Proof that $2 bills are bad luck

[JeeberD]

Subtitle: More Best Buy idiocy



A tale of customer service, justice and currency as funny as a $2 bill

Michael Olesker

PUT YOURSELF in Mike Bolesta's place. On the morning of Feb. 20, he buys a new radio-CD player for his 17-year-old son Christopher's car. He pays the $114 installation charge with 57 crisp new $2 bills, which, when last observed, were still considered legitimate currency in the United States proper. The $2 bills are Bolesta's idea of payment, and his little comic protest, too.

For this, Bolesta, Baltimore County resident, innocent citizen, owner of Capital City Student Tours, finds himself under arrest.

Finds himself, in front of a store full of customers at the Best Buy on York Road in Lutherville, locked into handcuffs and leg irons.

Finds himself transported to the Baltimore County lockup in Cockeysville, where he's handcuffed to a pole for three hours while the U.S. Secret Service is called into the case.

Have a nice day, Mike.

"Humiliating," the 57-year old Bolesta was saying now. "I am 6 feet 5 inches tall, and I felt like 8 inches high. To be handcuffed, to have all those people looking on, to be cuffed to a pole -- and to know you haven't done anything wrong. And me, with a brother, Joe, who spent 33 years on the city police force. It was humiliating."

What we have here, besides humiliation, is a sense of caution resulting in screw-ups all around.

"When I bought the stereo player," Bolesta explains, "the technician said it'd fit perfectly into my son's dashboard. But it didn't. So they called back and said they had another model that would fit perfectly, and it was cheaper. We got a $67 refund, which was fine. As long as it fit, that's all.

"So we go back and pay for it, and they tell us to go around front with our receipt and pick up the difference in the cost. I ask about installation charges. They said, 'No installation charge, because of the mix-up. Our mistake, no charge.' Swell.

"But then, the next day, I get a call at home. They're telling me, 'If you don't come in and pay the installation fee, we're calling the police.' Jeez, where did we go from them admitting a mistake to suddenly calling the police? So I say, 'Fine, I'll be in tomorrow.' But, overnight, I'm starting to steam a little. It's not the money -- it's the threat. So I thought, I'll count out a few $2 bills."

He has lots and lots of them.

With his Capital City Student Tours, he arranges class trips for school kids around the country traveling to large East Coast cities, including Baltimore. He's been doing this for the last 18 years. He makes all the arrangements: hotels, meals, entertainment. And it's part of his schtick that, when Bolesta hands out meal money to students, he does it in $2 bills, which he picks up from his regular bank, Sun Trust.

"The kids don't see that many $2 bills, so they think this is the greatest thing in the world," Bolesta says. "They don't want to spend 'em. They want to save 'em. I've been doing this since I started the company. So I'm thinking, 'I'll stage my little comic protest. I'll pay the $114 with $2 bills.'"

At Best Buy, they may have perceived the protest -- but did not sense the comic aspect of 57 $2 bills.

"I'm just here to pay the bill," Bolesta says he told a cashier. "She looked at the $2 bills and told me, 'I don't have to take these if I don't want to.' I said, 'If you don't, I'm leaving. I've tried to pay my bill twice. You don't want these bills, you can sue me.' So she took the money. Like she's doing me a favor."

He remembers the cashier marking each bill with a pen. Then other store personnel began to gather, a few of them asking, "Are these real?"

"Of course they are," Bolesta said. "They're legal tender."

A Best Buy manager refused comment last week. But, according to a Baltimore County police arrest report, suspicions were roused when an employee noticed some smearing of ink. So the cops were called in. One officer noticed the bills ran in sequential order.

"I told them, 'I'm a tour operator. I've got thousands of these bills. I get them from my bank. You got a problem, call the bank,'" Bolesta says. "I'm sitting there in a chair. The store's full of people watching this. All of a sudden, he's standing me up and handcuffing me behind my back, telling me, 'We have to do this until we get it straightened out.'

"Meanwhile, everybody's looking at me. I've lived here 18 years. I'm hoping my kids don't walk in and see this. And I'm saying, 'I can't believe you're doing this. I'm paying with legal American money.'"

Bolesta was then taken to the county police lockup in Cockeysville, where he sat handcuffed to a pole and in leg irons while the Secret Service was called in.

"At this point," he says, "I'm a mass murderer."

Finally, Secret Service agent Leigh Turner arrived, examined the bills and said they were legitimate, adding, according to the police report, "Sometimes ink on money can smear."

This will be important news to all concerned.

For Baltimore County police, said spokesman Bill Toohey, "It's a sign that we're all a little nervous in the post-9/11 world."

The other day, one of Bolesta's sons needed a few bucks. Bolesta pulled out his wallet and "whipped out a couple of $2 bills. But my son turned away. He said he doesn't want 'em any more."

He's seen where such money can lead.

[st.cronin]

For Baltimore County police, said spokesman Bill Toohey, "It's a sign that we're all a little nervous in the post-9/11 world." [/i]


:confused: :confused: :confused:

So terrorists are going to ... forge $2 bills ... and use them to install hifi stereos in their cars... NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[sovereignstar]

I lived in Cockeysville for a little while and it sucked.

[EagleFan]

Un-freaking-believable. I guess I better not pay the cable bill that way to protest Comcast's overall suckiness.

[EagleFan]

:confused: :confused: :confused:

So terrorists are going to ... forge $2 bills ... and use them to install hifi stereos in their cars... NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO


Didn't you hear? That's the next big plot. They are going to corner the market on car stereos using fake $2 bills and counterfeit nickles.

[Franklinnoble]

He ought to sue.

[Ksyrup]

:confused: :confused: :confused:

So terrorists are going to ... forge $2 bills ... and use them to install hifi stereos in their cars... NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
This is the real way the terrorists will win. Of course, their taste in music is really sucky.

[henry296]

This happens to be the uncle of one of my friends, it wasn't a fun experience for their family.

[st.cronin]

This is the real way the terrorists will win. Of course, their taste in music is realy sucky.

Are you saying their plan is to play real sucky music at loud volumes IN OUR STREETS????

That's it. I'm moving to Montana.

[Hurst2112]

Looks like some store needs to have their customer service desk shit on.

I really hate hearing stories like this. I get to thinking "how better the person handled it than me", and "f that happened to me, I would have been pissed and flipped out!"

(?!?!?)

Anyway...pretty pathetic on BB's part.

[Drake]

He ought to sue.

I'd guess that's coming. Wait a couple of weeks.

[sabotai]

That 9/11 comment jumped out at me too. What an asshole.

[rexallllsc]

:confused: :confused: :confused:

So terrorists are going to ... forge $2 bills ... and use them to install hifi stereos in their cars... NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

I thought that was a strange comment, too.

[rexallllsc]

Looks like some store needs to have their customer service desk shit on.

I really hate hearing stories like this. I get to thinking "how better the person handled it than me", and "f that happened to me, I would have been pissed and flipped out!"

(?!?!?)

Anyway...pretty pathetic on BB's part.

Very. I can even understand pulling the guy aside and just making sure things are on the up-and-up. But cuffing the dude? So weak. It's not fun or comfortable being cuffed. I'd sue the hell out of them.

[sterlingice]

:confused: :confused: :confused:

So terrorists are going to ... forge $2 bills ... and use them to install hifi stereos in their cars... NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
If you aren't allowed to install car stereos and pay with $2 bills then the terrorists have won.

SI

[Desnudo]

He ought to sue.

I agree. The behaviour of both the store employees and police was a joke. Although had he not been a wise guy and paid with a credit card...

[Huckleberry]

Well, I don't carry much cash (in fact, I have none right now to check this against), but it should be noted that his credit cards don't say "THIS NOTE IS LEGAL TENDER FOR ALL DEBTS PUBLIC AND PRIVATE" on them.

[Easy Mac]

What more were they supposed to do?

I know when I worked at grocery stores, any unusual bill (generally bills $50 or more), we had to mark. We'd normally ask if they had smaller bills to make it easier to change (so we didn't have a stockpile of $50, but no 10's). We'd get out a pen and mark it to make sure its legit. If there was any smearing of the ink, they have to assume its fake (since its a safe assumption that an odd bill with noticeable smearing has a good chance of being fake, unless you examine them for a living and know otherwise). If its thought to be counterfeit, we get the manager. Then the guy goes and acts like a jackass by saying "I'm a tour operator. I've got thousands of these bills. I get them from my bank. You got a problem, call the bank". He was then arrested for possibly trying to pass counterfeit bills, which they appeared they may be. Its pretty standard for the FBI/Secret Service to get involved with counterfeit claims, since they are the experts. He was then released when they were found to be real.

None of his rights were violated in this, so what can he sue about? If anything, he made the situation escalate by acting like a complete jackass through the whole ordeal... the story was written to make us feel bad for a guy who wanted to be a jerk to stick it to a company, then got the tables turned by some unfortunate circumstances.

The moral is, if you don't want to be treated like an ass, don't act like one.

[henry296]

I saw this today on another message board as well. However, the original article was from March 8th... Why is this making internet news now?

Todd

[stkelly52]

What more were they supposed to do?

I know when I worked at grocery stores, any unusual bill (generally bills $50 or more), we had to mark. We'd normally ask if they had smaller bills to make it easier to change (so we didn't have a stockpile of $50, but no 10's). We'd get out a pen and mark it to make sure its legit. If there was any smearing of the ink, they have to assume its fake (since its a safe assumption that an odd bill with noticeable smearing has a good chance of being fake, unless you examine them for a living and know otherwise). If its thought to be counterfeit, we get the manager. Then the guy goes and acts like a jackass by saying "I'm a tour operator. I've got thousands of these bills. I get them from my bank. You got a problem, call the bank". He was then arrested for possibly trying to pass counterfeit bills, which they appeared they may be. Its pretty standard for the FBI/Secret Service to get involved with counterfeit claims, since they are the experts. He was then released when they were found to be real.

None of his rights were violated in this, so what can he sue about? If anything, he made the situation escalate by acting like a complete jackass through the whole ordeal... the story was written to make us feel bad for a guy who wanted to be a jerk to stick it to a company, then got the tables turned by some unfortunate circumstances.

The moral is, if you don't want to be treated like an ass, don't act like one.That may be, but also remember that he was being charged for a service that he had been told would be free. If it had been me you can bet that I would not have paid them a penny in the first place.

[Huckleberry]

What more were they supposed to do?

I know when I worked at grocery stores, any unusual bill (generally bills $50 or more), we had to mark. We'd normally ask if they had smaller bills to make it easier to change (so we didn't have a stockpile of $50, but no 10's). We'd get out a pen and mark it to make sure its legit. If there was any smearing of the ink, they have to assume its fake (since its a safe assumption that an odd bill with noticeable smearing has a good chance of being fake, unless you examine them for a living and know otherwise). If its thought to be counterfeit, we get the manager. Then the guy goes and acts like a jackass by saying "I'm a tour operator. I've got thousands of these bills. I get them from my bank. You got a problem, call the bank". He was then arrested for possibly trying to pass counterfeit bills, which they appeared they may be. Its pretty standard for the FBI/Secret Service to get involved with counterfeit claims, since they are the experts. He was then released when they were found to be real.

None of his rights were violated in this, so what can he sue about? If anything, he made the situation escalate by acting like a complete jackass through the whole ordeal... the story was written to make us feel bad for a guy who wanted to be a jerk to stick it to a company, then got the tables turned by some unfortunate circumstances.

The moral is, if you don't want to be treated like an ass, don't act like one.
Let me get this straight. They told him there would be no additional installation charge. Then, after they install it, they call him and tell him they will call the police if he doesn't pay an installation charge they came up with after the fact. Then he shows up and pays it with legal United States currency and he ends up arrested, cuffed to a pole in leg irons in a prison cell.

And that's cool with you.

Are you a Best Buy employee?

[Easy Mac]

you completely missed the point... shocking with your biases. I didn't mention the installation charges because they are unimportant to the outrage at the story. No one has expressed being upset with the unforseen charges, but they are upset with the actions of the police, which are perfectly normal... or did you forget this:

But, according to a Baltimore County police arrest report, suspicions were roused when an employee noticed some smearing of ink

But since you bring it up, I seriously doubt best buy called and said "pay or we'll arrest you"... but it makes for a better victim.

And when you're arrested.... thats normally what happens to you, cuffed and in a cell.

[Huckleberry]

you completely missed the point... shocking with your biases. I didn't mention the installation charges because they are unimportant to the outrage at the story. No one has expressed being upset with the unforseen charges, but they are upset with the actions of the police, which are perfectly normal... or did you forget this:

But, according to a Baltimore County police arrest report, suspicions were roused when an employee noticed some smearing of ink

But since you bring it up, I seriously doubt best buy called and said "pay or we'll arrest you"... but it makes for a better victim.

And when you're arrested.... thats normally what happens to you, cuffed and in a cell.
Wow.

Perhaps you didn't notice that the thread starter subtitled it "More Best Buy idiocy". Or that the third respondent related the situation to another crappy company. Or that the ninth reply focused on Best Buy's jackassery.

And I'm assuming you also missed the part about being cuffed to a pole and in leg irons in the jail cell. Sorry, but suspicion of counterfeiting $2 bills (HA, that's stupid all by itself) is not an offense that should require that level of restraint within a cell.

Finally, it is simply laughable that you accuse me of having biases here. Let's see, you are claiming that the call to him and threat of police intervention is made up even though they eventually called police. Meanwhile, you take the claim of smeared ink as true without questioning it. You are the one displaying bias. My posts were based on assuming that all sides were telling the truth. Which, of course, may be incorrect.

[MacroGuru]

you completely missed the point... shocking with your biases. I didn't mention the installation charges because they are unimportant to the outrage at the story. No one has expressed being upset with the unforseen charges, but they are upset with the actions of the police, which are perfectly normal... or did you forget this:

But, according to a Baltimore County police arrest report, suspicions were roused when an employee noticed some smearing of ink

But since you bring it up, I seriously doubt best buy called and said "pay or we'll arrest you"... but it makes for a better victim.

And when you're arrested.... thats normally what happens to you, cuffed and in a cell.

Not to a pole though.

Best Buy was fighting back because he paid with $2 bills. Trust me, if you have worked with a till long enough, and now currency, you know about the 2's and you also know that most of them are crisp, as well as the fact that sometimes the ink smears.

I think this was BB way to handle a customer that was being a smart ass.

Obviously, there are 3 sides to a story, right now we have one version, BB has another, then there is the truth, which we will never know

[Easy Mac]

Wow.

Perhaps you didn't notice that the thread starter subtitled it "More Best Buy idiocy". Or that the third respondent related the situation to another crappy company. Or that the ninth reply focused on Best Buy's jackassery.

And I'm assuming you also missed the part about being cuffed to a pole and in leg irons in the jail cell. Sorry, but suspicion of counterfeiting $2 bills (HA, that's stupid all by itself) is not an offense that should require that level of restraint within a cell.

Finally, it is simply laughable that you accuse me of having biases here. Let's see, you are claiming that the call to him and threat of police intervention is made up even though they eventually called police. Meanwhile, you take the claim of smeared ink as true without questioning it. You are the one displaying bias. My posts were based on assuming that all sides were telling the truth. Which, of course, may be incorrect.
wasn't the smeared ink on the police report, while the rest was the guys own words of what happened to the press? A little difference there. They called the police over counterfeiting bills, not over the stereo, again, a little difference.

[Draft Dodger]

the dude in question:
http://www.capitalcitytours.com/fatherandsons.gif

and the 911 asshat:
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/images/media/jan-june00/cops16.jpg

posted pics because I was a little dubious of the story because of all the $2 urban legends out there. but I guess it's ok.

[kcchief19]

you completely missed the point... shocking with your biases. Huh. You say he missed your point, but you've completely changed your point. Your original point was "don't act like an ass if you don't want to be treated like an ass." I don't know what your point is now.

I have no doubt Best Buy pissed this guy off and he wanted a little sarcastic revenge. Not everyone that works at Best Buy has their shit together. It happens. But if the events played out remotely as stated in the article, it seems an extreme response. That said, truth is probably somewhere in the middle.

I do see the other side too. When I worked in retail, nothing was more infuriating than some jackass paying for a $2 item with a $50 or a $100 bill. I've been on the other side as well. I bought an ice cream cone once with a $10 bill and the cashier gave me $9 in change in Susan B. Anthony dollar coins because someone had paid in them earlier and he was trying to palm them off me. I said no thanks and asked for bills. He said, "Sorry," and slammed the register and walked off. I took a couple of bites of the cone to take the edge off the hunger and proceeded to smear the remainder of the cone all over the counter and said, 'It was worth it knowing that you'll have to clean it up," and walked off.

I'm surprised I didn't go to jail now. :)

[vex]

Huh. You say he missed your point, but you've completely changed your point. Your original point was "don't act like an ass if you don't want to be treated like an ass." I don't know what your point is now.

I have no doubt Best Buy pissed this guy off and he wanted a little sarcastic revenge. Not everyone that works at Best Buy has their shit together. It happens. But if the events played out remotely as stated in the article, it seems an extreme response. That said, truth is probably somewhere in the middle.

I do see the other side too. When I worked in retail, nothing was more infuriating than some jackass paying for a $2 item with a $50 or a $100 bill. I've been on the other side as well. I bought an ice cream cone once with a $10 bill and the cashier gave me $9 in change in Susan B. Anthony dollar coins because someone had paid in them earlier and he was trying to palm them off me. I said no thanks and asked for bills. He said, "Sorry," and slammed the register and walked off. I took a couple of bites of the cone to take the edge off the hunger and proceeded to smear the remainder of the cone all over the counter and said, 'It was worth it knowing that you'll have to clean it up," and walked off.

I'm surprised I didn't go to jail now. :)
Nice:D

[Desnudo]

Huh. You say he missed your point, but you've completely changed your point. Your original point was "don't act like an ass if you don't want to be treated like an ass." I don't know what your point is now.

I have no doubt Best Buy pissed this guy off and he wanted a little sarcastic revenge. Not everyone that works at Best Buy has their shit together. It happens. But if the events played out remotely as stated in the article, it seems an extreme response. That said, truth is probably somewhere in the middle.

I do see the other side too. When I worked in retail, nothing was more infuriating than some jackass paying for a $2 item with a $50 or a $100 bill. I've been on the other side as well. I bought an ice cream cone once with a $10 bill and the cashier gave me $9 in change in Susan B. Anthony dollar coins because someone had paid in them earlier and he was trying to palm them off me. I said no thanks and asked for bills. He said, "Sorry," and slammed the register and walked off. I took a couple of bites of the cone to take the edge off the hunger and proceeded to smear the remainder of the cone all over the counter and said, 'It was worth it knowing that you'll have to clean it up," and walked off.

I'm surprised I didn't go to jail now. :)

What I find funny is that he tried to get rid of them and then got angry about it. What's the point? It's not like he has to take them home as part of his pay.

If I'm ever working in retail service and see a guy eating an ice cream cone, I'll remember not to give him a hard time.

[ShaqFu]

Well, the guy likely has a legitimate lawsuit against Best Buy and possibly the police. They were questioning the $2 bills to begin with, as if they've never heard of them. Retailers these days need to train their employees on what is real and what isn't. A $1,000 bill still is legal tender. I could go into Best Buy and purchase a big ticket item like a TV with one. Would they arrest me? The same applies to gold certificates, silver certificates, and the old large dollar bills. When the US stops production, redesigns, replaces old notes, the old notes remain legal tender until spent.

People don't realize that the United States still prints $2 bills, but they aren't printed as frequently as $1s, $5s, $10s and $20s.

[sterlingice]

Well, the guy likely has a legitimate lawsuit against Best Buy and possibly the police. They were questioning the $2 bills to begin with, as if they've never heard of them. Retailers these days need to train their employees on what is real and what isn't. A $1,000 bill still is legal tender. I could go into Best Buy and purchase a big ticket item like a TV with one. Would they arrest me? The same applies to gold certificates, silver certificates, and the old large dollar bills. When the US stops production, redesigns, replaces old notes, the old notes remain legal tender until spent.

People don't realize that the United States still prints $2 bills, but they aren't printed as frequently as $1s, $5s, $10s and $20s.
When was the last time you worked retail? One, they aren't the sharpest tools in the shed- god know when I worked there, I wasn't that smart. Two, there's no time to train. You get some other cashier looking over your shoulder for 2 minutes and then you're told to go. You want better service, stop insisting on paying the lowest dollar at places like Best Buy and go for a higher end store.

SI

[ShaqFu]

When was the last time you worked retail? One, they aren't the sharpest tools in the shed- god know when I worked there, I wasn't that smart. Two, there's no time to train. You get some other cashier looking over your shoulder for 2 minutes and then you're told to go. You want better service, stop insisting on paying the lowest dollar at places like Best Buy and go for a higher end store.

SI

The Treasury does send out images of the bills to retailers. I'm not surprised. These same retailers also check IDs when someone pays with credit cards, even though the merchant agreements expressly forbid that.

It's not like a single cashier was accusing this guy. Other employees, including the manager (who should know better), were accusing the guy.

If I were that guy, I would have told Best Buy to remove the stereo and put the old one back in.

[Blackadar]

I wouldn't have given them time to call the cops. I'd have paid the cash and left the store. If they had attempted to detain me on their own, well...it would get ugly, quickly.

[General Mike]

I would have burnt the store down, but I'm crazy like that. ;)

[st.cronin]

His mistake was not having a back-up plan, like a huge sack of pennies.

[sterlingice]

His mistake was not having a back-up plan, like a huge sack of pennies.
Or how about those obnoxious dollar coins? I mean, the pound coins are cool- but we can't seem to do them right over here. To be honest, it's the subject matter- they have queens to put on their coins and we just go for a reach whenever we try to find an important woman in our history.

SI

[Easy Mac]

Huh. You say he missed your point, but you've completely changed your point. Your original point was "don't act like an ass if you don't want to be treated like an ass." I don't know what your point is now.

I have no doubt Best Buy pissed this guy off and he wanted a little sarcastic revenge. Not everyone that works at Best Buy has their shit together. It happens. But if the events played out remotely as stated in the article, it seems an extreme response. That said, truth is probably somewhere in the middle.

I do see the other side too. When I worked in retail, nothing was more infuriating than some jackass paying for a $2 item with a $50 or a $100 bill. I've been on the other side as well. I bought an ice cream cone once with a $10 bill and the cashier gave me $9 in change in Susan B. Anthony dollar coins because someone had paid in them earlier and he was trying to palm them off me. I said no thanks and asked for bills. He said, "Sorry," and slammed the register and walked off. I took a couple of bites of the cone to take the edge off the hunger and proceeded to smear the remainder of the cone all over the counter and said, 'It was worth it knowing that you'll have to clean it up," and walked off.

I'm surprised I didn't go to jail now. :)
My post contained the same point throughout. The outrage was postitioned as "Best Buy is horrible and complete deprived the man his rights." My contention was they followed protocol, and it was pretty clear throughout the post... the fact he acted like an ass is just icing on the cake. Its protocol at most retailers to take any unusual currency and mark it to see if it is real. There were ink smudges on the bill. They notified the authorities. I'd think they have a right to do so if someone walks into the store with 57 $2 bills and ink is smudged on at least one. The cop noticed that they were all in sequential order... sequential ordered bills with an ink smudge on at least one would probably make people think there's a possibility its fake. The cop even apologized to the man for following protocol. Then the feds had to come in, since forging money is a federal offense (and one thats always been pretty important, and if you look at other forgery cases, they're often brought in). They released him when they verified the money was real.

My point is and has been that it wasn't some big best buy conspiracy to stick it to this man and have him arrested. It was a case of a guy thinking he could be cute and try to show up best buy, and he overplayed his hand. If the cashier didn't care and the bills were fake, then what?

And also, we have no idea what they mean by "prison lockup". Is that prison house, jail cell, interrogation room? How long was he there?

[Huckleberry]

The cop noticed that they were all in sequential order... sequential ordered bills with an ink smudge on at least one would probably make people think there's a possibility its fake.
This is one of the more ridiculous things about what the cops did.

Sequential crisp bills do not say "fake". They say "bank robbery". I imagine counterfeiters don't run off sequential bills. At least I hope not.

Either way, I'm sure the huge market for counterfeit $2 bills played a part in this. Seriously, $2 bills? Let's take the most conspicuous denomination of our currency, which just so happens to be the second least valuable, and counterfeit them. Great idea.

Plus there's all the bank robbers who ask for all the twos in the vault.

[st.cronin]

This is one of the more ridiculous things about what the cops did.

Sequential crisp bills do not say "fake". They say "bank robbery". I imagine counterfeiters don't run off sequential bills. At least I hope not.

Either way, I'm sure the huge market for counterfeit $2 bills played a part in this. Seriously, $2 bills? Let's take the most conspicuous denomination of our currency, which just so happens to be the second least valuable, and counterfeit them. Great idea.

Plus there's all the bank robbers who ask for all the twos in the vault.

Exactly.

Now if it had been $3 bills...