The two-dollar banknote is one of the least common denominations of U.S.currency. Since first released, 2 dollar bills have been readily available, but not used that much. The denomination of two dollars was first used by the United States federal government in July 1862.
The denomination was continuously used until 1966 when the only class of U.S. currency it was then assigned to, United States Notes, began to be discontinued. The $2 bill initially wasn't reassigned to the Federal Reserve Note class of United States currency and was thus discontinued. In 1976 use of the two-dollar denomination was resumed as part of the United States bicentennial and the two-dollar bill was finally assigned as a Federal Reserve Note, with a new design on the back featuring John Trumbull's depiction of the drafting of the United States Declaration of Independence replacing the previous design of Monticello. It has remained a current denomination since then, although the vast majority of $2 bills in circulation today are from the 1976 series, with newer bills being inserted into the money supply as needed.
The most significant evidence of the $2 bill's reawakening would be that, in 2005 alone, 61 million $2 bills were printed by the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing. This is more than twice the number of $2 bills that were printed annually between 1990 and 2001.
Two dollar bills are delivered by Federal Reserve Banks in green straps. According to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing there are over $1,000,000,000 (yes, one billion dollars) worth of two dollar bills in circulation - that's over 500 million two dollar bills. However, most $2 bills are not truly circulating since they are in private collections.
Because of their rarity, Americans remain remarkably superstitious about spending two dollar bills, which further decreases their circulation. Some find them to be lucky - yet others think two dollar bills are bad luck.
Many Americans have never held or spent a 2 dollar bill and would most likely think it were fake if you handed them one. Two dollar bills make a great gift, collectible or unique tip for an extra friendly waiter, waitress or customer service person.
In February of 2005, a patron of Best Buy attempted to pay for an electronics installation with 57 $2 bills. The cashier refused to accept them and marked them as counterfeit. The cashier then called the police, and the patron was handcuffed until a U.S. Treasury Agent arrived to clear up the issue. The suspicion was supposedly caused by ink smearing on the bills, which is not uncommon, and by the fact that the serial numbers on the bills were in sequential order, which is a legitimate sign of possible counterfeiting.
An unofficial club called "Top Toms" has even appeared for those who have entered 2,000 or more $2 bills into the Where’s George American currency tacking website. The hope of the Top Toms is to increase the circulation of $2 bills by demanding them from banks. As of February 2008, there are 49 known Top Toms. See website rules for a special note regarding geocaching.
This cache will contain the usual swag but feel free to leave and retrieve $2 bills if you like. This is not a free ATM so if you take a Tom at least leave 2 Georges or equivalent swag. Your feet should never leave the pavement to find this one, it's not that hard and no where near the fence.