Rare Currencies
The first $2 bills were printed in 1776—nine days before the United States became an independent nation. They originally featured a portrait of Alexander Hamilton but were later redesigned to portray Thomas Jefferson. Aesthetically, the $2 bill is something to behold. The reverse side features a reproduction of one of the most famous paintings in American history—"Declaration of Independence" by John Trumbull. Excluding the decade from 1966 to 1976, $2 bills were printed uninterruptedly since the Civil War. 2 Yet the average American who doesn't handle cash for a living can go years without seeing one. While the $2 note is still in circulation and the Bureau of Engraving and Printing recognizes it as legal tender —it is considered to be the rarest currency denomination in the U.S. 1 There were still 1.3 billion notes in circulation in 2019. The Treasury minted sever...