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Lauren just started to read a Babysitters Club book she got at a charity store -- and out dropped a pair of two dollar bills someone had used as bookmarks; how cool is that?
They're not legal tender now (not since about 1997) but it's fascinating to see them.
Eleanor informed me she learned in Sociology that one reason they were phased out was because prostitutes used to charge two bucks for their services. I'm....not quite sure how replacing a bill with a toonie would help. Oh, okay, this explains it, though it's not the reason they were phased out:
The $2 bill was viewed with suspicion in Western Canada. One theory for this was that $2 was the going rate for a prostitute in the early 1900s, so no one cashing their paycheque would accept the bill in case his wife found it and jumped to conclusions.
The aversion to the bill may also have had to do with trade with the United States and the tendency of Americans to shun the bill (associated in the U.S. with gambling and buying votes)
From the Wiki
Printing of the $2 bill ceased on February 18, 1997, with the release of the toonie, a coin that replaced it. These bills are virtually never seen in general circulation today, although there are many still being collected or otherwise held on to, since there are 109,271,483 notes that have not been returned to the Bank of Canada (as of 2006), which is more than the total number of $10 notes in circulation.[3]
The most recent banknote series that included the two-dollar note was released in 1986 (the "Birds of Canada" series), in which the two was a terra cotta colour. The front featured a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II; the back featured a meadow scene with two robins. The $2 bill from the "Birds of Canada" series (1986) was widely circulated, especially after the $1 note was withdrawn. The bill is also noted for being frequently used as the sole visible currency in the TV show The Kids in the Hall, generally to humorous effect.
They're not legal tender now (not since about 1997) but it's fascinating to see them.
Eleanor informed me she learned in Sociology that one reason they were phased out was because prostitutes used to charge two bucks for their services. I'm....not quite sure how replacing a bill with a toonie would help. Oh, okay, this explains it, though it's not the reason they were phased out:
The $2 bill was viewed with suspicion in Western Canada. One theory for this was that $2 was the going rate for a prostitute in the early 1900s, so no one cashing their paycheque would accept the bill in case his wife found it and jumped to conclusions.
The aversion to the bill may also have had to do with trade with the United States and the tendency of Americans to shun the bill (associated in the U.S. with gambling and buying votes)
From the Wiki
Printing of the $2 bill ceased on February 18, 1997, with the release of the toonie, a coin that replaced it. These bills are virtually never seen in general circulation today, although there are many still being collected or otherwise held on to, since there are 109,271,483 notes that have not been returned to the Bank of Canada (as of 2006), which is more than the total number of $10 notes in circulation.[3]
The most recent banknote series that included the two-dollar note was released in 1986 (the "Birds of Canada" series), in which the two was a terra cotta colour. The front featured a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II; the back featured a meadow scene with two robins. The $2 bill from the "Birds of Canada" series (1986) was widely circulated, especially after the $1 note was withdrawn. The bill is also noted for being frequently used as the sole visible currency in the TV show The Kids in the Hall, generally to humorous effect.
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