‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ 
 
Monday, March 20, 2023
Good Monday Morning to You!

Two bucks. One bill.

Yes, the $2 bill was something special, and it still is.

As a child, receiving a $2 bill in a birthday card was a special treat. It still would be. My birthday is Aug. 16. Feel free to send me one.

I used to hang on to $2 bills, for one reason or another. Yet, today, I have none. They might be stored away with all those single socks, Tupperware lids and skeleton keys that I am missing.

So how much is a $2 bill worth? If you take it to the local Kum & Go store, the answer is two bucks. Collectors, though, are paying $4,500 or more for certain $2 bills, according to the U.S. Currency Auctions (USCA) website. Those in the know say the really valuable ones were printed in the 19th century, but even some from the last 30 years could be worth hundreds of dollars. Maybe.

When was the last time you saw a $2 bill? With most of us making fewer cash transactions today, it has likely been a while. The $2 bill was first printed in 1862 and, yes, it is still in circulation today.

Do you remember which U.S president’s image is on the $2 bill? Alexander Hamilton was on the original design, but that changed in 1869 with a redesign that put Thomas Jefferson on it. The look was changed again in 1963 but has remained mostly the same since then.

Collectors claim that if your $2 bill was minted and printed before 1976, it is likely worth more than its face value to collectors. Those same folks say an original uncirculated $2 bill from 1862 can range in value from $500 to more than $2,800. If you have some of the rare ones in various years, you could get even more. Even so, the odds are quite slim, and, more than likely, your $2 bill is simply worth two dollars. So your best bet is to make someone happy and put it inside a birthday card.

That reminds me of a harmless prank I do to some of my friends on their birthdays. I send a card with two $1 bills in it, and I sign it from Burt and Helen, or Frank and Ethyl, or Henry and Beatrice. Any names that were popular from a few generations will do. I also add a comment like, “You are such a good boy. Tell your parents hello for us.” And I write it in the worst cursive penmanship I can muster. It keeps my friends on their toes, at least for a few years — or until they read this. This prank might work even better with a $2 bill, so feel free to give it a try.

Have a marvelous Monday, and thanks for reading.

Shane Goodman
President and Publisher
Big Green Umbrella Media
shane@dmcityview.com
515-953-4822, ext. 305
www.thedailyumbrella.com

 

 
 
CITYVIEW's  Best Of Des Moines
 

CITYVIEW announced its 2023 Best Of Des Moines readers' choices Jan. 31. You can find all the results from the poll in the February issue of CITYVIEW magazine!

Best Local Burger

1. Lachele’s Fine Foods

2. B-Bop’s

3. Gastro Grub & Pub

SEE EVENT PHOTOS HERE...

 
Read More
 
 

Why one tips generously. Our informal survey of local hotel bartenders downtown revealed that the best tippers and most enjoyable fans in town for the NCAA basketball games were those from Arkansas and Texas, and the worst were from Kansas. Arkansas and Texas won twice each and moved on.

Jake Christensen, developer for the Howard Johnson hotel revival, has retained Steven Vail Fine Arts to provide mid-20th-century art for the project. Retro is fun, in art, architecture and food. Please bring back those fabulous HoJo fried clams.

The Oak Park project going up on the 39th Street block on Ingersoll is building a retro, all-French kitchen. Chef Ian Robertson is French-trained and thrilled to be given control of kitchen and pantry design. The restaurant, hoping to open Aug. 15, will have five accredited sommeliers on staff and 9,000 bottles in its wine cellar.

—Jim Duncan

Your Clear Mortgage forecast from Jason Parkin

Milder weather will be with us this week, although I think it’ll still not be as warm as most would like. We’ve got a rain chance Tuesday afternoon into Wednesday morning. After that, we could see mixed precipitation early Thursday. Finally, it appears we’ll see a good rain chance Sunday.

For help with preapprovals or refinancing, get in touch with Jason at parkin.mortgage

 
 
Featured Home For Sale
 
Attention Realtors, post your listings here for $50. Contact jolene@iowalivingmagazines.com for details.
 
$310,000
3109 SE Keystone Drive
Grimes, IA 50111
 
Gorgeous two-story home with many upgrades and updates! Located centrally off the 100th Street exit, this home has 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. The beautiful kitchen with stainless steel appliances and granite countertops overlooks the spacious backyard with no neighbors behind.
 
 
See More Homes For Sale
 
On March 20 ...

1995: Several packages of deadly sarin gas are set off in the Tokyo subway system killing twelve people and injuring over 5,000 on March 20, 1995. Sarin gas was invented by the Nazis and is one of the most lethal nerve gases known to man. Tokyo police quickly learned who had planted the chemical weapons and began tracking the terrorists down. Thousands of checkpoints were set up across the nation in the massive dragnet.

1861: On March 20, 1861, President Abraham Lincoln’s sons, Willie and Tad, are diagnosed with the measles, adding to the president’s many troubles.

1965: On March 20, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson notifies Alabama’s Governor George Wallace that he will use federal authority to call up the Alabama National Guard in order to supervise a planned civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery.

Read more at History.com.

 
Headlines

FROM KCCI: Sweet 16! Hawkeyes edge Georgia to advance to Seattle

IOWA CITY, Iowa — How Sweet it is! Second-seeded Iowa outlasted the 10-seed Georgia 74-66 Sunday afternoon at a sold-out Carver-Hawkeye Arena to advance to the Sweet 16 for the 9th time in school history. ...READ MORE FROM KCCI

FROM WHO-TV: ‘No one is above the law,’ says former VP of Trump’s Truth Social arrest claims

DES MOINES, Iowa — Former Vice President Mike Pence was in Des Moines Saturday at the Bastion Institute, speaking at a forum on foreign policy. The former VP answered questions asked by Senator Joni Ernst, (R) just hours after his former running mate, President Donald Trump, announced on Truth Social that he was going to be arrested this coming Tuesday. ...READ MORE FROM WHO-TV

FROM WOI-DT Local 5: 'I'm going to have to use the girls bathroom': Transgender dads concerned about implications of 'bathroom bill'

Kris Maul and Tyler Kirkman are both fathers and transgender men. Under SF 482, they would be required to use the women's restroom in their children's schools.. ...READ MORE FROM WOI-DT Local 5

 
Following in Their Footsteps
 

Love of dance

Amy Peel-Wood opened her first dance studio, Amy Peel Dance Avenue, at ate 17 on the south side of Des Moines. She owned and operated that business for nearly 20 years.

Amy's daughter, Teddi Wood, carried on Amy's tradition of young entrepreneurship and opened her first studio when she was 18. A Norwalk resident, Terri has owned and operated her dance studio in West Des Moines for six years. The studio's name, AT&CO, pays homage to her mom's legacy.

"As a child and growing up, I spent countless hours not only in the studio training but also going to many business meetings, designing costumes, choreography, building props and recital planning,” Teddi says of all she learned from her mom. "I saw the joy that this brought my mother for so many years, and I wanted that for my life, too.”

... Read more in the March issue of Norwalk Living magazine.

 
Birthdays and Notables!
 

These celebrities were born on this date: Ruby Rose, Spike Lee, Holly Hunter, Freema Agyeman, David Thewlis, Bianca Lawson, Michael Rapaport, Christy Carlson Romano, Kathy Ireland

SUBMIT: Send your birthday greetings and congratulatory notes to: tammy@iowalivingmagazines.com

 
Morning Chuckle

The answer to yesterday's riddle:
Friday we had a joke with no guesses required:

Name the top three songs by leprechaun cover bands. “It Must Have Been Love (But It's Clover Now)” by Sham-Roxette, “Shamrock and Roll All Nite” by KISS Me I’m Irish, and “Party on the Paddy-O” by ZZ Green Top Hat.

Today's Riddle

An old man came into the bank and asked the teller to check his balance. What did the teller do that got him fired?

Have a guess? Email tammy@iowalivingmagazines.com

 
More email offerings
 

Enjoy the Daily Umbrella? Perhaps you would enjoy receiving emails of our other publications!

• CITYVIEW • Living Weekly newsletters: Johnston, Polk City and Adel • Lake Panorama Times • Events • CITYVIEW Business Journal,  

See a full list of our offerings by clicking on SUBSCRIBE here.

 

If you would like to advertise in this daily newsletter, please contact Jolene Goodman at jolene@iowalivingmagazines.com, or call 515-953-4822 ext. 319.

P.S. As a free newsletter, we rely on readers like you to grow our subscriber list. If you have a friend or coworker who you think would enjoy waking up to The Daily Umbrella each weekday morning, please share our newsletter sign-up page with them! Visit www.thedailyumbrella.com and click on the SUBSCRIBE link on the upper right-hand side!

 

This email was sent to: email@example.com

Big Green Umbrella Media, Inc.
8101 Birchwood Ct Suite D
Johnston, Iowa 50131

Logo