, but my fun would stop after encountering shops that did.)

Ummm.. sorry, straying from the point even more than intended. Probably doesn't mean anything to non UKians, anyway. Move along, please. Nothing to see here...

Not entirely relevant, but I actually got offered (and accepted) as change a 5GBP coin in change over here in the UK.

Whereas regular UK coins are 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 pence and 1, 2 pound values, the 5 quid and 10 quid versions are generally commemorative ones (as are some others, and some versions of the regular denominations) and this was one. Like the £10 Millenium Dome coin in presentation pack (that cost £20) that could be legally spent at face value, but is probably worth more in a collectable (and packaged?) context.

The fact that it's legal currency (hence how it entered circulation?) didn't stop me from deliberately not spending it and giving it as a birthday or christmas present to someone who is much more numismatistic than I.

(In my wallet at the moment are Scottish five and ten pound notes, which I got in change while in that area a couple of months back. I've been so tempted to see if any shop (here in the England portion of the UK, way away from the border) would reject them, but my fun would stop after encountering shops that did.)

Ummm.. sorry, straying from the point even more than intended. Probably doesn't mean anything to non UKians, anyway. Move along, please. Nothing to see here...

It means something to me. If Britons can use coins for one- and two-pound purchases, and your currency is valued at about 1.8 times ours, why can't we Americans use a dollar coin for our one dollar purchases and a $2 bill for more expensive stuff?

Train rails.

No no no, thats how you destroy trains.

No no no, thats how you destroy trains.

Meh, close enough.

There can't be a dollar bill and a dollar coin because if both exist, the population will automatically default to the dollar bill. The government will have to take it away from us...
The population would (and does) default to the dollar bill in this case, because it is more efficient. Would you make use of a one-cent bill? Of course not, no-one would. How about a twenty-five-cent bill? No. The dollar is the basic unit of American currency, with all other denominations measured as a multiple or a fraction. The dollar is the smallest meaningful amount of money we use, that is why it is where we begin using paper money, which is much less bulky and much easier to carry around. That's also why people throw pennies away.

People don't have to walk around with gobs of dollar coins in their pockets-wallets could be made to accomodate them.
Wallets already accomodate dollar bills. Wallets accomodate all manner of bills; it is what they are for. A wallet is a thin container, generally made of leather, which is designed to hold paper or papers while they are being carried on your person. Years ago, people carried all their important papers to and fro in wallets. Now things are more complicated, and we have briefcases.

A container of the same sort which is used for carrying coins is, and has always been, called a purse.

...people used to use dollar coins much more frequently than dollar bills. Back in the 18th, 19th, and early 20th century, the government issued $1 gold and silver coins. They were popular, more so than the dollar bills of the time.
Three and four hundred years ago, the only money in existance was in the form of coins. And the coins were made entirely of the metals you would expect them to be made of - you could melt pennies down for the copper (although I assume it was illegal). Today, end-of-the-world nutjobs still hoard their money in the form of coins, for the very reason that coins have more instrinsic value than bills. Unfortunately for those people, our common coins are no longer pure, and, like your 88.5% copper dollar coin, they have been seriously adulterated with cheaper metals. A penny is now copper-plated lead. Look it up.

It was only in the last hundred years or so that the goverment began to issue paper money which was backed by the trust American (and many, many foreign) citizens place in our government, and not by actual precious metals held by the Department of the Treasury. At the time of the first World War, it was possible to take your bills to the people who issued them and exchange them for an equal value of gold or silver. I own a 1927 silver certificate - a five-dollar bill. I can take that very bill to the government, if I want, and get my five dollars' worth of silver, because that's what a silver certificate means, and that idea is what backed up paper money in this country until people got used to it.

Of course people in the 18th and 19th centuries preferred coins to bills - metal was more valuable in their everyday life than pieces of paper they likely couldn't read. And when the government did change to bills, they had to promise to exchange them for metal ingots on demand.


If the way they do things in Canada is so hot, move there.


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All that being said, I do agree with what I see as your secondary point, "Two-dollar bills are great, let's use them more often," and I do like the Sacagawea dollar coin.

Side note: Britons are from Brittany in northern France.

Didn't know you could still get $2 bills. They came out in 1976 (I think) and haven't seen them since. The problem with them and the dollar coin is the banks never made any effort to pass them out. In order to get either you have to ask. If the banks would have passed them out, people would have used them. I don't know of anyone who refused to take one when it was given. The reason pennys and $1 bills can't be removed is it would be an admission by the government of economic failure. Which politition is going to admit that the penny and $1 bill have lost so much value that the penny is worthless and the dollar is just another small coin.

Canada has a $1 (the "loonie" as it has a picture of a loon on it) and a $2 coin affectionately referred to as the "twoonie".

The population would (and does) default to the dollar bill in this case, because it is more efficient. Would you make use of a one-cent bill? Of course not, no-one would. How about a twenty-five-cent bill? No. The dollar is the basic unit of American currency, with all other denominations measured as a multiple or a fraction. The dollar is the smallest meaningful amount of money we use, that is why it is where we begin using paper money, which is much less bulky and much easier to carry around. That's also why people throw pennies away.

In response, consider this-what one dollar bought in 1975 would be $3.75 today. If Americans in 1975 wouldn't want a 27-cent note, why should we now? When you look at it, $2 is now the smallest meaningful amount of money we use.

The point is that the dollar bill, through natural inflation, has passed the point where it is no longer useful individually except in select circumstances (as I said, gum, candy, and vending machines, more and more of which are now charging more than a dollar). For the financial benefit of the American government and therefore that of the American people, it would be better to phase it out and instead replace it with coins. It can still be the smallest meaningful amount of money we use, it should just come as a coin rather than a piece of paper. It would be cheaper to do this, and the $2 bill can take up the additional slack.


A container of the same sort which is used for carrying coins is, and has always been, called a purse.

I should have said that more men could get coin purses.

I own a 1927 silver certificate - a five-dollar bill. I can take that very bill to the government, if I want, and get my five dollars' worth of silver, because that's what a silver certificate means, and that idea is what backed up paper money in this country until people got used to it.

No, you can't redeem it. On June 4th, 1963, Congress abolised silver certificates because the price of silver exceeded the stated value of the certificate. On June 24th, 1968, all redemption in silver for silver certificates was stopped. Your $5 silver certificate, though rare and certainly a collectors item, is to be regarded as a Federal Reserve Note, and is to most people worth only...$5.

Don't believe me? Check this out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver_Certificate

All that being said, I do agree with what I see as your secondary point, "Two-dollar bills are great, let's use them more often," and I do like the Sacagawea dollar coin.

Thanks. Next time you go to the bank, ask for some.

Didn't know you could still get $2 bills. They came out in 1976 (I think) and haven't seen them since. The problem with them and the dollar coin is the banks never made any effort to pass them out. In order to get either you have to ask. If the banks would have passed them out, people would have used them. I don't know of anyone who refused to take one when it was given. The reason pennys and $1 bills can't be removed is it would be an admission by the government of economic failure. Which politition is going to admit that the penny and $1 bill have lost so much value that the penny is worthless and the dollar is just another small coin.

You've hit the nail on the head. There's alot of them out there, you just don't see them because people think they're rare and put them in their sock drawers, making even fewer people see them, and making us think they're either rare or non-existent. It's a viscious cycle.

The major reason why banks don't distribute $2 bills is because their teller drawers don't accomodate them...because they don't distribute $2 bills. Beginning to see the picture?

There have been two series of $2 bills since 1976. One was in 1995 and the other was in 2003. Ask for them at your bank-they should have a few (or more) on hand. If they don't, you can order them. And for god's sake, SPEND THEM! They aren't worth any more than $2.

About the politics of the whole thing-I (though admittidly I am biased) would not see it as an admission of failure, but as a sign of progress and a thriftier government (something we'd all like to see, I'm sure). Besides, to get a dollar bill back down to a reasonable value, we'd have to have a fairly lengthy period of deflation, something that would certainly kill a politician's career more than voting to replace the $1 bill entirely with a coin.

I'm all for getting rid of all paper and coin currency and chaning over to my nation's currency, the digital dollar :)

I'm going up to bed now, but please continue the discussion. I'll probably post again in the morning. Good night.

When I went to the bank today to make a deposit, I decided to go out on a limb and get a $10 worth of $2 bills. I did some research last night and it got me thinking-how far does a dollar go anymore? Except for candy/gum and stuff from vending machines, almost everything out there is more than $1.

Therefore, wouldn't it make more sense to carry around twos instead of ones? Instead of shelling out two ones for a small purchase, you could pay with one two. The same amount of money in your wallet, but half the mass.

It would also save you money. The government spends about a cent and a half to produce a dollar bill. Ones currently amount to about 60%+ of the notes in circulation. Think about it-that's a lot of bills, and a lot of money to make them.

If the government were to not nessicarily take ones out of circulation, but just stop issuing them, and instead issue lots more twos, every taxpayer could get a little off his/her return, because the Federal Reserve wouldn't need so many bills.

But then what about odd-numbered amounts, like $3, or the $1 you need for a vending machine? Simple-the mint already produces the Sacagawea dollar coin, easily distinguisable and usable in most vending machines.

In order for the $2 bill or the $1 coin to succeed, the $1 bill would need to come out of production-as long as they are available, Americans will always want ones-it's just a national habit. Many people act as though this would be an economy-destroying measure, but since we already have dollar coins in ready supply (in addition to the Sacagawea coins out there, there are a ton of those nasty, hard-to-distinguish-from-quarters Susan B. Anthony dollars locked up in various Federal Reserve Banks), it wouldn't be that big of a transition. It's not like people would have their ones ripped away from them-the BEP (Bureau of Engraving and Printing) would simply stop making them, allowing the ones in circulation to live out their useful life before being declared "unfit for re-issue" by the Federal Reserve. They would slowly fade, and in about 6-7 years, you'd hardly see them, kind of like an old-style (series 1995 or before) $5-$100 bill today. Instead, $2 bills and $1 coins would take its place.

The slot in cash registers that had originally accomidated ones would now hold twos.

It's worked in other countries-Canada replaced both their $1 and $2 bills with coins a few years ago. Their economy didn't die-why should ours?

Some people either think that the government never made a $2 bill or that it stopped making them 25-30 years ago. Both are wrong. The U.S. has made $2 bills in one form or another since 1862, and the most recent printing ("series") was in 2003-just two years ago.

All this ignorance is created by the fact that there is so little demand for twos that they account for only about 0.05% of all money printed. Because there is so little demand, people either don't know they exist or else when the get one they tuck it away in their pocket and don't spend it, thus further decreasing awareness, and in turn creating less demand, in turn creating fewer $2 bills. If awareness is increased, demand will also increase, thus giving the Fed more reason to make twos. People also wouldn't have ones anymore, so the two would become much more attractive.

There's also the argument that the two is redundant because it's just two ones. O.K.-a dime is two nickels, a half dollar (they still make those, too) is two quarters, a ten is two fives, and a hundred is two fifties. So why don't we just carry around wads of low-denomination currency? Because of just that-we'd be carrying around wads of low denomination currency. Heavy and inconvienient.

So we are back to my original point. A one can do little on its own anymore-a two would be much more convienient. Experience tells us that much of American culture is based upon the premise of convienience, even financial stuff. The ATM and the credit card are good examples. Again, increase awareness and you will increase demand.

So where do you get them? Many of us have never even laid eyes on a two, they are so rarely encountered in normal circulation. Just do what I did-next time you go to the bank, ask if they have any. Ususally they have a few dozen around. If they don't, you should be able to order them at a minimum quantity. Or you can go to a racetrack. The abundence of $2 bets ensures that there will be quite a few around there.

Clearly, I think it's a great idea to use twos. What do you all think?

For more info on $2 Bills, see http://www.moneyfactory.com/document.cfm/18/96


Your idea does not go far enough. First, I want to say that I have a two-dollar bill. I keep it in my wallet, primarily so that if it is lost or stolen, there is an easily-identifiable item in it, that proves the wallet is mine. It's tucked into a secret compartment of my wallet, rather than where other bills go...and only I know exactly where.

But, I digress. Not only should we adopt your idea, BUT...I say that the government ought to go back to minting 2-cent coins. they had some, briefly, shortly after the Civil War. I know this because I own one. I'm a coin collector.
BUT, think about it. It costs the governemnt more than a penny to produce a penny. And, as it is now, you could need up to four pennies in your change...99 cents, for example, requires 3 quarters, 2 dimes, and four pennies. If they had two-cent pieces, the maximum number of pennies needed for any transaction would be ONE. You'd never need more than one, and so, penny production could be cut by 75%.

They also should increase production of 50-cent pieces, so that, instead of 3 quarters, you'd only need one...thus they could lower quarter production by 67%. In addition, the printing of two-dollar bills, as you suggested, would have a similar impact on the number of one-dollar bills and/or coins needed in any transaction. Also, if you made the dollar a coin only...coins have a far longer life than do paper dollars. All of this would save tremendous money to the U.S. Government. And, since Washington is also on the quarter...and Lincoln is also on the five, what's the big deal, right?

BUT, Ben Franklin is on the two...and on the hundred. They could take Ben off the two, and put Washington on the two, if they wanted to. And you'd need a new person to put on your new two-cent pieces, thus, room to honor a new president...or someone else important to American history.

Anyway, your new denominations would be 1¢, 2¢, 5¢, 10¢, 25¢, 50¢, $1, $2, $5, $10, $20, $50, $100. I even think they should print a limited number of $500 bills and $1000 bills, like they used to. But assuming we stopped at the $100...even so, let's say you were to get change from a transaction, in the amount of $99.99
The old way you would need
$50
$20 x 2
$5
$1 x 4
25¢ x 3
10¢ x 2
1¢ x 4
for a total of 8 bills and 9 coins.

The new way, you would need
$50
$20 x 2
$5
$2 x 2
50¢
25¢
10¢ x 2
2¢ x 2
for a total of only 6 bills and 6 coins...12 total items as opposed to 17 items the old way.

The money saved on extra printing and minting could save the govenment a lot of money, considering, as I said, penny production would be decreased by 75 percent, quarter production by 67% and dollar production would be significantly lower need, because you'd need only 25 percent of what you used to need...and using it only as a coin, coins have a much longer life than do bills.

Then again, this is a coin collector's absolute wet dream, because we could hoard what was left of the old stuff, and the first issues of the new stuff, and it'd be worth a lot of money in fifty years or so, if kept out of circulation and in good condition. Naturally, numismatists such as myself have been petitioning the government for years to adopt this plan...and not for entirely unselfish reasons!

I think if you are going to get rid of any of our currency, it ought to be the one cent piece (penny) rather than the dollar bill. Who carries pennies these days and they are much less useful than a one dollar bill?

$2 bills won't catch on because it's new and we fear new things or changes to our routines in this country. Simple as that. We're like a whole country of 75 year olds that do what we do because that's the way we've always done it, dammit!

People seem to be happy enough with one dollar bills. Anyways, it is pretty obvious that the majority of Americans don't like change, why do you think the metric system failed with the public.

The metric system failed with the public, because the metric system sucks. Okay, maybe it doesn't suck, certainly it is scientific...and the increments in ten make sense...BUT...education about the metric system has been, and is, sadly lacking in American public-school curriculum...and, you're used to what you are used to.

A mile means something to me. A kilometer doesn't. OK, OK, I'm a smart-ass, and I know that 1.62 kilometers equals one mile...but most Americans could not make such a conversion. And therefore, a kilometer would be meaningless to an American, whereas a mile means something. And how would we play football? I mean AMERICAN football? Can you just see it...and the Packers take it down to the Eagles 35-meter line?? Nope...don't sound right. And I know that a meter is equivalent to 39 inches, as opposed to the yard being 36 inches, which we Americans are far more accustomed to.

And forget changing temperature from Fahrenheit to Centigrade (or Celsius as we call it in the States.) Ok, again, I'm a smart-ass, and I know that your Fahrenheit temperature minus 32 degrees, divided by 1.8 equals your Celsius temperature. Example, 68F minus 32 is 36, divide by 1.8 gives you 20 Celsius. So 68F equals 20C. But, Americans, used to telling temperature in Fahrenheit...Celsius temperatures dont MEAN anything to Americans.

Wanna really have fun with an American, try giving them the temperature in KELVIN. Of course, I also know that Celsius plus 273 equals your Kelvin temperature, thus 68F equals 20C or 293K.

The point is, though, Americans are used to pints, quarts, and gallons...liters don't mean much to us (yes, I know 3.78 liters equals one U.S. Gallon.) Americans are used to inches, feet, yards, miles...a kilometer or a meter doesn't mean much to the average American, who is too lazy to wrap their brain around a new concept.

Besides, I just know if we ever did switch to liters, people would be convinced they were getting ripped off at the pumps, because they would not be able to make the translation in their mind between price per gallon and price per liter, and they'd be convinced they werre getting ripped off.

Price per gallon on gas, by the way, in my area, just came back down to $2.99 a gallon (same as if it were 79.1¢ a liter.) But Americans wouldn't want to do the math. I know, I'm an American, I know my countrymen. Just because I can make the conversions, I do not assume that the majority of my countrymen can...or would be inclined to.

No, you can't redeem it. On June 4th, 1963, Congress abolised silver certificates because the price of silver exceeded the stated value of the certificate. On June 24th, 1968, all redemption in silver for silver certificates was stopped. Your $5 silver certificate, though rare and certainly a collectors item, is to be regarded as a Federal Reserve Note, and is to most people worth only...$5.
Nice.

(snippy)

Granted, I chuck pennies in the garbage bin (I know it's needed to maintain stability, but I can't justify carrying them), but it only reinforces my point-natural inflation has made the one dollar bill inadequite (pennies on their own used to be worth saving, too). A two dollar bill could serve the purpose better.

(snippy)

Plus, coins last longer. When was the last time you encountered a dollar bill marked "Series 1975"? I don't think I've ever seen one. But I've seen plenty of quarters marked that, or earlier. This means that they wouldn't have to make as many dollar coins as they do dollar bills. The greater longevity of coins, combined with their lower cost of production, equals savings for the taxpayer.

(snippy)



1. Can I have your pennies? No, seriously...I don't much care for pennies, either...in fact, I discovered something interesting about pennies...THE ELECTRONIC TOLL BASKETS IN ILLINOIS ACTUALLY ACCEPT PENNIES!! They want 40 cents from me every 27 feet, do they? Well, this is the Land of Lincoln, you can keep the sonna-ma-beach!! SLAM, 40 pennies in the basket, and I'm continuing on my merry way on the Stevenson Expressway, thank you very much.

2. Actually, I can show you 3 one-dollar bills Series 1950, and one Series 1937. I can also show you a Series 1950 ten-dollar Silver Certificate bill, and a Series 1950 20 dollar bill. They are in my coin-and-bill collection. I'm a numismatist.

I agree with the last poster.

To me, it's not about this stuff of paper and metal. The problem woth both is that we have to continually mint them, we have to produce something that costs beaucoup money.

Consider... the $1 costs about... 1 cent to make, like you said (simplifying it). Which means, if we were to mint one million a year... it would still cost $10000 to make all of that. One tenth is absurd. While it would be better to make 500000 twos and cost $5000 to make, I would rather make a piece of plastic that costs 3 cents to make and only have to mint one per person, ever. If we converted to electronic currency, do you know how high the dollar's value would skyrocket?

To put it in perspective. Each of us generally has about $10-20 in ones at any time around the house. If there are 295,734,134 (last census) Americans in the world... and we each own just ten ones... that means that, at any given time, there is at least 2,957,341,340 ones (I don't even care to consider those sitting in banks, at supermarkets, so forth) in circulation. Which means it costs about $29,573,413.40 to make that. Now, if we have one card of plastic which costs 3 cents (I'm making this number up, I guarentee you it's less... but even for the drama) to make and everyone has one, it comes out to: $8,872,024.02. That is a $20,701,389.38 difference. That is money fed back into the economy... that is lowered taxes, less national deficit (internally, but could pay external as well). So... how's it looking? That is giving a bare minimum amount of American $1s in the world and a high price of plastic. I guarentee you the difference is far larger than my calculations.

But America, and the rest of the world, is too stubborn to figure that out and implement it. I say everyone throw every single dollar, penny, everything into their bank accounts and go to places that only accept debit cards. As it is, credit and debit is the only thing that matters in this world (at least in America). Without credit you cannot buy anything. Without debit, you cannot pay off most credits (which, for the most part, no longer accept cash... only checks or direct withdrawl from an account). It's what runs America.

I like your idea, I think it would be nifty. But if you want to look at the longevity of the situation (which was your purpose, I assume)... the world is better off focusing on electronic currency. It would skyrocket the value of American currency, get rid of internal debt, and be much easy to keep track of. All of your arguments are better put in a card:
-Wallets also have little places to hold multiple cards. Everyone has a debit and/or a credit card in one of those slots.
-Change will not dangle if it doesn't exist. Wallets will not be over-filled by one card, whereas an over-abundance of any denomination of paper currency will wear on a wallet.
-People like to brag about the credit card they have. Everyone has heard the guy, "I've got the Super Ultra Platinum Card. I have a limit of $1 billion. Yeah... only hit my limit twice. I rock."
-America's a backwards nation as it is. Everyone else follows the metric system, we don't. Why not just be the trend setter here, too? We're nifty enough to. And we have bigger guns than everyone else.
-It will reflect on your credit, whereas paper and coinage do not. Credit reports see that you pay things on time, credit companies generally accept non-mint currency only... and everyone is more inclined to have a good credit score if they're more conscious of that single card.
-It's cheaper on the economy.
-Lastly, but most importantly, you can have your picture on your currency, not Mr. Jefferson on his. ^.^

Yay electric world.

I have a few of them lying around somewhere. I'm pretty sure another factor (that now is no longer true) was that prostitutes used to get paid in $2 bills.

Last summer, myself and a couple of coworkers cleaned out the bank of twos on one of our pay checks. We then spent them like mad. The funnest part was watching the clerks (especially the dumb ones) trying to figure out where to put them.

Yeah, that's fuckin' great, ain't it?!?!

Hell, I had another use for dollar coins. They forced me to save. Because I refused to spend them. I would go out of my way to accumulate dollar coins that I would then put in a jar and not spend. The convenience store at the corner knew I'd buy out all the dollar coins they had, every time I came in (this is when I was working at a decent job, and was making good money) and I can tell you, when I first hit on bad times, that jar of dollar coins I'd accumulated over the years SAVED MY ASS!! I called it the dollar savings plan. And I can tell you, it saved my ass, I had, by then, saved up enough for three months of living expenses, and hadn't ever even missed it.

Erm... not the last poster. -_- I don't know why it did that. But the last posts didn't show up until after I posted. So, uh, electric posty guy. Smart dude. Yes... him!

That's half the reason I got mine. The other half was because I thought it was a good idea.

Search "two dollar bill" and "taco hell" together in Google and read the story. It's pretty funny how moronic people in this country can be about their own money.

Ah, screw that, here's the link...you'll laugh your assets off!!

http://www.snopes.com/business/money/tacobell.asp

You should notice another fact: if we keep the number of $1 bills in circulation unchanged, it still costs money. Since, once you print a $1 bill, it's going to tear or otherwise be damaged pretty quickly, and the cents you spent on making it are lost. So, a population of paper dollars kept in circulation is just an expense. If you minted $1 coins, they'd be in use about 30 years, and would need little replacement. (How do you destroy coins?)

Oh, let's see...
Explosives
Hydrochloric acid
Tactical nuclear weapons... :D

I just remembered Mexico introduced a plastic $20 bill. The thing is virtually indestructible. That could be an alternative for the US, to make plastic $1 bills instead of paper.

And besides, why do US people have to be so anal retentive about everything? It's just money, for crying out loud. One is as good as the other.

Doesn't seem like plastic money would be at all indestructible. fire would do nicely, wouldn't it? How about pulling your wallet out, after sitting your ass on a hot car seat in summer for a while...ever do that with a chocolate bar?? :D

$1 coins are too heavy to carry around, especially when you have, say, 5-15 dollars on you.

I still have tons of Eisenhower dollars and they ARE a pain to deal with. Paper money is more simple. What they SHOULD make are $1.99 bills.

Ah, screw that, here's the link...you'll laugh your assets off!!

http://www.snopes.com/business/money/tacobell.asp

LMAO, man that was a good one.

Why make a $1.99 bill? Shouldn't they make a $2.13 bill? Include tax and just make it easier on us?
...
Or should they just make electronic cards?!?! Muahahaha!

The population would (and does) default to the dollar bill in this case, because it is more efficient. Would you make use of a one-cent bill? Of course not, no-one would. How about a twenty-five-cent bill? No. The dollar is the basic unit of American currency, with all other denominations measured as a multiple or a fraction. The dollar is the smallest meaningful amount of money we use, that is why it is where we begin using paper money, which is much less bulky and much easier to carry around. That's also why people throw pennies away.

Instead of throwing them away, send them to me!! Hell, if every American would send me one stinkin' penny...275 million Americans...I'd have 2 million, seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars!

Go on, throw them pennies out. But throw 'em in my direction, guys, okay?

Canada has a $1 (the "loonie" as it has a picture of a loon on it) and a $2 coin affectionately referred to as the "twoonie".

With as Looney Tunes as the States are these days, thanks to GW Bush, that sounds like exactly the kind of currency we need!

Why does this always turn political? Who cares about GW Bush? He will not affect the money. It will not happen. Drop that stuff. -_-

Besides, we were Looney from the second we said, "Fuck ye Redcoats."

two dollar bills were taken out of circulation because of lack of demand for them, and to this date, there still isn't a big demand for them. Take your two dollar bills and save them (if they aren't 1995 series), they might be worth something.


:sniper:

Instead of throwing them away, send them to me!! Hell, if every American would send me one stinkin' penny...275 million Americans...I'd have 2 million, seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars!

Go on, throw them pennies out. But throw 'em in my direction, guys, okay?

Lex Luther just called. He wants his evil scheme back.

I agree with the last poster.

To me, it's not about this stuff of paper and metal. The problem woth both is that we have to continually mint them, we have to produce something that costs beaucoup money.

Consider... the $1 costs about... 1 cent to make, like you said (simplifying it). Which means, if we were to mint one million a year... it would still cost $10000 to make all of that. One tenth is absurd. While it would be better to make 500000 twos and cost $5000 to make, I would rather make a piece of plastic that costs 3 cents to make and only have to mint one per person, ever. If we converted to electronic currency, do you know how high the dollar's value would skyrocket?

To put it in perspective. Each of us generally has about $10-20 in ones at any time around the house. If there are 295,734,134 (last census) Americans in the world... and we each own just ten ones... that means that, at any given time, there is at least 2,957,341,340 ones (I don't even care to consider those sitting in banks, at supermarkets, so forth) in circulation. Which means it costs about $29,573,413.40 to make that. Now, if we have one card of plastic which costs 3 cents (I'm making this number up, I guarentee you it's less... but even for the drama) to make and everyone has one, it comes out to: $8,872,024.02. That is a $20,701,389.38 difference. That is money fed back into the economy... that is lowered taxes, less national deficit (internally, but could pay external as well). So... how's it looking? That is giving a bare minimum amount of American $1s in the world and a high price of plastic. I guarentee you the difference is far larger than my calculations.

But America, and the rest of the world, is too stubborn to figure that out and implement it. I say everyone throw every single dollar, penny, everything into their bank accounts and go to places that only accept debit cards. As it is, credit and debit is the only thing that matters in this world (at least in America). Without credit you cannot buy anything. Without debit, you cannot pay off most credits (which, for the most part, no longer accept cash... only checks or direct withdrawl from an account). It's what runs America.

I like your idea, I think it would be nifty. But if you want to look at the longevity of the situation (which was your purpose, I assume)... the world is better off focusing on electronic currency. It would skyrocket the value of American currency, get rid of internal debt, and be much easy to keep track of. All of your arguments are better put in a card:
-Wallets also have little places to hold multiple cards. Everyone has a debit and/or a credit card in one of those slots.
-Change will not dangle if it doesn't exist. Wallets will not be over-filled by one card, whereas an over-abundance of any denomination of paper currency will wear on a wallet.
-People like to brag about the credit card they have. Everyone has heard the guy, "I've got the Super Ultra Platinum Card. I have a limit of $1 billion. Yeah... only hit my limit twice. I rock."
-America's a backwards nation as it is. Everyone else follows the metric system, we don't. Why not just be the trend setter here, too? We're nifty enough to. And we have bigger guns than everyone else.
-It will reflect on your credit, whereas paper and coinage do not. Credit reports see that you pay things on time, credit companies generally accept non-mint currency only... and everyone is more inclined to have a good credit score if they're more conscious of that single card.
-It's cheaper on the economy.
-Lastly, but most importantly, you can have your picture on your currency, not Mr. Jefferson on his. ^.^

Yay electric world.


There are three things I do not like about electronic currency...even though I use debit and credit cards far more often than cash, I still like the option of using cash, and I always carry some cash.

Dislikes about electronic currency

1. Your purchases, and your whereabouts are trackable. I don't want Big Brother to know where I am and what I'm spending my money on.

2. Computer hackers. Is it conceivable that a smart hacker could get into your account somehow, and drain you even though he was never closer than 500 miles from you, ever, in your life? Shit, if I'm gonna get mugged, I wanna see the mugger's mug! At least that way I can have his ass busted.

3. Lose your card, and you are seriously fucked. Especially if someone else FINDS it. They could clean you out. In the old days, if ya dropped a twenty, and someone else found it...well, shit, you were out 20 bucks. Now you could be out EVERYTHING!!

Nope, I don't like electronic currency as the only available option.

ON EDIT: Besides...I am a coin collector. A numismatist. You can't collect electronic currency. That sucks. Besides, coins have historical significance.

My most prized coin, for example, isn't even really worth much. It's an 1842 penny, back in those days, pennies were all copper, and about the size of modern-day half-dollars. It's in fair condition, worth about $15 to any collector, by the black book, anyway. (I prefer the black book to the red book, fellow numismatists...so call me a commie!!) Anyway...when I look at this coin, in my collection...I realize that this penny may once have been held by Abraham Lincoln! That's history, man! Electronic currency just sucks.

Lex Luther just called. He wants his evil scheme back.

Gotta love it, though, eh?
Seriously...if every American would just send me ONE STINKIN' PENNY...I could be just about set for life!!

Get rid of all currecy and go with plastic (money cards). They weigh next to nothing, extreemly cheap to produce and hell they take up almost no space.

I say leave well enough alone. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Gotta love it, though, eh?
Seriously...if every American would just send me ONE STINKIN' PENNY...I could be just about set for life!!

Nearly $3,000,000.

I have a few of them lying around somewhere. I'm pretty sure another factor (that now is no longer true) was that prostitutes used to get paid in $2 bills.
One of the arguements back in 1976 was that they would be used to bet on the horses, as at that time the basic bet was $2. But since nearly every state has casinos now, and most of them killed the horse tracks. I don't suppose this is still valid.

The inflation thing is interesting though because about 1979 0r 80 the price of metal became more than the value of the money. People would go to the bank and get silver money and sell it for it's silver. The coin was worth more as silver than as a coin. The same thing happened to the copper in the penny. So instead of paying the debt to solve the inflation problem, they took all the silver out of coins.

No, the first thing the US needs to do before they even think of adding a new bill.. Make each bill a different color.. It's amazingly handy

Two-dollar bills kick ass.

No, the first thing the US needs to do before they even think of adding a new bill.. Make each bill a different color.. It's amazingly handy
As a numismatist, this is one more idea I support. And for not entirely unselfish reasons!

First posted by Lyric

There are three things I do not like about electronic currency...even though I use debit and credit cards far more often than cash, I still like the option of using cash, and I always carry some cash.

Dislikes about electronic currency

1. Your purchases, and your whereabouts are trackable. I don't want Big Brother to know where I am and what I'm spending my money on.

2. Computer hackers. Is it conceivable that a smart hacker could get into your account somehow, and drain you even though he was never closer than 500 miles from you, ever, in your life? Shit, if I'm gonna get mugged, I wanna see the mugger's mug! At least that way I can have his ass busted.

3. Lose your card, and you are seriously fucked. Especially if someone else FINDS it. They could clean you out. In the old days, if ya dropped a twenty, and someone else found it...well, shit, you were out 20 bucks. Now you could be out EVERYTHING!!

Nope, I don't like electronic currency as the only available option.

ON EDIT: Besides...I am a coin collector. A numismatist. You can't collect electronic currency. That sucks. Besides, coins have historical significance.

My most prized coin, for example, isn't even really worth much. It's an 1842 penny, back in those days, pennies were all copper, and about the size of modern-day half-dollars. It's in fair condition, worth about $15 to any collector, by the black book, anyway. (I prefer the black book to the red book, fellow numismatists...so call me a commie!!) Anyway...when I look at this coin, in my collection...I realize that this penny may once have been held by Abraham Lincoln! That's history, man! Electronic currency just sucks.

To refute your points... 'cause I'm one of those structured debaters.

1. Your purchases are trackable. So are they with paper. -shrugs- If the government wanted to, it could follow everything that happens with a serial number'd dollar. Even if you are easily to be traced, that could come in handy. I'll prove why in a second.

2. Computer hackers vs being mugged in person This is where being traced is important. If he hacks you, they can trace that. Furthermore, if you are mugged and/or lose your card. I said have your picture on there (which is beginning to happen with Bank of America, and will probably spread) so that they see it is you and not said mugger. To top this off, and just as they do it now, they can trace any time he spends your money and nail him. Thus people would figure out that using your card is useless. So, where you once would have been out $20 for dropping it... you are now only out a couple of days and 3 cents worth of plastic. You can cross-apply this to your third argument. Chances are, they will return the money to you.

To provide more on this, not refuting, but using your arguments...

1. Say someone robs your house, first thing they do? Take all the expensive stuff and look for your money, checking for where people commonly keep a stash. Dressers, under beds, that sort of thing. Now they've got nothing up on you, they take your expensive stuff... but no money.

2. A second, related point, is that crime would be cut down dramatically. If all of our transactions were done on electronic currency, how would you make an illegal trade? I know one could transfer funds... but it would be tedious. And no one wants to rob someone for something they can't use. Muggings would cease to exist.

3. And, a third point, I do not want to say paper and coinage is useless. I merely say it's not economical. I realize that it won't die out any time soon. I was just noting, he wanted to be economical about the matter... well, I believe that a piece of plastic is far more economical than a $2 bill.

I think if you are going to get rid of any of our currency, it ought to be the one cent piece (penny) rather than the dollar bill. Who carries pennies these days and they are much less useful than a one dollar bill?

$2 bills won't catch on because it's new and we fear new things or changes to our routines in this country. Simple as that. We're like a whole country of 75 year olds that do what we do because that's the way we've always done it, dammit!

Hell, why not do away with anything below 5c in value? We did it here in Australia. All transactions are rounded to the nearest 5c. It's soooo much more convenient it's not funny.

The metric system failed with the public, because the metric system sucks. Okay, maybe it doesn't suck, certainly it is scientific...and the increments in ten make sense...BUT...education about the metric system has been, and is, sadly lacking in American public-school curriculum...and, you're used to what you are used to.

A mile means something to me. A kilometer doesn't. OK, OK, I'm a smart-ass, and I know that 1.62 kilometers equals one mile...but most Americans could not make such a conversion. And therefore, a kilometer would be meaningless to an American, whereas a mile means something. And how would we play football? I mean AMERICAN football? Can you just see it...and the Packers take it down to the Eagles 35-meter line?? Nope...don't sound right. And I know that a meter is equivalent to 39 inches, as opposed to the yard being 36 inches, which we Americans are far more accustomed to.

And forget changing temperature from Fahrenheit to Centigrade (or Celsius as we call it in the States.) Ok, again, I'm a smart-ass, and I know that your Fahrenheit temperature minus 32 degrees, divided by 1.8 equals your Celsius temperature. Example, 68F minus 32 is 36, divide by 1.8 gives you 20 Celsius. So 68F equals 20C. But, Americans, used to telling temperature in Fahrenheit...Celsius temperatures dont MEAN anything to Americans.

Wanna really have fun with an American, try giving them the temperature in KELVIN. Of course, I also know that Celsius plus 273 equals your Kelvin temperature, thus 68F equals 20C or 293K.

The point is, though, Americans are used to pints, quarts, and gallons...liters don't mean much to us (yes, I know 3.78 liters equals one U.S. Gallon.) Americans are used to inches, feet, yards, miles...a kilometer or a meter doesn't mean much to the average American, who is too lazy to wrap their brain around a new concept.

Besides, I just know if we ever did switch to liters, people would be convinced they were getting ripped off at the pumps, because they would not be able to make the translation in their mind between price per gallon and price per liter, and they'd be convinced they werre getting ripped off.

Price per gallon on gas, by the way, in my area, just came back down to $2.99 a gallon (same as if it were 79.1¢ a liter.) But Americans wouldn't want to do the math. I know, I'm an American, I know my countrymen. Just because I can make the conversions, I do not assume that the majority of my countrymen can...or would be inclined to.

I know this is off topic, but where I went to high school you were required to know and understand the metric system so that you could pass the higher level science classes. In chemistry and physics we NEVER did anything without it being in the metric system.

One - go back to valued currency. Yes, it sucks for high economics or whatever, but then again, if we go to localization, it works more and more.

No BS Money. We want money thats actually worth something.

I know this is off topic, but where I went to high school you were required to know and understand the metric system so that you could pass the higher level science classes. In chemistry and physics we NEVER did anything without it being in the metric system.

Same here. Science, particularly chemistry...was never done in anything other than the metric system, even here in the U.S. But it was not a required subject for graduation, either. You had to have 1 1/2 years of science. That's all. So one could graduate without chemistry, for example. Most guys would take 1 year of biology, and then 1/2 year on some other low-level science course. Me, I went on for chemistry, because I had the aptitude and the interest for it.

At any rate, while I can do the conversions between the metric and the American measuring systems, most Americans can't. And even I don't think in terms of the metric system. I think in terms of...it's about a mile away. I mean, okay, I know that it's also about 1.62 kilometers away, but still, a kilometer doesn't mean all that much to me, I still need to do the conversion, and think about it in American terms for it to have any real meaning for me. You're used to what you're used to, you know?

2. Actually, I can show you 3 one-dollar bills Series 1950, and one Series 1937. I can also show you a Series 1950 ten-dollar Silver Certificate bill, and a Series 1950 20 dollar bill. They are in my coin-and-bill collection. I'm a numismatist.

But how often do you encounter such bills in normal circulation? Do you get 1950 $10 silver certificates regularly in your change from the grocery store? No, you don't. But I'd be willing to bet that every American gets at least 5 (at least) coins that are 10 years old or older every day. I only run across a series 1995 bill every three months or so.

It costs the governemnt more than a penny to produce a penny.

It does? Well that kills my argument about coins being cheaper to make than bills. But as they'd be in circulation so much longer, we wouldn't have to make as many, and we'd still save money.

...the government ought to go back to minting 2-cent coins...

It's a good idea, but we'd still have to have pennies to maintain stability in the market. If the penny was still out there, people would default to it like they default to the $1 bill instead of the $2 bill. The 2-cent (why isn't there a cent symbol on my keyboard?) piece would become kind of an oddity, much like the half dollar now.

They also should increase production of 50-cent pieces...

Right on. Further consolidation of coinage would also be a good thing.


BUT, Ben Franklin is on the two...

That must be some $2 bill you have there-all the ones I have have Thomas Jefferson on them.

two dollar bills were taken out of circulation because of lack of demand for them, and to this date, there still isn't a big demand for them. Take your two dollar bills and save them (if they aren't 1995 series), they might be worth something.


:sniper:

No no no. The last series of $2 bills was two years ago, in 2003. The're readily available at you local bank. Go ask for some.

It's not that a $2 bill is rare (there's a lot out there) they're just rarely seen, because people such as yourself have the annoying tendency to hoard them. Series 1976 bills are worth no more than a 1995 or a 2003 series bill-$2.

Now, if you have a bill dated from the '60s or before and it has red seals and serial numbers on it, that I would save, as it is a $2 United States Note, few of which are seen anymore in any denomination (especially $2)

I think if you are going to get rid of any of our currency, it ought to be the one cent piece (penny) rather than the dollar bill. Who carries pennies these days and they are much less useful than a one dollar bill?

You can't get rid of the penny-people would riot. It is the basis of our entire system. Could you imagine if instead of gas going up by the cent it went up by two cents-double the increase!

Keep the penny-it's a major pain in the ass, but we need it.

$2 bills won't catch on because it's new and we fear new things or changes to our routines in this country. Simple as that. We're like a whole country of 75 year olds that do what we do because that's the way we've always done it, dammit!

That's exactly why the government has to take it away from us-we'd never do it of our own free will.

Once people saw that converting from a $1 bill to a $1 coin actually saved them money, they'd calm down.

Hell, why not do away with anything below 5c in value? We did it here in Australia. All transactions are rounded to the nearest 5c. It's soooo much more convenient it's not funny.

As I stated before, it would be a major blow to our economy to get rid of the penny. Because your currency is valued lower than ours, you can get away with it, but it would have much greater reprocussions (sp?) here.

I agree with the last poster.

To me, it's not about this stuff of paper and metal. The problem woth both is that we have to continually mint them, we have to produce something that costs beaucoup money.

Consider... the $1 costs about... 1 cent to make, like you said (simplifying it). Which means, if we were to mint one million a year... it would still cost $10000 to make all of that. One tenth is absurd. While it would be better to make 500000 twos and cost $5000 to make, I would rather make a piece of plastic that costs 3 cents to make and only have to mint one per person, ever. If we converted to electronic currency, do you know how high the dollar's value would skyrocket?

To put it in perspective. Each of us generally has about $10-20 in ones at any time around the house. If there are 295,734,134 (last census) Americans in the world... and we each own just ten ones... that means that, at any given time, there is at least 2,957,341,340 ones (I don't even care to consider those sitting in banks, at supermarkets, so forth) in circulation. Which means it costs about $29,573,413.40 to make that. Now, if we have one card of plastic which costs 3 cents (I'm making this number up, I guarentee you it's less... but even for the drama) to make and everyone has one, it comes out to: $8,872,024.02. That is a $20,701,389.38 difference. That is money fed back into the economy... that is lowered taxes, less national deficit (internally, but could pay external as well). So... how's it looking? That is giving a bare minimum amount of American $1s in the world and a high price of plastic. I guarentee you the difference is far larger than my calculations.

But America, and the rest of the world, is too stubborn to figure that out and implement it. I say everyone throw every single dollar, penny, everything into their bank accounts and go to places that only accept debit cards. As it is, credit and debit is the only thing that matters in this world (at least in America). Without credit you cannot buy anything. Without debit, you cannot pay off most credits (which, for the most part, no longer accept cash... only checks or direct withdrawl from an account). It's what runs America.

I like your idea, I think it would be nifty. But if you want to look at the longevity of the situation (which was your purpose, I assume)... the world is better off focusing on electronic currency. It would skyrocket the value of American currency, get rid of internal debt, and be much easy to keep track of. All of your arguments are better put in a card:
-Wallets also have little places to hold multiple cards. Everyone has a debit and/or a credit card in one of those slots.
-Change will not dangle if it doesn't exist. Wallets will not be over-filled by one card, whereas an over-abundance of any denomination of paper currency will wear on a wallet.
-People like to brag about the credit card they have. Everyone has heard the guy, "I've got the Super Ultra Platinum Card. I have a limit of $1 billion. Yeah... only hit my limit twice. I rock."
-America's a backwards nation as it is. Everyone else follows the metric system, we don't. Why not just be the trend setter here, too? We're nifty enough to. And we have bigger guns than everyone else.
-It will reflect on your credit, whereas paper and coinage do not. Credit reports see that you pay things on time, credit companies generally accept non-mint currency only... and everyone is more inclined to have a good credit score if they're more conscious of that single card.
-It's cheaper on the economy.
-Lastly, but most importantly, you can have your picture on your currency, not Mr. Jefferson on his. ^.^

Yay electric world.

While I can see where you're coming from and think that down the road (far down the road)this idea could be feasable, I just don't think we're there yet. I'm much too attached to my paper money to give it all up for what amounts to a debit card. I know it sounds illogical, and it is, but it's just a thing common to most people around the world. We like our money to be plainly visible in front of us, confirmation that it's actually there, not just a bunch of 0s and 1s.

Great visionary idea, though.

No, the first thing the US needs to do before they even think of adding a new bill.. Make each bill a different color.. It's amazingly handy

They used to do that, back in the 19th and early 20th century, when notes larger than today were issued. When they began making small notes, the rainbow dissapeared.

But I think it's kinda-sorta coming back-look at the twenty and the fifty and the soon-to-be-revealed ten. I hear they're starting to work on the hundred. The color of those bills makes them easy to distinguish from each other.

$1 coins are too heavy to carry around, especially when you have, say, 5-15 dollars on you.

I still have tons of Eisenhower dollars and they ARE a pain to deal with. Paper money is more simple. What they SHOULD make are $1.99 bills.

The Eisenhower dollar is grotesquely large-if it was thinner, you could use it as a frisbee.

Today's dollar coin is about the size of a quarter (actually as large to the quarter as the nickel is small), except it has a smooth edge and is golden in color. It also weighs comparably more than the quarter, so you should be able to distinguish one without looking at it.

The solution to the problem of large amounts of change jangling around in your pockets is simple- use it. Don't let it pile up.

1. But how often do you encounter such bills in normal circulation? Do you get 1950 $10 silver certificates regularly in your change from the grocery store? No, you don't. But I'd be willing to bet that every American gets at least 5 (at least) coins that are 10 years old or older every day. I only run across a series 1995 bill every three months or so.



2. It does? Well that kills my argument about coins being cheaper to make than bills. But as they'd be in circulation so much longer, we wouldn't have to make as many, and we'd still save money.



3. It's a good idea, but we'd still have to have pennies to maintain stability in the market. If the penny was still out there, people would default to it like they default to the $1 bill instead of the $2 bill. The 2-cent (why isn't there a cent symbol on my keyboard?) piece would become kind of an oddity, much like the half dollar now.



4. Right on. Further consolidation of coinage would also be a good thing.




5. That must be some $2 bill you have there-all the ones I have have Thomas Jefferson on them.

1. I got said $10 bill in circulation. I took it out of circulation. The dollar bills, on the other hand, I swapped with other collectors, and obtained them. But the $10 I found in normal circulation, believe it or not. Couldn't believe some idiot had spent it. Needless to say, I immediately removed it from circulation, and it sits behind plastic sheets in my album now. Nevertheless, your point is a fair one to make, it IS rare to find anything much over a 10 year old bill in circulation, but 40 and 50 year old coins in circulation are more common.

2. Yes, it actually does cost more than a penny to make a penny. Or at least it did before they changed to the copper-coated zinc alloy they use now. Used to be that there was more than 1¢ worth of copper in the penny itself, which is why they went to the alloy...so now it may be less than 1¢ to produce a penny. I'm not sure of this. But, still, when talking about dollar coins...well, they would cost more to make than a dollar bill...but would last far longer than a bill would, so fewer would have to be made, and thus there are your savings. Also, if you made $2 bills...the amount of dollar coins to be made could be cut by at least 75% because instead of a max of four per transaction, now you'd only need a max of one per transaction, hence the need for fewer of them.

3. I never said we should do away with pennies. I said that, if we went back to making a two-cent coin, we could cut penny production by 75% with the same logic as the $2 bill, because now, instead of four pennies needed max in a transaction, you'd only need ONE max. and there is not a ¢ symbol on my keyboard either. The way you produce one is to hold down your ALT key, and use your 10-key number pad, while holding ALT, type 155, and then let up the ALT key, and you will have a ¢ symbol.

4, Exactly. Again, it saves money, and it saves on the total number of coins you need to haul around with you. And it saves on the number of actual coins needed to be produced by the Mint, resulting in a savings for the American taxpayer...and, not unselfishly...a windfall for numismatists like myself!

5. Crap. You're right. It IS Jefferson on the two. I'm such a dumb-ass. It was late at night, and I wasn't thinking straight. I mean, Franklin IS on the two...but he's on the back, in the big crowd of folks, lol. Anyway, I say we could put T.J. there on the new 2-cent coin, and put Washington on the $2 bill if ya wanted.

Anyways, there is definitely ways to improve the efficiency and convenience of our coinage and currency here in the states. And I'm in favor of multi-colored bills, too. I'm in favor of all the changes, and not just for the efficiency/savings/expediency arguments...but also because it would create value in the old and new coin/bill items in their last/first years of circulation, which would produce a windfall for a numismatist like myself. So my motivations are far from altruistic here.

Incidentally, I really wish I could have a time machine. Lots of folks are always asked what they would do with a time machine if they had one. I know EXACTLY what I'd do with mine...I'd go back in time, get old, rare coins back when they WEREn'T old and rare...and bring them back forward in time with me, saving them from the wear and tear of circulation, and then sell them up here in the future for gobs of money, and then I'd tell the whole world to kiss my ass and retire!

While I can see where you're coming from and think that down the road (far down the road)this idea could be feasable, I just don't think we're there yet. I'm much too attached to my paper money to give it all up for what amounts to a debit card. I know it sounds illogical, and it is, but it's just a thing common to most people around the world. We like our money to be plainly visible in front of us, confirmation that it's actually there, not just a bunch of 0s and 1s.

Great visionary idea, though.
Great visionary idea my ass! Ask any other numismatist, like myself what they think of that idea, and they will tell you....a fart on that idea, that is what I say to that!
You can't collect electorinc currency.

Gimme my coins and notes, thank you very much.

Well I live in Australia and I find the use of a $2 coin invaluable. And to be quite honest I've never eaten somewhere and divided a check where $1 would be needed. All I can say is if you're getting down to one dollar, pop in the $2 and call it an extra tip. Jeez people.

I mean whatever happend to everyone chucking in a 50 or 100?

It is a great visionary idea... I mean, considering the economic value. It would be far easier to deal with and keep track of. Most colleges rely almost solely on electronic payment. My friend says she forgets cash exists while she's on Campus. -shrugs- It's the beginning.

But, to answer to the rest, I am not saying I like it more. I would rather receive and pay people in cash. It's tangible, more comfortable. Y'know, like, I would feel more comfortable getting $1 million in a breifcase of bills rather than someone saying, "Funds have been transferred to your account." It's... just there. I also favor colourful money for the obvious physical attraction to it. It's prettier. I am the first to admit I've got random coins tucked away that are special-ish. Nothing too rare, Bicentenials, half-dollars, and stuff like that. Not hordes, just one or two. So... yeah. I don't say I want to go electronic, but I will say it's better for the economy. It won't happen in our lifetimes, I believe, but it'll progress that way.

we did away with £1 notes in the early 80's I think.

and we got £2 coins in the late 90's

I mean whatever happend to everyone chucking in a 50 or 100?

Many people in the U.S. kind of consider it rude to pay with a $50 or $100 for smallish purchases (i.e. $25 and lower). Often times, the cashier will have to call the manager, who will then look over the bill quickly and usually accept it, and then give the patron gobs of change back, which most people really don't want.

I found something else interesting on the internet last night. It appears that our idea has already come before the senate budget and finance committee. I've got to wonder why it didn't pass.

Check this out: http://www.cbo.gov/showdoc.cfm?index=5499&sequence=0

Maybe with a new set of dollar coins coming out again in a few years it's time to try it again.

In case you don't want to read the text of the above link, there's one thing in it that I though stood out because we haven't already discussed them.

1) Another factor to consider in the replacement of the $1 bill with a $1 coin would be the fact that coins are easier to process-all you do is put them through a machine that tests for the proper weight and electrical conductivity, and then separates them as either fit or unfit to be recirculated. Although no one in their right mind would today counterfeit a $1 bill, the same techniques can be applied to check for fakes, whereas with a bill you have to examine each one individually.

Well I live in Australia and I find the use of a $2 coin invaluable. And to be quite honest I've never eaten somewhere and divided a check where $1 would be needed. All I can say is if you're getting down to one dollar, pop in the $2 and call it an extra tip. Jeez people.

I mean whatever happend to everyone chucking in a 50 or 100?

Well a 50 or a hundred in Australia is probably worth about a 1 or a 2 in the States.

If it's already been said, oh well, but:

It's just easier that way. I think what some people have in mind when they denounce the use of $2 bills is the fact that it does not easily change, for lack of a better term. 5 divided by two is a fraction, quite obviously, and it's just easier to calculate in your head when you're counting in units of one, five, ten, twenty... It's just easier. And besides, unless you carry around hundreds of dollars in one-dollar denomination, there's not much difference between carrying a single bill, and carrying two bills... it's not like we're hauling around gold bullion.

One, five, ten, twenty, one hundred, et cetera... they all have something in common, they all easily divide and multiply into every other denomination in that group. At least, that's my view on it... I don't really care about the US Govt.'s reason for taking it out of circulation... I mean, really, it doesn't make that much of an impact, and we're already well adjusted to the One-Five-Ten-Twenty-Fifty-One Hundred denominations.

And besides... if we replace the one with the two, and you buy something that comes out to less than a dollar, would it not be easier to carry a one dollar bill and some change, rather than a whole dollar plus whatever was left over? Next people will suggest we reinstate the 50 cent piece into circulation, and then the dollar piece... it's all about ease of use. Today's youth already wear their pants low enough - Stick a few bucks worth of change in there and you've practically got a stripshow on your hands. ;)

If it's already been said, oh well, but:

It's just easier that way. I think what some people have in mind when they denounce the use of $2 bills is the fact that it does not easily change, for lack of a better term. 5 divided by two is a fraction, quite obviously, and it's just easier to calculate in your head when you're counting in units of one, five, ten, twenty... It's just easier. And besides, unless you carry around hundreds of dollars in one-dollar denomination, there's not much difference between carrying a single bill, and carrying two bills... it's not like we're hauling around gold bullion.

One, five, ten, twenty, one hundred, et cetera... they all have something in common, they all easily divide and multiply into every other denomination in that group. At least, that's my view on it... I don't really care about the US Govt.'s reason for taking it out of circulation... I mean, really, it doesn't make that much of an impact, and we're already well adjusted to the One-Five-Ten-Twenty-Fifty-One Hundred denominations.

And besides... if we replace the one with the two, and you buy something that comes out to less than a dollar, would it not be easier to carry a one dollar bill and some change, rather than a whole dollar plus whatever was left over? Next people will suggest we reinstate the 50 cent piece into circulation, and then the dollar piece... it's all about ease of use. Today's youth already wear their pants low enough - Stick a few bucks worth of change in there and you've practically got a stripshow on your hands. ;)

It is no more difficult to count in increments of two than it is to count in increments of twenty-we do that much more frequently with regards to currency, and nobody seems to have a proble. We all learned how to do it in elementary school, and count by twos more often that we realize.

I'm getting from your post that you really didn't read any of the prevoius posts. If you had, you would have learned that it was the general consensus that the dollar bill could be replaced by the dollar coin entirely. There would be no problem making change as the denomination would still be around.

If you're concerned about the weight of the coins, consider that if the one dollar coins was circulated, people would have a reason to go through their pockets to find them, and in the process quite possible utilize other coins more frequently as well. Because we'd use them, the weight of coins wouldn't be a large factor. And if you wanted to further decrease the weight of coinage in yor pocket, you'd realize that the 50¢-piece wasn't such a bad idea. You could halve the number of quarters in your pocket.

As to the government benefit you don't care about, if we were to dispose of the one and replace it with a one dollar coins, the government would save on average $750 million a year (an amount that could quite possibly snowball as time goes on), plus some extra, according to the Congressional Budget Office. This means a little off your taxes-something we all could do with.

Basically, you argument comes down to one point (a point shared by most Americans when considering the issue)-you don't want to change because of just that-you don't want to change, even if such a change would yield benefit to everyone. How utterly moronic.

I challenge anyone to give me a good, concrete reason why the dollar bill couldn't be replaced by the dollar coin and a reason why circulation of two dollar bills increased other than retention of the status quo. If you manage to out-argue me, I'll be more than happy to pay you $3.50, in the form of a two, a dollar coin, and a half dollar, of course ;).

Any takers?

Also, check this out.

http://www.gao.gov/archive/2000/gg00111r.pdf