When is a $2 bill worth more than two dollars? Here’s what we found

Everyone is familiar with dollars, fives, 10s and 20s. But $2 bills are still out there, and they could be worth a lot of money.
An auction site called U.S. Currency Auctions estimates that uncirculated $2 bills from 1890 could sell for at least $4,500. Uncirculated $2 bills from nearly every year between 1862 and 1899 could have an estimated value of over $1,000, according to the site. The price guide offers only estimates and warns that collectors offer rates based on location and printing method.
Heritage Auctions, which claims to be the world’s largest collectibles auctioneer, shows that a $2 bill from 1896 sold for over $6,000 in January.
While more recent $2 bills may not have as much value, some could still fetch at a high price. A $2 bill from 2003 was sold for $4,000 in August 2022. That particular bill had a low serial number for the 2003 series.
In 2022, the Federal Reserve reported that there were 1.5 billion $2 bills in circulation, which was only a small fraction of the total volume of $54.1 billion in currency in the United States. Comparatively, there were 2.3 billion $10 bills, 3.5 billion $5 bills and 11.5 billion $20 bills in circulation in 2022.
The $2 bill features the face of Thomas Jefferson, while the back shows an engraving of John Trumbull’s painting, “Declaration of Independence,” which depicts the signing of the famous document.
The first $2 bill was issued by the federal government in 1862 and originally portrayed Alexander Hamilton.
The government at one point stopped issuing $2 bills, following the U.S. Treasury’s failed attempt to popularize the bill in the early 20th century. The bill was reintroduced in 1976 and remains in circulation today.
The $2 bill can hold a different, non-monetary value to people. Some may view the dollar view with a negative connotation, as it has a history of association with illegal activities such as bribery, while other believe the bill to be good luck.