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 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...

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

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.

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

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

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