Two buck schmucks
Finding one may be hard since they haven't been printed in eons, but there is indeed such a thing as a two dollar bill. Behold...
For those who are old enough to have seen such relics, and I'm assuming that anyone reading this blog falls into such a category, I suppose that I have some explainin' to do regarding this post's opening sentence. According to this here story, a man was recently arrested, cuffed, and jailed for attempting to use some Jeffersons. Particularly amusing, or pathetic depending on how you perceive all of this, is the man's recollection of what the cashier said when presented with the bills:
Not that I'm a fan of federal reserve notes or anything, but wow! Not only are there people out there who are I guess young enough to have never heard of or seen $2 bills, but to get the local thugs involved and have the man arrested for trying to use them really makes me shake my head.
Of all the FRNs out there, the $2 bill is without question my favorite. The Prez. on the front happens to be Thomas Jefferson, one of the finest minds to have contributed to the American Revolution and to notions of liberty in this country. Why in the world is Jefferson on the now defunct $2 bill, while centralizing warmongers like Lincoln and sleazy mercantilists like Hamilton grace (or should I say defile) more popular and widely circulated bills? I suppose it could have something to do with the fact that Jeffersonian ideals are non-existant in Washington these days while the legacies of the other two schmucks mentioned live on, but I don't want to get too kooky on y'all.
Arrested for using $2 bills? Man, that in itself is kooky! When you think of all the alternative means of exchange that people could use that would make the government piss their collective (and collectivist) pants, it's quite bizarre to see such action taken on someone who was simply trying to pass off legitimate, albeit rare, FRNs. It seems especially odd for me, considering the fact that I regulary pass off Canadian change to unsuspecting and apathetic cashiers!
(link via Strike the Root)
For those who are old enough to have seen such relics, and I'm assuming that anyone reading this blog falls into such a category, I suppose that I have some explainin' to do regarding this post's opening sentence. According to this here story, a man was recently arrested, cuffed, and jailed for attempting to use some Jeffersons. Particularly amusing, or pathetic depending on how you perceive all of this, is the man's recollection of what the cashier said when presented with the bills:
"She looked at the $2 bills and told me, 'I don't have to take these if I don't want to.'
Not that I'm a fan of federal reserve notes or anything, but wow! Not only are there people out there who are I guess young enough to have never heard of or seen $2 bills, but to get the local thugs involved and have the man arrested for trying to use them really makes me shake my head.
Of all the FRNs out there, the $2 bill is without question my favorite. The Prez. on the front happens to be Thomas Jefferson, one of the finest minds to have contributed to the American Revolution and to notions of liberty in this country. Why in the world is Jefferson on the now defunct $2 bill, while centralizing warmongers like Lincoln and sleazy mercantilists like Hamilton grace (or should I say defile) more popular and widely circulated bills? I suppose it could have something to do with the fact that Jeffersonian ideals are non-existant in Washington these days while the legacies of the other two schmucks mentioned live on, but I don't want to get too kooky on y'all.
Arrested for using $2 bills? Man, that in itself is kooky! When you think of all the alternative means of exchange that people could use that would make the government piss their collective (and collectivist) pants, it's quite bizarre to see such action taken on someone who was simply trying to pass off legitimate, albeit rare, FRNs. It seems especially odd for me, considering the fact that I regulary pass off Canadian change to unsuspecting and apathetic cashiers!
(link via Strike the Root)
posted by freeman at 4/11/2005 03:15:00 AM
3 Comments:
You asked, "Why in the world is Jefferson on the now defunct $2 bill, while centralizing warmongers like Lincoln and sleazy mercantilists like Hamilton grace (or should I say defile) more popular and widely circulated bills?"
Because that's who the pols admire most? (Said only slightly tongue in cheek)
Perhaps the one place in the world it's easy to get $2 bills is in Charlottesville, Virginia.
At Monticello, TJ's old home, they charge (or used to charge -- I haven't been recently) $8 to get in. This meant everyone paid with a $10 bill and gave Monticello the opportunity to give a single $2 bill as change.
Even if they raise the price to $9, two people going in and paying with a twenty will still get back a TJ FRN.
(Of course, with inflation, they might be tempted to raise the price to $13 or $18 or $23 ...
When I first heard about this story, I almost didn't believe it. But then we ARE living in Bizarro World aren't we? The whole point about the state forcing their "legal tender" on us sort of flies out the door, if any petty jerk "in authority" can decide not to accept the notes if they don't like you.
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