# 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:** 5
### Author:  [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)
#### Post date: [September 15, 2022, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-the-3-00-bill/971504/81 "2022-09-15T01:53:20Z")
> [@Bonum\_Legatum](#):
>
> I blame the nonacceptance of the dollar coin on the incredibly lame public service TV spots that the Treasury tried - George Washington as pictured on the dollar bill telling us how “cool” the new coin was. They would have done better to show - in newsreel style and narration - how much it cost to gather and destroy dollar bills. (I recall reading that the average life of a dollar bill was about eighteen months.)
It’s not really up to the general public to accept the coins or not. Nobody goes to the bank every week to decide whether they have dollar bills or dollar coins in their pockets. The $1 denomination is change, and if you’re buying change in bulk to have it handed out by human cashiers, a dollar bill is more convenient. So long as they have a choice, the bean counters at Kroger or Walmart aren’t going to care how much the coin saves the _government_ if it increases their armored car fees.
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### Author:  [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)
#### Post date: [September 15, 2022, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-the-3-00-bill/971504/82 "2022-09-15T09:25:31Z")
I’m tired of the whining by people who refuse to change.
Abolish the penny. All cash transactions are rounded off to the nearest nickel Electronic transfers can keep pennies for all I care. Or make the rules there the same. What, you don’t realize that current transactions are rounded off to the nearest penny? Don’t have a meltdown over that, do you?
If nickels start costing more to make then they’re worth do the same for them.
That frees up coin slots in registers. Yay.
Dollar coins instead of paper bills. Without pennies you now have a slot for them. I’d like to see Sacagewas reissued, the brassy gold color helps distinguish them from quarters.
Mint more half dollars, too.
Much as twos have a weird, sentimental appeal to me there’s a case for eliminating them, too, making a five the smallest bill. Either a $2 coin (my preference) or eliminate.
Without ones, you now have a slot for a higher denomination bill than we currently use, and with inflation over time a higher denomination will become useful. A $500 could work. Put a picture of Black female on it just to make heads explode. Harriet Tubman, perhaps.
Of course, no one ever puts me in charge of such things…
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### Author:  [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)
#### Post date: [September 15, 2022, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-the-3-00-bill/971504/83 "2022-09-15T11:10:37Z")
I always tell cashiers to keep any pennies. 2 dollar bills won’t work in most slots, such as bus fare, I’m guessing.
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### Author:  [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)
#### Post date: [September 15, 2022, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-the-3-00-bill/971504/84 "2022-09-15T12:15:12Z")
Not aggressive enough. Nix the nickel too, as well as the 5 dollar bill. That brings us back to 1960 in terms of the relative value of cash.
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### Author:  [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)
#### Post date: [September 15, 2022, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-the-3-00-bill/971504/85 "2022-09-15T12:29:57Z")
I had always heard the lack of use of the $2 bill originated from a “poll tax” levied in some Southern states as a way to discourage voting by black citizens. Most blacks were poor, and combined with “literacy tests,” they were excluded from their right to vote.
Because of this, black people deliberately avoided the use of $2 bills, causing them to drop out of circulation.
Probably an Urban Legend.
~VOW
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### Author:  [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)
#### Post date: [September 15, 2022, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-the-3-00-bill/971504/86 "2022-09-15T14:11:43Z")
> [@Broomstick](#):
>
> Production was _suspended_ in 1966,
> [@VOW](#):
>
> I had always heard the lack of use of the $2 bill originated from a “poll tax” levied in some Southern states as a way to discourage voting by black citizens.
[There was a $2 poll tax in Mississippi, which happened to be declared unconstitutional in 1966.](https://www.thoughtco.com/poll-tax-definition-and-examples-5443130)
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### Author:  [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)
#### Post date: [September 15, 2022, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-the-3-00-bill/971504/87 "2022-09-15T17:07:51Z")
> [@Lord\_Feldon](#):
>
> It’s not really up to the general public to accept the coins or not.
It kind of is.
The new dollar coins came out when I was working a fast food drive-thru. Anyone who _had_ these coins wanted to get rid of them, and no one was willing to accept them. I suppose if I didn’t have $1 bills to give, they would have had to accept them, but as long as I had bills, that’s what they wanted.
If I’m not giving them out in the drive-thru window, then my manager isn’t ordering them from the bank, so the bank isn’t ordering them from the mint.
> [@Lord\_Feldon](#):
>
> The $1 denomination is change, and if you’re buying change in bulk to have it handed out by human cashiers, a dollar bill is more convenient.
Not really. I can count out 3 dollar coins faster than I can count out 3 $1 bills. Dollar coins don’t stick together, get folded or tear. The bank doesn’t get mad at you if you don’t face your dollar coins.
> [@Lord\_Feldon](#):
>
> So long as they have a choice, the bean counters at Kroger or Walmart aren’t going to care how much the coin saves the _government_ if it increases their armored car fees.
I seriously doubt it would have any effect on armored car fees. If so, it would be extremely nominal.
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### Author:  [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)
#### Post date: [September 15, 2022, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-the-3-00-bill/971504/88 "2022-09-15T17:11:47Z")
> [@Broomstick](#):
>
> I’d like to see Sacagewas reissued, the brassy gold color helps distinguish them from quarters.
Yeah, that was my biggest issue with the SBA dollar coins. They really did look like quarters. It didn’t require much inspection to tell the difference, but if you just saw a pile of them, it would make sense to assume that’s what they were.
I used to pay with SBAs just so that the cashier would look at me like I just gave them about a quarter of the money they were expecting.
I do remember the machine at the post office always gave back dollar coins as change, don’t know if it still does, as I’ve used a card ever since they finally attained that capability. (And I don’t think it takes cash at all now.)
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### Author:  [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)
#### Post date: [September 15, 2022, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-the-3-00-bill/971504/89 "2022-09-15T17:19:14Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#):
>
> It kind of is.
It should not be. People are shaky bags of illogic and emotions. They do not like change. (Pun intended)
The only way to lose the dollar bill is to stop printing it, and put lots of dollar coins into circulation. Don’t ask for the publics opinion, because it will be an ill founded, illogical emotional opinion and not worth a bucket of warm spit.
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### Author:  [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)
#### Post date: [September 15, 2022, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-the-3-00-bill/971504/90 "2022-09-15T17:23:50Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#):
>
> Don’t ask for the publics opinion, because it will be an ill founded, illogical emotional opinion and not worth a bucket of warm spit.
Go ahead. I will personally campaign against any politician who supports such action. I hate coins and will fight to the death (yours, preferably (This is metaphorical, Mods. Chill.)) to prevent the removal of bills in favor of metal. 😛
I don’t care how much money we could save by switching. The amount is a rounding error in the Defense budget. Cancel a destroyer instead.
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### Author:  [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)
#### Post date: [September 15, 2022, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-the-3-00-bill/971504/91 "2022-09-15T17:34:08Z")
> [@digs](#):
>
> For all those people out there who love them and hoard them in a sock drawer… you do know you can walk into any bank and get a handful, right?
I carry around five emergency $2 bills in my wallet. After using them I go to my bank to replenish them. The banks have them maybe 10% of the time.
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### Author:  [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)
#### Post date: [September 15, 2022, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-the-3-00-bill/971504/92 "2022-09-15T17:43:58Z")
> [@silenus](#):
>
> Go ahead. I will personally campaign against any politician who supports such action. I hate coins and will fight to the death (yours, preferably (This is metaphorical, Mods. Chill.)) to prevent the removal of bills in favor of metal.
Someone should study this. Many of us vastly prefer the elimination of dollar bills (and pennies) and, of course, many of us are diametrically opposed. In reality, the existence of the dollar bill doesn’t really affect me, and everyone would also completely adjust in a few months time if we switched over completely to dollar coins. We can come up with justifications for our positions, but (probably like most things) I feel we are looking for facts to justify our conclusions, rather than the other way around. (insert Procrustes joke here).
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### Author:  [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)
#### Post date: [September 15, 2022, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-the-3-00-bill/971504/93 "2022-09-15T17:50:07Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#):
>
> It should not be. People are shaky bags of illogic and emotions. They do not like change. (Pun intended)
Sure, you can make a policy and discontinue $1 bills, but that wasn’t really the point that I was responding to. @Lord_Feldon was implying that it’s up to big stores like Walmart or Kroger to accept them, not the general public.
I was pointing out that it’s the customers of Walmart and Kroger, as well as Wendy’s and McDonald’s, who will be the ones who decide whether or not those businesses carry them.
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#):
>
> The only way to lose the dollar bill is to stop printing it, and put lots of dollar coins into circulation. Don’t ask for the publics opinion, because it will be an ill founded, illogical emotional opinion and not worth a bucket of warm spit.
And those ill founded, illogical emotional opinions not worth a bucket of spit inform those members of the public on how they will vote.
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### Author:  [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)
#### Post date: [September 15, 2022, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-the-3-00-bill/971504/94 "2022-09-15T17:50:55Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#):
>
> And those ill founded, illogical emotional opinions not worth a bucket of spit inform those members of the public on how they will vote.
Yup. “You want to kill the dollar bill??? Why do you hate America???”
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### Author:  [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)
#### Post date: [September 15, 2022, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-the-3-00-bill/971504/95 "2022-09-15T17:57:05Z")
> [@Procrustus](#):
>
> In reality, the existence of the dollar bill doesn’t really affect me, and everyone would also completely adjust in a few months time if we switched over completely to dollar coins.
I think you’re dramatically underestimating what younger people will tolerate. Old folks are used to carrying coins (and having pockets) in a way that younger generations aren’t. Transitioning to more coins will only accelerate the adoption of touchless phone payments for most people.
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### Author:  [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)
#### Post date: [September 15, 2022, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-the-3-00-bill/971504/96 "2022-09-15T18:15:06Z")
Is it worth taking the trouble and expense to make any change to our currency if people are using cash less and less often anyway?
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### Author:  [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)
#### Post date: [September 15, 2022, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-the-3-00-bill/971504/97 "2022-09-15T18:17:43Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#):
>
> “You want to kill the dollar bill??? Why do you hate America???”
More importantly, why do you hate George Washington??!?
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### Author:  [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)
#### Post date: [September 15, 2022, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-the-3-00-bill/971504/98 "2022-09-15T18:22:24Z")
> [@Omniscient](#):
>
> Transitioning to more coins will only accelerate the adoption of touchless phone payments for most people.
That’s happening anyway, and that’s not entirely a bad thing either. Fewer bills in circulation is less cost for the government to print the bills.
> [@silenus](#):
>
> why do you hate George Washington??!?
I was _very_ fond of that apple tree.
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### Author:  [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)
#### Post date: [September 15, 2022, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-the-3-00-bill/971504/99 "2022-09-15T18:23:08Z")
> [@silenus](#):
>
> More importantly, why do you hate George Washington??!?
Wasn’t he an unrepentant slave owner? That should be more than enough reason to cancel his ass. On the other hand, if you think about it, it makes him perfectly appropriate to represent money.
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### Author:  [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)
#### Post date: [September 15, 2022, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-the-3-00-bill/971504/100 "2022-09-15T18:24:36Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#):
>
> I carry around five emergency $2 bills in my wallet.
Is a stripper whose worth more than a single but less than a fiver _really_ an emergency?
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