Life
People are learning the saucy history of the U.S. $2 bill
I never knew that the $2 bill had such a colorful past.
D.G. Sciortino
10.04.21

Some might say that itโ€™s all about the Benjamins. But when weโ€™re speaking in terms of rarity, itโ€™s all about the Toms.

Well, it was at one point. As of 2015, there were more than 1.2 billion Toms, or $2 bills, in circulation, according to Marketplace.org.

But people still value this bill as something special.

Pixabay
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Pixabay
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The $2 bill got the nickname of Tom for its portrait of Thomas Jefferson, but the history of the $2 bill is far more interesting than just a nickname.

The first Tom was printed in 1862 along with the other nationalized paper bills.

Picrly - U.S. Government
Source:
Picrly - U.S. Government

During that time, most people made less than $15 a month and lots of things cost less than a dollar.

So, the $2 bill didnโ€™t get much use amongst regular folk.

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Paying for something with a $2 bill was seen as a sign of a status symbol or something only wealthy Americans could afford to do.

But once the economy recovered after The Great Depression, the $2 bill became a symbol of scandal.

Picryl - U.S. Government
Source:
Picryl - U.S. Government
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โ€œPoliticians used to be known for bribing people for votes, and they would give them a $2 bill, so if you had one it meant that perhaps youโ€™d been bribed by a politician,โ€ said John Bennardo, producer and director of โ€œThe $2 Bill Documentary.โ€

https://www.instagram.com/p/CSnSFhZr8At/

โ€œProstitution back in the day was $2 for a trick, so if you were spending $2 bills it might get you into trouble with your wife. $2 is the standard bet at a race track, so if you were betting $2 and you won, you might get a bunch of $2 bills back and that would show that you were gambling.โ€

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The Tom was put out of print by 1966, but not because of its salacious past.

The value of one and two-dollar bills were brought closer together because of inflation. So, the government decided they were done with the $2 bill.

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Eventually, they changed their minds because printing $2 bills were more cost-efficient than printing singles.

Printing a dollar costs about $.05.

It costs the same amount to print a Tom, but you only have to print half as many Toms. So, they brought the $2 bill back into print again in 1976 to celebrate the countryโ€™s bicentennial.

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The signing of the Declaration of Independence would be printed on its back.

The new bills looked so striking that the once-maligned $2 bill became something that was treasured.

โ€œThe way it looked, it was just so beautiful that people said this is a collectorโ€™s item, this is worth something more than $2. Iโ€™m going to save this,โ€ Bennardo explained.

https://www.facebook.com/GreatAmericanCoinCompany/photos/basw.AbpfStbvgTudpOEArhGIF7w1qsXmctnOSYhyHRwI9-B3HZ8iyaswJJL9o76uDdoR2IWEMY0QcsEkpUm3jrChRcxAGq14-om6iNLcInT4Fz-mo7KycbzwGAWrsSph-mDOOeFQsVhFWYd-9JoTkWGAnwnY04TvDuzu0Y8AFJLUG9M8Yg/2209952302362461/?opaqueCursor=Abq7BR-hrwdbCaq2KsWVl_Uzvw3l2iMFizCuaB1R_Hโ€“fgH4CWE-Krp_Cid3tXaBfzrJ2S0NADamFaMBwXMEh7HgwRNG4bkgaScmEiY0O1pIR4RMtOkrRx89JajSnz5f7nHXU9JFVERfcr55No466qfvxVV_LHopJCmz2CJVW8ehLUN713e1BzlODSGKaPyl8C_HOqzPg_kDimgRZpCkmyCjSr7d_xYXPMqR6GGe_wqTcNkwwugBezGABkG2ooDgkNrjYn7fZQmF5HRfFb87FVHXUfQBYnDyfQQ1mCp6th4HoC8PbdRKpwUnwficRo0idt89bn-JyABSJySvYlvyJ4s9Ka8bFy0JK73-R3ToAvJHuPIufC-PssAuk_ck-eKcGNZk8f_tKGYtGQG8IgXBHMczmrzrNgdhX7tZV_Pei-NEJJ6zy869IKo-t-Hv86tMDz89Q3ukd88QY9O4cGrom03iCeyFkbOLqMJKVV041obfVVCOXJJo5K-inbYtbjW_y8j8zbQtm0lqcw4wWXoTv7zzK2iJ9GNYVQo7ApJzMr5NOSLeVhm2tPI97a-KtwLDj_MhDxgVE3QsIP4zXHRjNBeLjYwlHoZ88rnuGMXMdqNc0vAp1TwunH97pf6mPHF9E0hzRwnxfAZ36nsXQh7D4YzyZ17Q82QpRvR_bDIW_Z4GJhv6aSRQ5KSEh4apHYJj49U0yNyh3I-8zDfLCGk-XGASJFd3ha0QYFDS_imlIzYGRwvVtmeesMM-gdBQYU8nfrJGA1j0-86AnceWVWIg7xE55NVlpN812m5x8jlZPkc2YDZbZ_oHE1Bop4DlGt-CsYkNTMaMfQg02od18-3Vob2f

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The $2 bill became a keepsake though they are still printed today.

So, why do people consider a Tom to be so rare?

This is because out of the $1.2 trillion in coins and bills in circulation, only .001 percent are Toms.

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Though you can still get yourself some Toms if you give your bank a call, the $2 bill is considered rare when compared to other banknotes.

Fewer Toms are made because they last longer. A $1 bill will last about 18 months before itโ€™s in too poor of a condition to be circulated. But a Tom will last about six years since people save and donโ€™t spend them.

Learn more about the wacky history of the Tom in the video below!

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