$2 bills have a worse problem, incidentally. Many people have never
seen one in their entire lives -- or even know they exist -- and they
look different than all the other bills. Many clerks won't take them
without checking with a manager; if the manager hasn't seen one before
(which is fairly rare -- they _are_ still in circulation), they may
refuse to accept it even though the potential loss from a counterfeit is
negligible.

I had trouble enough trying to get rid of some $1 coins that an airport
vending machine gave me some years back. Not really knowing the US monetary
system and being used to a £1 coin, I was most bemused to find that nearly
every shop I tried to spend it in ending up examing it, raising eyebrows and
in one case, calling over a supervisor. If they still use the $1 note, why
have a coin as well? Were they an experiment? Are they still minted?

--
---
This message has come to an end.
Please exit to your left.
---