The $2 Bill Experiment

Hey all,

I ginally did some more experimenting with "odd money" with some of the vending machines at the local Walmart. This time with $2 bills, not halves. Both soda pop machines I tried, rejected the $2s like the machine was sticking its tounge ont at me, like a huge refridgerator-shaped frog. Then I moved on to the games and toy crane machines. SUCCESS! The first small toy crane machine accepted my $2 bill, and it made a weird noise, and I thought "Oh crap, it just ate my $2 bill, and jammed up", then, I looked at the machine and it showed "8 plays" (25 cents per play) so I played it and almost got a weird small plush fish out of the machine, but it dropped out of the claw, and after that, I was unable to pick it back up. So I moved over to another machine, with this thing like bike handlebars that you lift up, and then push down as fast and hard as you can to spin a wheel, similar to the "The Price is Right" wheel, except its a thing where you gain miles and the number of miles depends on where the wheel stops, and when I tried to claim my prize on that game, it messed up, and I had to play on, until I lost. On to the final machine, which was another toy crane, the bigger one, which also accepts $2 bills, gave me 4 plays, and I thought again "Oh crud, this machine took my $2 bill as a $1 bill!" then I remembered that it was a "50 cents per play" machine, because, bigger machine, plus bigger prizes. But, I managed to grab a plush Star Trek Captain Piccard out of that machine for my dad since he loves Star Trek, and even though me and my dad don't get along too well (I gotta get my own house already *sigh*) it put a smile on his face, so I was happy. But I was even happier that, even though those three toy/game vending machines said on them "Accepts $1 & $5 Bills" that they ALSO accepted "$2" bills. I'm only disappointed now, that the two soda machines only accepted $1 bills, small dollar coins, and probably quarters, as the sodas costed $1.50, and none of these machines accept halves.

Now, if the soda machines are set a $1.50, and the one large toy crane macine I spoke of, were a half a play, instead of a quarter a play, you would think it would make a lot of sense for all of the toy crane machines to accept $2 bills and halves ($2 bills to get ay least for plays out of a 50 cent per play machine, or a half for if someone wants to play a random "one" play), and for the soda machines to accept $2 bills and accept and dispense halves as change, as, with less coins to be dispensed through the machine, it may also reduce the wear 'n tear on the machine. And also, if someone has three halves, instead of a $1, $2 or $5 bill, or six quarters, or even if they had one small dollar coin and one half, it would make more sense.

One final note I would like to say is, in the "U.S. Modern Coins" board, people were telling me that "$2 bills would never circulate well, because, many people think they are fake", and that, "even halves circulate more than $2 bills" and, as of late, I have now been hearing that $2 bills circulate more than halves, and (as we know) $2 bills are still made for general circulation, because they still have a small demand, but I believe, so do halves.

In closing, this post, I spent $30 or so in $2 bills at that Walmart earlier this morning, and the cashier said "Oh wow! $2 bills!" and I said "Yeah, do you collect them?" and she said "No" and I said, "Well then, would you put them out in circulation for me?" and she said "Sure, but I do want to buy ten of them to give to my kids" So I really do think that, if I try my " Walmart Circulation of $2 Bills & Halves for Charity", that the idea may go over big. Probably bigger than the 2000 Sac dollar coin did. I think once a lot of younger generations got a look at $2 bills and halves, most would like them, because, every time I spend $2 bills and/or halves the cashiers and managers are wowed by them, while I have met strong opposition to dollar coins from cashiers.

Whoops! I forgot to say, there is also a whole nother arcade in that Walmart with toy and game vending machines that I plan on experimenting with $2 bills.