# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2026, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-gotten-back-a-2-bill-1-coin-or-50-coin-in-change/1030569/41 "2026-06-03T04:13:44Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > 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. I seem to recall getting a Canadian 50-cent piece from a bank decades ago, out of curiosity. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen one in the wild. ---
**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, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-gotten-back-a-2-bill-1-coin-or-50-coin-in-change/1030569/42 "2026-06-03T10:25:42Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Basically I want to return to the days when a pocketful of change (or a handful of coins) You do you, but if we’re gonna have cash at all, I’d like to get to where the idea of a pocketful of heavy metal tokens is a total WTF. One US quarter weighs the same as 6 US paper dollar bills. Which could have a value as high as $600. Max value with min weight; that’s my goal. While were at it, shrink the size of paper currency to be the same size as a credit card. And switch to Tyvek like civilized countries use. Then about 50 bills would weigh the same as a single quarter. ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2026, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-gotten-back-a-2-bill-1-coin-or-50-coin-in-change/1030569/43 "2026-06-03T10:52:01Z")
> [@batsto](#): > > 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. Ted’s Montana Grill did this for years. I don’t generally pay cash there, so no idea if they still do it. > [@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. > [@WildaBeast](#): > > 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. It’s now law here in Florida: > **[Florida 'Nearest nickel' law lets stores round off and it may cost you](https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/2026/05/12/florida-desantis-rounding-nearest-nickel-law-pennies/90042532007/)** > > Florida retailers can now round cash transactions to the nearest nickel, as Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill allowing it. ---
**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, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-gotten-back-a-2-bill-1-coin-or-50-coin-in-change/1030569/44 "2026-06-03T10:59:36Z")
That’s a nutty clickbait headline. And a nutty claim in there; one paragraph says retailers can choose to round up or down to the nearest nickel, while another paragraph explains the statute’s required rounding which is a completely fair method and not “retailers may round up whenever they want”. If that part of the article is to be believed, the only optional aspect of the law for retailers is “round per the fair regulation or don’t round at all”. ---
**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, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-gotten-back-a-2-bill-1-coin-or-50-coin-in-change/1030569/45 "2026-06-03T16:00:33Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > That’s a nutty clickbait headline. Yeah, that is the issue whenever getting rid of the penny is discussed, people thinking every item will be rounded off up, so buying ten $1.96 items will cost you 40 cents. Not true. It is the final price, after sales tax, etc that will be rounded. That is why Congress didnt move on getting rid of the penny- ignorance and bad media articles. ---
**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, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-gotten-back-a-2-bill-1-coin-or-50-coin-in-change/1030569/46 "2026-06-03T16:06:31Z")
Well, that and lobbying from the zinc industry. Seriously; the zinc blanks used to make pennies and nickels are supplied by a company called [Artazn](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artazn), which paid for an astroturf campaign called [Americans for Common Cents](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Americans_for_Common_Cents) that has worked against rationalizing American coins for decades. ---
**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, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-gotten-back-a-2-bill-1-coin-or-50-coin-in-change/1030569/47 "2026-06-03T16:07:23Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Well, that and lobbying from the zinc industry. Good point- always follow the money. ---
**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, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-gotten-back-a-2-bill-1-coin-or-50-coin-in-change/1030569/48 "2026-06-03T17:02:58Z")
That was not the issue at all. Whoever or whatever wrote the article simply didn’t comprehend the legislation theyvwere writing about. And didn’t notice when different parts of the article contradicted one another. ---
**Author:** ![billy-jack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac91a4/32.png) [@billy-jack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billy-jack)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2026, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-gotten-back-a-2-bill-1-coin-or-50-coin-in-change/1030569/49 "2026-06-03T20:57:20Z")
I like $2 bills. There is one story, possibly not actually true, about a man being arrested for buying something with a $2 bill about 30 or so years ago. The store manager and the police all thought that the $2 bill was counterfeit. They held him at the police station and waited for the Secret Service to show up and examine the bill. When he did, he looked at it and asked why they called him to look at a legitimate bill. ---
**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, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-gotten-back-a-2-bill-1-coin-or-50-coin-in-change/1030569/50 "2026-06-03T21:02:30Z")
No, it’s apparently true and it was [twenty years ago](https://www.lurkerlounge.com/forums/thread-6630.html). ---
**Author:** ![billy-jack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac91a4/32.png) [@billy-jack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billy-jack)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2026, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-gotten-back-a-2-bill-1-coin-or-50-coin-in-change/1030569/51 "2026-06-03T21:11:27Z")
That sure looks like the story I was thinking about. Thanks ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2026, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-gotten-back-a-2-bill-1-coin-or-50-coin-in-change/1030569/52 "2026-06-03T21:57:11Z")
When the Kennedy half came out it circulated freely for a while. I once got a $2 bill in change in the US. They were common in western Canada, but not in the east. As for dollar coins a looong time ago there was a gay 90s themed ice cream parlor on the road leading in to Wilmington from the north that gave out real silver dollars in change. in Canada the cent is still legal, though not minted any more, and if your total bill (with all taxes) ends in a 1, 2, 6, or 7, it is rounded down while 3,4,8,9 are rounded up. But if you have pennies and want to pay the exact amount, you are free to. Now if the 5 c. coin (not called a nickel) is eliminated, no such obvious rounding works if your bill ends in a 5. Also then you cannot change a quarter, so maybe the 10 c. should also go. Since most bills are paid with credit cards, it should not make much of a difference, but people will still scream. ---
**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, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-gotten-back-a-2-bill-1-coin-or-50-coin-in-change/1030569/53 "2026-06-03T22:09:45Z")
What I don’t get about the supposed elimination of the penny is that retailers are already seeing a shortage of them, which is one reason some are voluntarily rounding to the nearest five cents. But, Googling, there are something like 100-300 billion pennies in circulation. (The estimates vary and no one knows for sure.) That sure sounds like a lot of pennies. So why the shortages? Are that many people just letting their pennies pile up at home or just throwing them away? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2026, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-gotten-back-a-2-bill-1-coin-or-50-coin-in-change/1030569/54 "2026-06-03T22:36:20Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > So why the shortages? Are that many people just letting their pennies pile up at home or just throwing them away? In part. Also, the Fed has largely stopped distributing pennies back to banks. > [@](#): > > There are two factors to consider here: production and circulation. Back in February 2025, President [Donald Trump instructed the US Mint](https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/113977224933701762) to stop producing new pennies. From an economic standpoint, the decision is sound. Each penny produced [costs taxpayers 3.69 cents](https://www.usmint.gov/content/dam/usmint/reports/2024-annual-report.pdf) (Table 1). > > However, halting production and halting circulation are two different things. Instead of letting the penny phase out naturally, the twelve regional Federal Reserve banks have decided to suddenly stop accepting and redistributing pennies. Across the country, [135 of the 192 distribution locations have stopped](https://www.frbservices.org/campaigns/sept-2025-faq) circulating pennies (Table 2). > > These locations are where banks and credit unions go to pick up coins, but not all of these coins are freshly delivered from the US Mint. Other banks and credit unions often deposit coins when they have too many. Because of that, these locations acted not just as a pickup point for new coins but also as a hub for recirculation. However, the Federal Reserve says these locations are no longer circulating pennies because they do not have enough inventory. > > That argument may sound reasonable given that new pennies are no longer being produced, but it’s also questionable. Many of the distribution centers stopped circulating pennies well before the [last penny was minted in November 2025](https://www.usmint.gov/news/press-releases/united-states-mint-hosts-historic-ceremonial-strike-for-final-production-of-the-circulating-one-cent-coin). Furthermore, the Federal Reserve didn’t just stop circulating new pennies. It also stopped accepting existing pennies. Back in October, the [American Bankers Association](https://www.aba.com/-/media/documents/letters-to-congress-and-regulators/ltrpennydepositservices20251017.pdf) warned that “This policy is accelerating the slowdown of penny circulation drastically.” However, their warning went ignored. The Federal Reserve has since doubled the number of closed locations. [https://www.cato.org/blog/quiet-way-fed-creating-coin-shortage](https://www.cato.org/blog/quiet-way-fed-creating-coin-shortage) ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2026, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-gotten-back-a-2-bill-1-coin-or-50-coin-in-change/1030569/55 "2026-06-03T22:43:04Z")
I’ve received three two-dollar bills in change, all from used book sellers at SF conventions. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2026, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-gotten-back-a-2-bill-1-coin-or-50-coin-in-change/1030569/56 "2026-06-03T22:54:43Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > The limited number of slots in cash drawers was an argument against widespread adoption of one-dollar coins It’s always seemed to me that was an argument from ignorance and lack of imagination. Aus used (largely) “English” (4x8) and “American” (5x5) cash drawers, but now (often) 5x8 cash drawers ($5,10,20,50,100; 5c,10,20,50,$1,2,x,x) and (even less common) “European” cash drawers (vertical notes), You can’t use vertical notes because all your notes look the same, but the point is, lots of different cash drawers in use, and nobody minding much. (4 slots for notes was never enough, but the top denomination never needed it’s own slot) – and yes, I get $2 and $1 and 50c coins all the time here in Aus. 🙂 The 50c is distinct, and use a 5x5 cash drawer can go in with one of the other coins, or (coloured notes), $100 can be stacked under one of the other notes. [Goodson Fliptop Cash Drawer with Removable Cable - Melbourne Office Supplies](https://melbourneofficesupplies.com.au/goodson-gc-100fcd-fliptop-cash-drawer-removable-cable?msclkid=0d2fe6158f4d106bbea48c0a4d383add) [Nexa CB910 Cash Drawer White 5N/8C (aussiepos.com.au)](https://www.aussiepos.com.au/nexa-cb910-cash-drawer-white-5n-8c.html) ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2026, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-gotten-back-a-2-bill-1-coin-or-50-coin-in-change/1030569/57 "2026-06-04T03:17:07Z")
Kaylasmom and I used to frequent a Costa Mesa steakhouse called Sid’s (don’t tell no one). One of Sid’s policies was to never give one-dollar bills in change. It was always dollar coins and twos. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2026, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-gotten-back-a-2-bill-1-coin-or-50-coin-in-change/1030569/58 "2026-06-04T03:23:20Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > So why the shortages? Are that many people just letting their pennies pile up at home or just throwing them away? I have seen five gallon water bottles full of pennies, so yeah. That is at least 40000 pennies. > [@Melbourne](#): > > It’s always seemed to me that was an argument from ignorance and lack of imagination. Five slots have been standard in America for a long time, I have an old cash box from the late 1890s with five slots. Coins- pennies, nickels, dime, quarters- and dollars. Bills? $1, $5, $10, $20. There is room for a dollar coin or a two dollar bill. ---
**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 4, 2026, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-gotten-back-a-2-bill-1-coin-or-50-coin-in-change/1030569/59 "2026-06-04T03:26:10Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > > [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > > > So why the shortages? Are that many people just letting their pennies pile up at home or just throwing them away? > > I have seen five gallon water bottles full of pennies, so yeah. That is at least 40000 pennies. I’ve heard of such things but I don’t know why people would accumulate such quantities. (Googling, 40,000 pennies would weigh over 200 pounds.) I’d take them to the Coinstar machine before it ever got that bad. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2026, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-gotten-back-a-2-bill-1-coin-or-50-coin-in-change/1030569/60 "2026-06-04T03:36:24Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I’ve heard of such things but I don’t know why people would accumulate such quantities. (Googling, 40,000 pennies would weigh over 200 pounds.) I’d take them to the Coinstar machine before it ever got that bad. Once they get half full, they are hard to lift (as you pointed out), and once you get that far, there is a desire to see if you can finish filling the bottle. Mind you, I dont do that (I do have a few dozen Ike dollars as I like the way they feel). People collect bottlecaps too. But here- https://embed.reddit.com/r/theydidthemath/comments/36w6qy/request_how_much_money_is_in_this_5_gal_water_jug/?embed=true&ref_source=embed&ref=share and if you search Google images, I can see picture after picture of this. That is where all the pennies are- Okay, probably not _all_, but a good number of them. [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=2) [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=4)