Every so often I need to go to the bank to make a deposit, and while I’m there I’ll pull out some cash to have on hand. I much prefer to use a credit card for most purchases because it creates a nice record and I don’t have to mess with small coins, but sometimes cash can be really handy.

When I’m at the bank, though, I make a special request. I always ask the teller for as many two dollar bills as they’ve got. I do this for a number of reasons.

First of all, there’s nothing special about the two dollar bill really. It’s still only worth two dollars and they’re still printing new ones. They’re just not that popular and most automated machines don’t take them. Other than that, they don’t work any different than other denominations.

It’s also increasingly rare that something only costs a dollar these days. Unless you live in one of those few states that doesn’t charge a sales tax, it’s always $1.07 or something similar. As I mentioned before, I don’t like to carry change so I’m always using at least $2 at a time anyway.

My wife has also mentioned that she finds them harder to part with than other bills, and that’s never a bad thing.

It’s also a great conversation starter. I have yet to hand over a two dollar bill without getting some sort of reaction just because they’re a little different. It breaks people out of their daily routine and they’ll stop and talk to you for a while. You never know who you’ll meet or what you’ll gain by talking to someone.

So if I’ve sparked some interest in the two dollar bill for you, go ahead and grab a few from the bank. You’ll find how fun it is to give them out.

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