50 cent pieces and 2 dollar bills... what I remember
L M
from a neighbor kid who had to give it up because he was turning 18... I
had that paper route until 1963 when I turned 18... I immediately bought
those blue books that held coins... pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters,
halves... Of course it was still the silver coin era for dimes, quarters
and halves and many older coins were in circulation... 50 cent pieces
were common and widely used everywhere... I don't remember when they
fell out of public favor... but I suspect it was after the 100% silver
era had been over a few years and people began withdrawing and hoarding
the silver... I do remember that some jukeboxes took halves... maybe 9
selections for 50 cents.
The poor old 2 dollar bill... the bills with the red seal... mostly
series 1953... then and maybe now... We Americans are superstitious...
the belief that these bills were "bad luck" was neurotic and
laughable... some people referred to them as "upstairs money" for
reasons that are probably obvious... yet our Canadian neighbors used
their 2 dollar bill with no problem... but not Americans... I never
remember them as being used frequently... One exception might have been
for payroll purposes in that much safer time and place... When I was
19... in 1964... my first full time job was at a clothing factory which
employed 800-900 people... We were paid in cash every Friday by
Brinks... The big, old payroll machine in that department spewed forth a
final tally for Brinks as to how many bills and coins of each
denomination would be needed to fill the accompanying payroll
envelopes... and 2 dollar bills were used... the idea being to make the
pay envelopes as thin as possible... Whether halves were used I cannot
remember... This system went on until 1968 when a computer was acquired
and salaries were paid by check... By 1968... the drug era had begun and
the pay by cash system was therefore doomed... and with it the common
flow of 2 dollar bills.
celtex
news:10352-4C3...@storefull-3252.bay.webtv.net...
Thanks for your remembrances. I was born 10 years later and do remember it
was a thrill to find a Mercury dime since silver rosies was the norm. Wheat
pennies where no biggie either, My Dad was a truck driver, long haul, he
would come back with a pocket full of halves and a few silver dollars, he
preferred them to tip with. I remember when he started "hording" silver
coins especially the Kennedy Halves, his favorite. I thought it was kind of
silly. But what I'd give to have that stash back. My druggie brother stole
it and cashed it in at face value many years ago. I did get to keep a 1896
Morgan he gave me and some sitting liberty quarters that I had in my
procession, thank goodness.
Peter
$2 bills are still available at the bank, here.
L M
They probably are here also... at least the green seal 1976 bicentennial
issue... but when was the last time you received a $2 bill in change...
anywhere?
In the early 1980s... just for the pure h*ell of it... I used to buy a
bundle of $2s... 25 in a bundle for 50 bucks... at a bank and give them
out in change... just to hear and see what would happen... Just about
every $2 bill met the same fate... the cashier or clerk would lift up
the drawer that held the bills and change... and the $2 bill would get
tossed underneath... along with $50s, coupons, and anything else that
was not going to be given back out in change.
A classic line I heard from an older clerk... "I hate these things... I
get them mixed up with $5s."
Huh?... Why would somebody mistake a $2 bill for a $5 bill?... Why not a
$10... or a $1... The obvious answer seemed that a rarely used
denomination of bill was just plain unwelcome... and no doubt ended up
back at a bank... where it would never be given out as change either.
Peter
They also have 50 cent pieces.
In my wallet I have 2 series 2003, 7 series 2003A and 1 series 1995,
all with a green seal.
In the 1970s, at least for a while, I used to get my entire paycheck
in $2s by cashing it at the Treasury. I'm familiar with the comments.
The responses from clerks when I use a 50 cent piece are more
extreme. Some think it is a dollar coin. Since they don't work in a
parking meter, here, they are more of a nuisance.
Michael Benveniste
> In the early 1980s... just for the pure h*ell of it... I used to buy a
> bundle of $2s... 25 in a bundle for 50 bucks... at a bank and give them
> out in change... just to hear and see what would happen... Just about
> every $2 bill met the same fate... the cashier or clerk would lift up
> the drawer that held the bills and change... and the $2 bill would get
> tossed underneath... along with $50s, coupons, and anything else that
> was not going to be given back out in change.
I spent about 200 $2 bills in 2008 and 2009. The parking lot I was
using was one of those where you shove the bills into a little
numbered slot, and the fee was first $2 and then doubled to $4.
One day I came back and found a non-payment ticket on the envelope.
I called the number and told them I had paid with 2 $2 bills. The
reply came back, "Oh, so _you're_ the one."
--
Mike Benveniste -- m...@murkyether.com (Clarification Required)
Its name is Public opinion. It is held in reverence. It settles
everything. Some think it is the voice of God. -- Mark Twain
DanU
tellers gather up their $2 bills and Ike dollars and make me take
them. The tellers dislike them because they have no place in their
drawer for the oddball denominations.
I spend them at the supermarket, McDonalds, use for tips, whatever.
Some folks get all excited when I spend a $2 Bill, like it is some
sort of rarity or something.
Relayer
> "L M" <santa_m...@webtv.net> wrote in message
>
> - Show quoted text -
Almost the same with me
Paul Anderson
<acb7056f-8eab-4e7d...@k39g2000yqb.googlegroups.com>,
DanU <hard...@aol.com> wrote:
> My local bank branch is always happy to see me because all of the
> tellers gather up their $2 bills and Ike dollars and make me take
> them. The tellers dislike them because they have no place in their
> drawer for the oddball denominations.
They would if they would put all the checks, $50 bills and $100 bills
under the drawer, but I suppose they might use a $50 in change, so maybe
you're right. But most registers have six spaces for bills...
$1
$2
$5
$10
$20
$50
...don't they? Just like there's room for dollar coins but the space is
often filled with paper clips or rubber bands or rolls of other coins?
Paul
Relayer
When they were re-issued, it was "exciting" for about a year. I
remember giving them to my kids in cards and they got all excited and
then promptly spent them