2 Dollars Federal Reserve Note

The 1976 reissue of the $2 note marked the end of a six-year absence — the denomination had last appeared as a United States Note (red seal) before being discontinued in 1966. Its revival was timed to the Bicentennial, a decision that backfired commercially: much of the public treated the new notes as collectibles, pulled them immediately from circulation, and had them first-day-stamped at post offices, which only accelerated their hoarding.

That behavior has persisted across every subsequent print run, creating the odd situation where billions of $2 notes are technically in circulation but almost never seen in everyday transactions. The Federal Reserve keeps them in inventory; banks rarely order them; the cycle continues.

The security thread, reading "USA TWO," was added with the Series 1995 printing.