Return of the $2 Bill Conspiracy

[kevin_standlee]

I like using $2 bills, especially at conventions. Actually, I think the USA should follow Canada and stop printing $1 bills, embrace the $1 coin, and use the $2 bill. (Yes, I know Canada dropped the $2 bill as well; one step at at time.) One of the reasons I use them at conventions is as an attempt to show that we're putting money into the hotel in a noticeable way. I use them primarily for tips, so as to spread it around.

But getting $2 bills can be a hassle sometimes. Yesterday, I went to the branch near my office and inquired about them. the teller said there were two bundles of $200 each in the vault if I'd like to buy an entire bundle. I agreed, and a few minutes later I was handed a brand new bundle of one hundred $2 bills.

This is a bit much, even for me, and even though Lisa will want some of them. If anyone wants to buy some of them off of me, particularly if you're planning to use them for Westercon expenses at-con, see me at BASFA or at the con and we'll deal.

Comments

[howeird]

While I love our $2 bill, I think it is the handsomest obverse of any bill in the collection, the reason countries do away with smaller bills is inflation. When it takes $2 to buy $1 worth of product, the dollar bill goes away, demoted to coinage.

I would rather not see that happen here. Canada did it when their dollar was buying about 2/3 of what it used to against the US dollar.

Historically, we made paper money to represent denominations which were too cumbersome to carry around as precious metal in our pockets. And it also let the Fed store the metal and issue paper surrogates, to slow the flow of gold and silver across the borders.

[kevin-standlee.livejournal.com]

I'd say the US dollar has pretty much reached that point. $1 today has the buying power of $0.16 in 1965, when I was born. When I was growing up, a quarter bought me two games of pinball. Now it's fifty cents for one game. As dollars "feel" like quarters did when I was growing up, why not demote them to coinage?

There are a lot of vending machines that should be taking dollar coins but instead have to install bill validators, and it seems to me that this costs more.

And BART needs to update their machinery. They still give out change in only quarters, which is fine if I'm playing pinball, but otherwise isn't very good. VTA and Caltrain and the Postal Service have installed equipment that deals with and gives change in dollar coins, so why can't BART?

[howeird]

Okay, I'll take your point on inflation, but I think the logical first step is to eliminate pennies. The next logical step IMHO is to make the dollar coin easier to identify - current dollar coins are too much like a quarter. Canada's 2-dollar coin (the "twonie") is a good example

- wrap a small coin inside a larger one. Or just make it a little larger in diameter (not in thickness - that's what keeps people from using 50-cent pieces, I think).

Vending machines will have to change regardless - to accept a $2 bill, for instance.