# The truth about the $3.00 bill
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-the-3-00-bill/971504
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [September 13, 2022, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-the-3-00-bill/971504 "2022-09-13T16:07:47Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 3
### Author:  [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)
#### Post date: [September 13, 2022, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-the-3-00-bill/971504/41 "2022-09-13T22:45:48Z")
Interesting factoids about the Canadian $2 bill.
The Bank of Canada stopped producing them in 1996 (the $1 bill was discontinued in 1989). As of January 1, 2021, the $1 bill and $2 bill are no longer legal tender. This means that you cannot use them in a cash transaction (stores do not have to accept them), but you can turn them in at a bank for their face value.
A $2 bill printed in 1986 with the AUH-prefix within the seven digit serial code in really good condition could be worth up to $5,000 today.
Other $2 bills are worth… $2.
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### Author:  [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)
#### Post date: [September 13, 2022, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-the-3-00-bill/971504/42 "2022-09-13T22:57:54Z")
That link takes only to a general Sun page, but I was able to track down the story. Apparently, it was $114 in $2, all sequential, and some with smeared ink. So it wasn’t merely $2 bills.
But yeah, arrested and rather quickly released as soon as the Secret Service got there. I will bet he sued.
Thanks for the research.
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### Author:  [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)
#### Post date: [September 14, 2022, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-the-3-00-bill/971504/43 "2022-09-14T00:05:24Z")
> [@VOW](#):
>
> Two dollar bills are circulated in Europe among the US Forces who are stationed there, and their dependents.
They, along with other uncommon or new notes and coins, are also dispersed as change at US Post Offices. I guess distributing through Federal entities is the best way to convince the public they are legit.
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### Author:  [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)
#### Post date: [September 14, 2022, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-the-3-00-bill/971504/44 "2022-09-14T00:11:54Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#):
>
> I guess distributing through Federal entities is the best way to convince the public they are legit.
Legit or not…fuck dollar coins!
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### Author:  [@Michael\_Varn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_Varn)
#### Post date: [September 14, 2022, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-the-3-00-bill/971504/45 "2022-09-14T00:22:55Z")
To clarify, the first two dollar bills were created in 1928, not 1976.
In 1976 was when the signing of the Declaration of Independence was added to the back of the bill.
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### Author:  [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)
#### Post date: [September 14, 2022, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-the-3-00-bill/971504/46 "2022-09-14T00:37:59Z")
> [@silenus](#):
>
> Legit or not…fuck dollar coins!
This is why Canada did not ask the opinion of Joe Public in 1989 when they got rid of the dollar bill and went to coins. It was the logical, reasonable thing to do, and has saved millions of dollars. If the US had made the switch at the same time, they would have saved over 4 billion dollars by now.
Best not to let emotions take over from logic and money savings. Sometimes the government gets it right.
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### Author:  [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)
#### Post date: [September 14, 2022, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-the-3-00-bill/971504/47 "2022-09-14T00:47:28Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#):
>
> This is why Canada did not ask the opinion of Joe Public in 1989 when they got rid of the dollar bill and went to coins.
If they had, instead of the Loonie, you’d have Coiny-McCoinface.
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### Author:  [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)
#### Post date: [September 14, 2022, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-the-3-00-bill/971504/48 "2022-09-14T01:20:49Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#):
>
> “Just Google it” is not how the SDMB works, IMHO. If someone makes a claim, they should the one to provide documentation.
> [@BigT](#):
>
> It’s following basic burden of proof, which exists for a reason The person who makes a claim needs to back it up. Claims are easy to make, and we would be overwhelmed with spurious ones if people weren’t expected to back them up.
>
> You might say that Googling something takes little effort, but making that the norm adds up. Plus it’s not like you would just take the top result or anything—you’d want to check the quality and veracity of the source.
>
> I love it. It’s far more annoying being on, say, Twitter, where people just say things without any evidence, and seeing so many people just believe them unquestioningly.
This is a hijack so I’ll keep this brief. Bull crap.
1. This isn’t a court of law. Hell, it’s not even GQ/FQ/GD.
2. His statement was an off-hand anecdote. Not the premise of some argument. Read the context.
3. If I say “the Queen died this week” in some casual discussion about celebrities, I’m not required to provide a cite. That’s not conducive to a friendly, lively discussion.
4. Responding with a “Cite?” comment is essentially telling the poster that he’s a liar and he’d better put up or shut up. It’s combative and rude.
5. So yeah, if there’s a random factoid mentioned in passing that was not familiar to you…maybe try and educate yourself before challenging the poster. It makes you look petty, like you’re trying to win a game of “gotcha”.
@ekedolphin doesn’t need me defending him/her, so I’ll leave it there…but that junk doesn’t make this a very welcoming place.
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### Author:  [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Winston_OBoogie)
#### Post date: [September 14, 2022, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-the-3-00-bill/971504/49 "2022-09-14T02:05:09Z")
> [@Omniscient](#):
>
> Responding with a “Cite?” comment is essentially telling the poster that he’s a liar and he’d better put up or shut up. It’s combative and rude
Disagree. We here are fighting ignorance. How much ignorance is spread because we “know” something happened because we heard from a friend-of-a-friend? I remember hearing a long, long time ago (30+ years) of a guy successfully suing a chainsaw manufacturer because he propped a ladder on a branch, then cut the branch off and (unsurprisingly to anyone with two brain cells to rub together) fell and injured himself. I have NEVER seen that story reported by a reputable source. Were I to claim it true, I would hope someone would call me on it.
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### Author:  [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)
#### Post date: [September 14, 2022, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-the-3-00-bill/971504/50 "2022-09-14T02:25:42Z")
I love them, we need to get rid of dollar bills.
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#):
>
> This is why Canada did not ask the opinion of Joe Public in 1989 when they got rid of the dollar bill and went to coins. It was the logical, reasonable thing to do, and has saved millions of dollars. If the US had made the switch at the same time, they would have saved over 4 billion dollars by now.
Yep.
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### Author:  [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)
#### Post date: [September 14, 2022, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-the-3-00-bill/971504/51 "2022-09-14T02:43:46Z")
Actually, the “loonie” nickname was entirely a creation of the public ( not the government) if memory serves.
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### Author:  [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)
#### Post date: [September 14, 2022, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-the-3-00-bill/971504/52 "2022-09-14T02:49:02Z")
I used to take **kaylasmom** to a low-priced steakhouse in Newport Beach, where the owner insisted that all checks be rounded down to the nearest fifty cents. You could pay with dollar bills, I imagine, but you’d never get them in your change. It would always be in $2 bills. If your change came out to an odd number of dollars, you’d get a SBA coin and/or a half dollar.
Just one of the ways Sid Soffer differentiated himself from the pack.
RIP, Sid (1932-2007)
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### Author:  [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)
#### Post date: [September 14, 2022, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-the-3-00-bill/971504/53 "2022-09-14T02:55:11Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#):
>
> Back in the dawn of time in Alberta, paying in $2 bills was frowned upon because it was obvious that you’d just been a degenerate hanging around the racetrack all day.
Ha! When I lived in Ontario, I’d hoard all the $2 bills I got in change during the week, from buying coffee, lunch, and so on. Why? Because they were so useful at the racetrack on the weekend.
The mutuel tellers could make change, of course, but the transaction went so much more quickly if you could just slap down a $2 bill and say, “Woodbine, in the fifth, two bucks to win on number five.”
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### Author:  [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)
#### Post date: [September 14, 2022, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-the-3-00-bill/971504/54 "2022-09-14T03:17:08Z")
I liked 'em. Especially the Sackies, which were gold colored. For several years I made sure to get a good pouchful of them to spend at the RenFair.
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### Author:  [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)
#### Post date: [September 14, 2022, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-the-3-00-bill/971504/55 "2022-09-14T03:23:49Z")
(Gives secret handshake) 👍
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### Author:  [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)
#### Post date: [September 14, 2022, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-the-3-00-bill/971504/56 "2022-09-14T06:10:10Z")
I remember only one case where I’m positive I had a $2 bill in my wallet, and that was in Arizona in 2000. I don’t remember where I got it, but since I was a nerdy teenage kid at the time it must have been something mundane. I also remember that my main fear was that I wouldn’t be able to get rid of it, since someone told me that those bills were unusual and that some people might therefore believe them to be genuine.
Perhaps I was simply lucky, and I suppose the move towards cashless payments would make it even less likely today.
Oh, and I remember getting a handful of dolllar coins as change on a bus in NYC in 2013, but I suppose it makes sense for a transit authority to give lots of them to its drivers for change. Easier handling with a coin dispenser than bills.
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### Author:  [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)
#### Post date: [September 14, 2022, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-the-3-00-bill/971504/57 "2022-09-14T10:58:18Z")
> [@Michael\_Varn](#):
>
> As we know in 1976, the two dollar bill was created and put into circulation as it remains today.
I can overlook the many spelling errors in the OP, but not this factual error. The US two dollar bill was first put into circulation in 1862, not 1976. Production was _suspended_ in 1966, being resumed in 1976, not “created” in 1976. In my line of work I do, occasionally, see a 1966 or earlier $2 and have to reassure the younger cashiers that yes, it is actually legal US currency. The backs of the pre-1976 $2 have Monticello on the reverse rather than the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
> [@Michael\_Varn](#):
>
> To clarify, the first two dollar bills were created in 1928, not 1976.
Again, incorrect. 1928 is the second-most-recent design, and it’s unlikely you’ll see any older ones in circulation but the really do date back into the 1860’s.
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### Author:  [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)
#### Post date: [September 14, 2022, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-the-3-00-bill/971504/58 "2022-09-14T12:59:19Z")
Dollar coins must die.
I get as many $2 bills as I can every time I’m at the bank and use them for tips in Vegas. Doesn’t matter how many advantages coins have over bills - bills are lighter, quieter, don’t wear out your pants pockets and can be stuffed into g-strings.
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### Author:  [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)
#### Post date: [September 14, 2022, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-the-3-00-bill/971504/59 "2022-09-14T16:05:48Z")
> [@silenus](#):
>
> Doesn’t matter how many advantages coins have over bills
Billions of dollars in savings.
Billions.
35 years of experience with dollar coins have shown me that they do not wear out my pockets, I don’t really stress over how noisy my money is, and my need to stuff g-strings is not that frequent. (And tipping a stripper a measly dollar? Come on man!)
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### Author:  [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)
#### Post date: [September 14, 2022, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-the-3-00-bill/971504/60 "2022-09-14T16:10:15Z")
And we could save even more by getting rid of the low-value coins. I believe the penny and nickel each cost more than face value.
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