Everyone is familiar with dollars, fives, 10s and 20s, but $2 bills are still out there, and they could be worth a lot of money.
An auction site called U.S. Currency Auctions estimates that uncirculated $2 bills from 1890 could sell for at least $4,500. Uncirculated $2 bills from nearly every year from 1862 to 1899 could have an estimated value of over $1,000, the site says. The price guide offers only estimations and warns that collectors offer rates based on location and printing method.
How much is a $2 bill worth?
Heritage Auctions, which is self-proclaimed as the world's largest collectables auctioneer, shows that a $2 bill from 1896 sold for over $6,000 in January of this year.
While more recent $2 bills may not have as much value, some could still fetch a high price. A $2 bill from 2003 was sold for $4,000 in August 2022. The particular bill had a low serial number for the 2003 series.
Is the $2 bill rare?
In 2022, the Federal Reserve reported that there were 1.5 billion $2 bills in circulation, which is only a small fraction of the total volume of $54.1 billion in currency in the United States. Comparatively, there were 2.3 billion $10 bills, 3.5 billion $5 bills and 11.5 billion $20 bills in circulation in the year 2022.
History of $2 bill
The $2 bill features the face of Thomas Jefferson, and the back shows an engraving of John Trumbull's painting “Declaration of Independence,” which depicts the signing of the historic document.
The first $2 bill was issued by the federal government in 1862 and portrayed Alexander Hamilton.
The government at one point stopped issuing $2 bills because of the U.S. Treasury's failed attempt to popularize them in the early 20th century. The bill was reintroduced in 1976 and is still in circulation today.
The $2 bill can hold a non-monetary value to people. Some may view it negatively because of a history of association with illegal activities such as bribery, while other believe the bill to be good luck.
Local banks should have the $2 bill in their inventory. If not, they can order the bills from the Federal Reserve Bank.
