Tipping using $2 bills?

[Pearlbill]

I will be even more blunt -- It doesn't matter if they are legal tender or not. Given the unpopularity of the $2 bill, the only logical reason to give them out as tips is selfish and ego driven. :mad:

 

The only reason the staff smiles and thanks you is that is how they are trained. All the while you are being cursed at telepathically. :D

 

Wow! Superstition can really do a number on some of us. Not using a denomination of bill that is perfectly legal tender is totally illogical to me.

 

It is like carrying ONLY one dollar bills and handing out 5 for a 5$ tip. It could be and probably is done, but why not use the bills that are available. 1$ bill = 1$ tip, 2$ bill =2$ tip, 5$ bill = 5$ tip and so on.

 

The reason you don't see many of them is because of hoarding or superstition. Start using them.

 

Pearl

[Pearlbill]

Yes, I can remember. On my last Vegas trip, $2 bills were given out as change in every strip club I visited.

 

LOL. Maybe I'm not so keen on the revival of the 2$ bill! God only knows where they may have been!

 

Pearl

[LittleMissMagic]

I wouldn't tip with a $2 bill because of all of the reasons mentioned above.

 

Not to mention, my university (Clemson - Go Tigers!) uses $2 bills stamped with tiger paws when purchasing at away games to show how much they contribute to the economy. It originated when Clemson played Georgia Tech in Atlanta in 1977 "for the last time" because Tech refused to come to Clemson. Clemson fans bought everything using $2 bills to show Atlanta businessmen how much money they brought to the economy and what wouldn't be returning since GT refused to play them anymore. Needless to say, the trick worked because we continue to play GT.

 

The $2 bill, because of its unpopularity, is kind of a haha-in-your-face statement. I wouldn't want to make that statement when thanking someone for their work.

[sail7seas]

Yes, I can remember. On my last Vegas trip, $2 bills were given out as change in every strip club I visited.

 

 

Looks like you are the sole one to come forward.

You win the $2 bill recipient prize...... whatever that might be. :D

 

[smeyer418]

Yes, I can remember. On my last Vegas trip, $2 bills were given out as change in every strip club I visited.

lol and what do you tell your spouse when she finds these in your pocket? I got them for tips on a cruise.....

 

maybe the reason they give them out in the strip clubs is to make you use them instead of 1's

[Langley Cruisers]

Not true. The last batch of 2 dollar bills were printed in 2006. About 220 million of them.

 

Please note I corrected myself in post #28. I guess you didn't read all of the replies before singling me out. :D

[fleckle]

Just the fact that there is any controversy at all about the $2 bills should be sufficient reason not to give them to crew members.

 

Remember the golden rule - Do unto others.........

 

When you are traveling abroad and receive change in foreign currency do you want to receive money that is widely accepted and recognized?

 

Or would you rather have them give you some questionable, seldom used denomination?

Most people would not, unless they just want it as a souvenir and do not plan to spend or exchange it.

[MJC]

As for their unpopularity: I remember when the Susan B. Anthony dollar coin came out. I was working at a golf course, and every time someone gave me one I didn't have any place to put it in the cash register. They were all set up the same way, with no slots for the unusual money. I would think $2 bills would present the same problem.

 

Here in NYC, some of the machines that dispense bus or train tickets to New Jersey will give you your change in Sacagawea coins, so we are very familiar with them. :)

[Cruisin' Chick]

Just another little story.

 

My daughter bought a ticket at the train station, the machine gave her change in $1 coins (not sure if they were Sacagawea or the new President coins), but she put them in her purse.

 

I picked her up and we went to Disneyland. Parked the car and went inside the park. Overstayed our free time, so had to come up with cash for the extra parking. I didn't have enough cash, so she pulled those coins out of her purse.

 

The parking attendant looked at it, and then looked at me. I told her it was a dollar coin. She then went to the next parking station and showed it to the guy working there. She wasn't sure whether she could accept it or not. They conferred for maybe 10 minutes before another attendant finally came over and said, of course, it was a dollar. She then raised the arm and let me leave.

 

So not everyone even here in the US is familiar with our currency!

 

Keep your $2 bills as your own souvenir, don't give them as tips to anyone in counrty or out of country.

 

I remember getting some $1 coins back in change from a postage machine in a post office and then just days later trying to use the coins to buy stamps in the same machine...and the machine jammed. When I went to the counter to complain, the clerk said that the machine won't accept those coins in their intake slot.:eek:

 

If you don't want to spend them, don't give them to others! Same with $1 coins....keep them for your grandchildren....don't give them to folks you're trying to 'reward" for good service!

 

My MIL (may she rest in peace) would give $50 bills as birthday presents to us. A nice sentiment but that meant she would have to make a trip to the bank to get them...and it meant that we would have to go to the bank to deposit them in our account as most stores won't take them in payment (many won't accept bills over $20).

[Pearlbill]

I'll gladly take all those pesky 2 dollar bills, 50 dollar bills, one dollar coins and any other "annoying" currency off of your hands. Just send it to me. I'll dispose of the dreadful things for you.

 

Believe you me, any cruise ship employee would sooner have a stack of $2 bills over the same size stack of 1$ bills. They are smarter than you give them credit for.

 

Pearl

[tip]

I'll gladly take all those pesky 2 dollar bills, 50 dollar bills, one dollar coins and any other "annoying" currency off of your hands. Just send it to me. I'll dispose of the dreadful things for you.

 

Believe you me, any cruise ship employee would sooner have a stack of $2 bills over the same size stack of 1$ bills. They are smarter than you give them credit for.

 

Pearl

 

And I would be willing to bet that they would rather have them than candy, snacks, or trinkets any day!!;)

[Doug R.]

Wow! Superstition can really do a number on some of us. Not using a denomination of bill that is perfectly legal tender is totally illogical to me.

 

It is like carrying ONLY one dollar bills and handing out 5 for a 5$ tip. It could be and probably is done, but why not use the bills that are available. 1$ bill = 1$ tip, 2$ bill =2$ tip, 5$ bill = 5$ tip and so on.

 

The reason you don't see many of them is because of hoarding or superstition. Start using them.

 

Pearl

 

Quite a leap you made there Pearl! Right over the border and into my mindset! :D

 

First of all as I am sure you realize is that Canada has always accepted $2 currency, first the bill then the Toonie. In the US we do not for any of the reasons cited in this thread. I have no superstitions about the $2 bill. I would gladly use them, but I have no recollection of having actually gotten one in change much less hoard them. The last $2 bill of any type that I have used is from Barbados and of course the Toonie.

 

I do give you fine folks up there credit for doing what our government is too cowardly to do -- eliminate the $1 bill in favor of coins. It would save us mucho dinero to do so as the coins outlast the bill by a long shot.

[luddite]

Cash register drawers are not designed with a space for Mr Jefferson.

That has a lot to do with why we don't see them. We don't get tham as change from a cashier since they don't keep the accessible.

Factor in a lot of people with ....poor math skills....and it isn't hard to conclude why we don't see them.

[Fitzemt]

I used to use them all the time because I read an article in the paper that they made good tips and took up less room in your pocket. Made sense to me. I would go to the bank and get brand new ones. I wasn't trying to impress anyone, it just seemed logical. Then I read on CC that everybody hated them and they were hard to get rid of. So, now I have about 10 of them left in a drawer never to see daylight again. :)

[bus man]

So, now I have about 10 of them left in a drawer never to see daylight again. :)

 

Walk into any bank with them, and walk back out with a nice, new $20 bill!

[Jo-Bob]

I am Canadian. I remember my first trip to the US when I was a teenager. I was flabbergasted that there were no $2 bills....had a wallet stuffed with all these $1's. I thought it was such a PITA. Until recently, I believed there was no such thing as a US $2 bill. Just thought it was crazy to have to carry all these extra bills.

 

Anyway, not that it means anything.....but the reluctance to use them boggles my mind. I would prefer we still had the $2 bill, instead of the coin, only because they can weigh a lot in a purse, and I'm frequently asked to open my wallet going through airport security as they seem to wonder about the giant wad of metal in my bag.

[smeyer418]

http://fcit.usf.edu/florida/photos/gov/cash02/cash0223.htm

3 dollar bill...Bill Clinton's picture is on the other side...

[sail7seas]

I am Canadian. I remember my first trip to the US when I was a teenager. I was flabbergasted that there were no $2 bills....had a wallet stuffed with all these $1's. I thought it was such a PITA. Until recently, I believed there was no such thing as a US $2 bill. Just thought it was crazy to have to carry all these extra bills.

 

Anyway, not that it means anything.....but the reluctance to use them boggles my mind. I would prefer we still had the $2 bill, instead of the coin, only because they can weigh a lot in a purse, and I'm frequently asked to open my wallet going through airport security as they seem to wonder about the giant wad of metal in my bag.

 

 

If I find I have a pile of $1 bills in my wallet, the next time I am at any cash register, I give the cashier ten or fifteen of them and they give me a ten and a five. They are usually happy to get the ones as they need them to make change.

 

Easy solution. :)

You didn't need to carry around any more 1's than you wanted.

 

I would hate having to carry around those heavy coins in my pocketbook. I try to keep my bag as lighweight as I can. I'd opt for paper 1's any day over the weight of those coins. JMO ....

[luddite]

It's actuall y fairly easy to maintain less than five one dollar bills in a wallet.

[Pearlbill]

Quite a leap you made there Pearl! Right over the border and into my mindset! :D

 

First of all as I am sure you realize is that Canada has always accepted $2 currency, first the bill then the Toonie. In the US we do not for any of the reasons cited in this thread. I have no superstitions about the $2 bill. I would gladly use them, but I have no recollection of having actually gotten one in change much less hoard them. The last $2 bill of any type that I have used is from Barbados and of course the Toonie.

 

I do give you fine folks up there credit for doing what our government is too cowardly to do -- eliminate the $1 bill in favor of coins. It would save us mucho dinero to do so as the coins outlast the bill by a long shot.

 

Maybe your reason for not using a $2 bill is simply because you never have any. Fine. However, to say that those who do use them are selfish and ego driven seems a bit mindset jumping as well. If the American people would like to give a bit of a jumpstart to their economy, they should get those $2 bills out of the sock drawers and spend them and then more of you will get them in your change, you'll spend them and so on and so on and so on...... A bit of inconvenience because of the absence of a slot in the cash register seems a poor excuse. It may be the reason, but it's a poor one. IMHO

 

There is nothing wrong with a $2 bill as a tip.

 

Oh, and it is not accurate that Canadians have always accepted the $2 bill. Yes, it has been legal tender, (just as your bill is) but before the Twoonie, the $2 bill was often avoided like the plague, particularly in the Prairie provinces because of superstition of it coming from whorehouses or illegal gambling, or maybe simply because of the lack of the cash register slot. Who knows! Totally illogical thinking. I never understood it. Canada also has over 100,000,000 old $2 bills that have never been turned into the Bank of Canada when the new coins came into being. They are most likely sitting in sock drawers, still worth two dollars each. (Who knows how many American $2 have met the same fate) And a self imposed tax on those holding them.

 

Agree totally with you on your thoughts of the $1 bill. Americans, take it from a friendly neighbor, you'd get used to it. They're not so bad! It would be another way of helping your economy. They are more expensive to produce, but WAYYY out last a paper bill.

 

Doug R., I didn't mean to trespass into your grey matter and make suppositions! Hopefully, as the population ages, sock drawers will get cleaned out, and you will start seeing the $2 bill in your change. (it's one of the more beautifully illustrated American bills)

 

Pearl

[Doug R.]

 

There is nothing wrong with a $2 bill as a tip.

 

Oh, and it is not accurate that Canadians have always accepted the $2 bill. Yes, it has been legal tender, (just as your bill is) but before the Twoonie, the $2 bill was often avoided like the plague, particularly in the Prairie provinces because of superstition of it coming from whorehouses or illegal gambling, or maybe simply because of the lack of the cash register slot. Who knows! Totally illogical thinking. I never understood it. Canada also has over 100,000,000 old $2 bills that have never been turned into the Bank of Canada when the new coins came into being. They are most likely sitting in sock drawers, still worth two dollars each. (Who knows how many American $2 have met the same fate) And a self imposed tax on those holding them.

Pearl

 

The wrong is that it is a pain to use the $2 bill for the recipient.

 

I was basing my perception on my experiences in Ontario, Quebec and BC where I always got $2 bills in change and spent them without problems in the pre-Toonie days.

[marco]

I saw this post the other day and at the bank yesterday, after I finished my transaction I gave the teller a $10 bill and said "could I please have 5, $2 bills? There were none in the bank! Seems that unless you have a stash of them somewhere, you're going to be hard pressed to get some!