Superstitious beliefs once labeled the $2 bill as “cursed” or “unlucky.” Contrary to this notion, it might actually bring good fortune.
Many Americans view the $2 bill as the neglected sibling of the $1 bill, assuming it’s rare or no longer printed. However, the Federal Reserve reported 1.6 billion $2 notes in circulation in 2023, compared to 14.5 billion $1 notes and 11.2 billion $20 notes.
Despite its undervaluation, the $2 bill has gained popularity over the last 20 years. In 2004, only 0.07 billion were in circulation, a tiny fraction of the $24.2 billion in total currency that year. The Bureau of Engraving and Printing notes that $2 bills have historically been unpopular, often returned to the Treasury mutilated by superstitious holders hoping to break the curse.
In a 1925 New York Times article, it was suggested that carrying a $2 bill in a game of chance was thought to bring bad luck.
The portrait of Alexander Hamilton, the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury’s founder, appeared on the front of the first official $2 banknote in 1862.
A likeness of Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States, was added to the bill in 1869; this important image has remained the same ever since.
The back was altered to a vignette of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the well-known document that Thomas Jefferson wrote, while the flipside had an image of Monticello, his Virginia mansion
