The $2 bill began life as 'Legal Tender' in 1862 as a much larger note with Alexander Hamilton's portrait then Thomas Jefferson's in 1869 which is the same artwork still in use today. After many design changes in 1929 it became a 'small size' note, meaning it went from the large note to the size it is today.

In 1953 (my birth year) the $2 bill received design changes analogous to the $5 United States Note. The obverse featured a cropped version of Thomas Jefferson's portrait that had been on previous $2 bills. The treasury seal was made smaller and moved to the right side of the bill; it was superimposed over the gray word 'TWO'. The United States Note obligation now became superimposed over a gray numeral '2'. The reverse continued to feature Jefferson's home, the Monticello.

The *STAR $2 Note from Archie Black

The *STAR denotes a REPLACEMENT Note

The final change to $2 United States Notes came in 1963 when the motto 'IN GOD WE TRUST' was added to the reverse over the Monticello. And, because dollar bills were soon to no longer be redeemable in silver, 'WILL PAY TO THE BEARER ON DEMAND' was removed from the obverse. These $2 bill designs were officially discontinued in August 1966.

In 1976, the Treasury Department reintroduced the $2 bill. As part of the United States Bicentennial celebration (the idea being 200¢ = 200 Years), the note was redesigned and issued as a Federal Reserve Note (It had been a United States Note). The obverse featured the same portrait of Jefferson, a green instead of red seal and serial numbers, and an engraved rendition of John Trumbull's The Declaration of Independence on the reverse.

All two dollar bills from Series 1995, 2003, and 2003A have been printed in the BEP facility in Fort Worth, Texas.

UNLUCKY? Maybe..

The $2 bills were considered unlucky by gamblers because the 2 was the lowest card in the deck. They were also tainted with the association to $2 hookers, $2 betting at horse races and $2 vote buying. "Deuce" was also a slang term for the Devil. Some believed tearing a corner off the note would counter these superstitions, thus the reason so many older $2's are found with 'missing ears.'

UNLYCKY? Or Ignorance..

Many have heard the Taco Bell story and many others like it. Sadly, many are true.
In February 2005, Michael Olesker, a patron of Best Buy attempted to pay for an electronics installation with 57 $2 bills. The cashier refused to accept them and marked them as counterfeit. The cashier then called the police, and the patron was handcuffed until a U.S. Treasury Agent arrived to clear up the issue. The suspicion was supposedly caused by ink smearing on the bills, which is not uncommon, and by the fact that the serial numbers on the bills were in sequential order. (The Baltimore Sun 04-08-2005 Michael Olesker "Two Dollar Man jailed in Baltimore County")