# Have you ever gotten back a $2 bill, $1 coin or 50¢ coin in change? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 2, 2026, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-gotten-back-a-2-bill-1-coin-or-50-coin-in-change/1030569 "2026-06-02T19:27:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Disinfectus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/disinfectus/32/11085_2.png) [@Disinfectus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Disinfectus)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2026, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-gotten-back-a-2-bill-1-coin-or-50-coin-in-change/1030569/21 "2026-06-02T20:53:10Z")
Yep, I’ve received all three as change in the past. The $2 bill and dollar coin being more common. It’s been a while since I’ve seen a 50-cent piece. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2026, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-gotten-back-a-2-bill-1-coin-or-50-coin-in-change/1030569/22 "2026-06-02T21:02:39Z")
Back when I was a cashier–and this was in the 70s–there was no slot in the till drawer for anything more exotic than a quarter or a $20 bill, so any of the items the OP mentioned got stuck under the plastic tray in the till and we wouldn’t worry about them until closing. And any time there was a discrepancy between what was in the drawer and what was _supposed_ to be in the drawer, it was always by 50 cents, a dollar, or two dollars. This was at a drugstore soda fountain, so I never saw any $50 or $100 bills. So not only did I never get any of these things in change, I never gave them out either. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2026, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-gotten-back-a-2-bill-1-coin-or-50-coin-in-change/1030569/23 "2026-06-02T21:07:56Z")
The limited number of slots in cash drawers was an argument against widespread adoption of one-dollar coins. If we ever decided to eliminate the penny (and perhaps the nickel) that issue would be solved. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2026, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-gotten-back-a-2-bill-1-coin-or-50-coin-in-change/1030569/24 "2026-06-02T21:11:10Z")
I just remembered an odd incident. My daughter and I had just visited my son, who was dying in the hospital from acute alcoholism. A very sad and somber day. We were exhausted, and as we left the hospital parking area, I had to go through the toll booth and I inserted a $20 bill. My change came back in SBA dollars. I sat there looking at these and blurted out “Ah, Susan B. Anthony dollars: the most useful of all our currency.” My daughter started giggling and then we both collapsed in laughter. It was stress relief, of course. ---
**Author:** ![batsto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b2d939/32.png) [@batsto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/batsto)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2026, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-gotten-back-a-2-bill-1-coin-or-50-coin-in-change/1030569/25 "2026-06-02T21:14:59Z")
A restaurant here used to deliberately give as many $2 bills in change, supposedly on the grounds that (back when we paid cash for everything) this got their wait staff larger tips. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2026, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-gotten-back-a-2-bill-1-coin-or-50-coin-in-change/1030569/26 "2026-06-02T23:30:09Z")
Loonies and toonies ($1 & $2 coins) are ridiculously common in change in Canada, because there are no longer $1 or $2 bills, but I’ve only ever seen a 50ȼ coin once: I think it was my grandfather’s. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2026, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-gotten-back-a-2-bill-1-coin-or-50-coin-in-change/1030569/27 "2026-06-02T23:49:42Z")
Just a bit ago, a couple small merchants here locally handed out two dollar bills- which i like-. Time to drop the dollar bill, use coins and two dollar bills instead. > [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > The limited number of slots in cash drawers was an argument against widespread adoption of one-dollar coins. Well, the penny has been sorta eliminated, and there are five slot standard. Even allowing penny, you have nickle, dime, quarter and dollar, since 50 cent pieces are uncoomon. Now, without pennies, plenty of room. > [@Horatio\_Hellpop](#): > > Back when I was a cashier–and this was in the 70s–there was no slot in the till drawer for anything more exotic than a quarter or a $20 bill, so any of the items the OP mentioned got stuck under the plastic tray in the till and we wouldn’t worry about them until closing. Back then- five slots, just like today. So, what went in your coin slots? And bills- $1, $5, $10, $20, leaves room for one more. Checks? > [@hajario](#): > > Anyone who grew up in the West Los Angeles area almost certainly ate at Tito’s Tacos I remember eating there, but not the coins. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2026, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-gotten-back-a-2-bill-1-coin-or-50-coin-in-change/1030569/28 "2026-06-03T00:07:56Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > > [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > > > The limited number of slots in cash drawers was an argument against widespread adoption of one-dollar coins. > > Well, the penny has been sorta eliminated, and there are five slot standard. Even allowing penny, you have nickle, dime, quarter and dollar, since 50 cent pieces are uncoomon. > > Now, without pennies, plenty of room. The penny has absolutely not been eliminated, not even “sorta.” What Donald Trump did, in his typical shoddy and poorly thought-out manner, was to order the Department of the Treasury to stop production of new pennies. First of all, that’s not an executive office decision; the Constitution gives Congress the responsibility of deciding which coins to produce and in in whatever quantity they decide. Second, _billions_ of pennies remain in circulation. I agree that the penny ought to be eliminated and cash transactions be rounded to the nearest five cents but that’s a decision that should be made by the people, acting through their elected representatives. (And actually, if I had my way, the nickel would be eliminated as well, and one- and five-dollar coins introduced instead.) ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2026, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-gotten-back-a-2-bill-1-coin-or-50-coin-in-change/1030569/29 "2026-06-03T00:36:22Z")
Interestingly, I was at Total Wine the other day, and the guy ahead of me at the register paid for his purchases with a $100 bill. I overheard the cashier tell the customer that since he was paying with cash the total would be rounded down to the nearest five cents, since they weren’t using pennies anymore. I wonder if he meant it’s Total Wine’s own policy to no longer use pennies, because like you said they are very much still in circulation. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2026, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-gotten-back-a-2-bill-1-coin-or-50-coin-in-change/1030569/30 "2026-06-03T01:21:58Z")
[DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drdeth) [Charter Member](https://boards.straightdope.com/g/Charter_Member) > Back then- five slots, just like today. > > So, what went in your coin slots? > > And bills- $1, $5, $10, $20, leaves room for one more. Checks? Rolls of pennies and quarters, if I recall correctly. Checks went under the till tray. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2026, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-gotten-back-a-2-bill-1-coin-or-50-coin-in-change/1030569/31 "2026-06-03T02:01:28Z")
That was my experience as a cashier. ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2026, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-gotten-back-a-2-bill-1-coin-or-50-coin-in-change/1030569/32 "2026-06-03T02:10:59Z")
I was at a Civil War roundtable meeting last week where the admission is $3.00. I didn’t have any singles, but I had a five-dollar bill. I put that in the collection basket, and went to pull out two one-dollar bills, except the first one was a two-dollar bill. I almost took it, but then I remembered the last time I had one and how awkward it was to hand to a cashier, so I left the two and and took two ones instead. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2026, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-gotten-back-a-2-bill-1-coin-or-50-coin-in-change/1030569/33 "2026-06-03T02:30:00Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > agree that the penny ought to be eliminated and cash transactions be rounded to the nearest five cents … nearest dollar would be much better. Simply eliminate all coins. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2026, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-gotten-back-a-2-bill-1-coin-or-50-coin-in-change/1030569/34 "2026-06-03T02:33:38Z")
That’s one way to go; my most extreme fantasy was to make the quarter the smallest coin, so all cash transactions would be rounded to the nearest $0.25. But again, one-, five- and perhaps ten-dollar coins would be added (with the corresponding banknotes eliminated). Basically I want to return to the days when a pocketful of change (or a handful of coins) could actually buy something. (That’s even though I almost exclusively use a credit card.) ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2026, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-gotten-back-a-2-bill-1-coin-or-50-coin-in-change/1030569/35 "2026-06-03T02:51:43Z")
There’s a ckffee shop down the street from the school where I worked the last 14 years before I retired. I almost always paid cash, and got all those back multiple times there. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2026, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-gotten-back-a-2-bill-1-coin-or-50-coin-in-change/1030569/36 "2026-06-03T02:52:40Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > I’ve gotten $2 bills as change twice that I can recall. Once at the farmers’ market, where I immediately spent it at another vendor. I get 2.00 bills (and 50 cent pieces and dollar coins) all fairly often from customers at farmers’ market. For a while the $2 bills were pretty common, because some group was handing them out to illustrate the value of buying locally, because presumably you could watch your $2 bills circulate around your neighbors, just as you handed yours to another vendor. But it didn’t work very well as they generally disappeared fairly fast to the bank, as most people weren’t quite sure what to do with them, and most stores didn’t like them as there was no place for them in cash registers. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2026, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-gotten-back-a-2-bill-1-coin-or-50-coin-in-change/1030569/37 "2026-06-03T02:52:55Z")
I’ve lived in the US for almost 40 years and I don’t think I have never seen a 50 cent coin. I haven’t seen a two dollar bill since the 1980s of maybe early 1990s, when I worked in a department store and a drug store sometimes on a cash register. But I did a few times during that time. Never received one as change. I used to get dollar coins as change from a vending machine at work 15-20 years ago. Haven’t seen one in recent years. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2026, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-gotten-back-a-2-bill-1-coin-or-50-coin-in-change/1030569/38 "2026-06-03T03:22:52Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I agree that the penny ought to be eliminated and cash transactions be rounded to the nearest five cents but that’s a decision that should be made by the people, acting through their elected representatives. Or, just merchants, rounding off, I have seen this several times. > [@WildaBeast](#): > > . I overheard the cashier tell the customer that since he was paying with cash the total would be rounded down to the nearest five cents, since they weren’t using pennies anymore. I wonder if he meant it’s Total Wine’s own policy to no longer use pennies, because like you said they are very much still in circulation. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2026, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-gotten-back-a-2-bill-1-coin-or-50-coin-in-change/1030569/39 "2026-06-03T03:32:59Z")
Kennedy halves used to circulate pretty widely. I used to man cash registers at a bowling center back from '85 to '89 or thereabouts. For the first two or three years there were usually a few in the till. Then they just quit coming in. I don’t remember the exact year. I remember collecting at least a half dozen silver quarters and dimes and a 1923 series $20 bill from the till over about a week. Of course, I paid for them at face value. Why so many at once? Probably a neighborhood kid robbing his parent’s collection for some after school nachos. I did get a $2 bill in change at a Dollar Tree a few years ago. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2026, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-gotten-back-a-2-bill-1-coin-or-50-coin-in-change/1030569/40 "2026-06-03T03:41:34Z")
> [@california\_jobcase](#): > > I remember collecting at least a half dozen silver quarters and dimes There are people on this board that think you should have paid the full possible value for them. > [@Discussion thread for the "Polls only" thread (Part 3)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/1762): > > “Hey, i collect coins, that could help my collection, mind if I exchange it for double the coin?” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-gotten-back-a-2-bill-1-coin-or-50-coin-in-change/1030569.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-gotten-back-a-2-bill-1-coin-or-50-coin-in-change/1030569.md?page=3)