“It’s hard to detect good luck – it looks so much like something you’ve earned.” — Frank A. Clark

$2 BillA couple of weeks ago, The New York Times ran a short feature about Cameron Sinclair (the co-founder of Architecture for Humanity) and his lucky charm… a $2 bill that he received as change at a Starbucks three years ago.

The ironic part of the story is that $2 bills are supposed to be unlucky. Who knew? Obviously not Sinclair, since he took it as a good sign. The bill pictures Jefferson and he happened to be the only president who was an architect. Regardless, the guy has hung on to it which is the point to today’s commentary.

In the same article, David Colman explains a few things about the $2 bill. He writes, “Since 1861, when the Treasury Department began producing the national bank notes knows a ‘greenbacks,’ $2 bills have not been out of print except for 10 years, 1966 to 1976 (but not out of circulation). There are approximately $1.5 billion of them in circulation today.”

“Yet neither the $2 bill nor the various $1 coins issued over the years have every really caught on. Partly this is because they are hard to keep handy in cash registers with a limited number of slots for bills and coins. It is also because their perceived rarity leads people to hang on to them instead of putting them back into circulation.”

Come to think of it, I have one stashed away in my desk drawer. It’s in a yellowed envelope with the following notation from my quirky grandfather:

To Nina, new two dollar bill. First day of issue April 13, 1976.

I always wondered why he gave it to us, but it’s making sense now knowing that they had been out of print for 10 years at the time he handed it to me. Plus, I’m sure it had something to do with honoring the bicentennial.

However, for no apparent reason, this collectible has followed me for 30 years, riding tandem with my important paperwork. The funny part is that I didn’t even like my grandfather… by the way, there are lots of money stories about him… but out of respect to my mother, I would never reveal until after she passes. Everyone is fair game at that point, right?

So perhaps there is some truth to the curse of the $2 bill. So why then are they becoming popular again? Lynn Neary at NPR provides some color on the topic with her report: The $2 Bill Is Making a Comeback.

According to the WashingtonPost.com, “$2 bill usage is increasing, with banking and currency experts not certain what is fueling the surge. A few possibilities are inflation, the introduction of the Sacagawea $1 coin in 2000, and even, according to some, immigration.”

“Regardless of the reason, anecdotal evidence shows that at the local level, vendors and customers are getting more comfortable with $2 bills. One group that has embraced the note is the exotic-dancing industry. Strip clubs hand out $2 bills when they give customers their change, and the bills end up in dancers’ garters and bartenders’ tip jars.” Clever marketing ploy!

“In addition to the inflation factor, Robert Hoge of the American Numismatics Society thinks $2 bill demand may be getting help from immigration flows, particularly from Canada and Europe, where currency denominated in twos is common.” Interesting… come to think of it, I love the 2 Euros coin and spend them often on my business trips.

Still they write, “To the puzzlement of foreign-coin fanatics and domestic experts, the $1 bill remains far more popular, even though it’s more likely to clog a wallet.”

“Peter Morici, professor at the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland, thinks that with the introduction of the Sacagawea, named for a famous Native American woman, people are beginning to realize an inconvenience of $1 bills.” He added, “In order to have a successful $2 bill, you have to have a successful $1 coin.”

Americans love their $1 bills but perhaps Jefferson will eventually architect this change!