One of the most mind blowing pieces of Americana ever offered. This first of a kind, Serial Number One note is a true miracle of survival, and has obviously spent countless hours, days and years traveling throughout our systems of commerce. Referencing the 2005 Memphis catalog by Smythe, this note has now had four owners in the past one hundred years, two of whom have owned it for approximately seventy of those years. It can originally be pedigreed to ANA Member #187 Abe Hepner, who owned the note for the first half of the 20th Century. He sold the note in the 1950's. The note was exhibited by the second owner at the 1971 and 1972 ANA Conventions, as well as the 1973 Greater Eastern Numismatic Association show, then quietly resided within the collection of an unnamed third owner, who eventually offered the note in Smythe's 2001 sale. The note was catalogued and graded raw as a Very Good. PCGS has now encapsulated the note, and has agreed with the original assessment. Double Serial #1, along with plate position A confirms this is the top note from the first sheet printed. The note has some edge roughness and pinholes, which are the typical characteristics of a VG note. A wallet-type stain is noted on back, which gives the impression the note was folded into fourths, then tucked away, perhaps for years. While Serial Number One Nationals will typically turn up in the majority of auctions, it is miracle that a type note such as this be presented at auction. When the Legal Tender Series of 1862 was first released, the very first $1 note was indeed saved, and, according to reports, resides with the Chase Manhattan Bank of New York, most likely never to be auctioned to the public. The reasoning is simple with that note, in that Salmon P. Chase is depicted on that note, as the bank was originally named in his honor, even though he had no financial interest in the bank. This note was simply turned out into circulation with the release of the $2 Legals, which, along with the $1, were the very first denominations of their kind printed by the U.S. Government, as the Demand Note Series of 1861 released the first $5, $10 and $20 notes the previous year

The very first $2 Bill Issued by the United States of America.  The top note from the first sheet from the first type of USA $2 bills!!

 Americans have always had a love/hate relationship with the $2 denomination. It was considered bad luck (perhaps due to $2 window bets at the race track), and store cash drawers had no place for it. People would often tear off a corner of a duece to ward off and eradicate the associated bad luck. Even leather wallets of the 19th century with partitions for various denominations generally ignored the duece. It was part of colonial currency, common in private and state issues of obsolete currency, as well as confederate currency, indicating both an early need and acceptance for it, yet in authorizing Americas first national currency in 1812 Congress ignored the denomination, and it stayed curiously ignored up until the civil war.

With the first issue of Legal tender Notes in 1862 the denomination was revived. Though seldom encountered in circulation, the denomination has endured ever since. In national currency, banks were forced to issue a lazy $2 note for every 3 $1 bills issued. Most banks thus opted not to issue lower denominations, leaving the legal tenders as the only commonly available dueces in circulation.

In choosing to honor important individuals by placing their portraits on currency, Congress chose Alexander Hamilton for the $2 note. Hamilton was a man of strong conviction with powerful opponents. Yet Hamilton prevailed, becoming the first secratary of the treasury. He was an early supporter of the Bank of The United States, and architecht of the fiscal model on which our nation is based. As Hamilton was the greatest financial genius of his time, honoring him was a forgone conclusion. Fittingly, Hamilton is today buried in the Trinity churchyard at the foot of New York's Wall Street, at the heart of world finance.

In the past decade, the $2 bill has enjoyed somewhat of a renaissance, and is at the hieght of its popularity with collectors.

We are proud to offer what we consider to be the

SINGLE MOST HISTORICALLY AND NUMISMATICALLY SIGNIFICANT PIECE OF CURRENCY TO BE SOLD IN GENERATIONS!

We are honored to present for your consideration   

The first $2 Bill Issued by the United States of America!

Serial #1 notes have never been more popular than they are today, routinely selling for for five and six figure pricetags. All were either the first of a type, first of a series, first of a block, or first of a signature combination.

THIS IS THE ONLY NOTE IN HISTORY EVER OFFERED THAT IS THE FIRST OF AN ENTIRE DENOMINATION!

This historic note is one of only two known that are indisputedly the first of their denomination. Most lower denominations were issued in the War of 1812 series (which did not include the $2 denomination) and as they were nearly 100% redeemed, it would be a miracle for a number one note to survive. In fact, only a single $3, and one $100 bill are known among pre-1861 federally issued notes. The higher denominations which were issued after 1861, are all excessively rare or non-existant due to the fact that few persons could afford to have years of wages tied up in a non-interest bearing note for generations. This brings us to the $1 denomination. Like the $2, it was first issued in 1862, and was a low enough denomination to be saved. The first $1 bill ever issued is in fact known, and was a presentation piece, that is now owned by the Chase Manhattan Bank, formerly part of their paper money museum. Unlike the $1, the first duece was placed unceremoniously into circulation, and thus represents the most spectacular miracle of survival in all of federal American paper money. The $1 bill will most certainly never be sold, leaving this $2 bill as the only true Number 1 note of any denomination obtainable.

Given that this is the first note ever issued of its denomination and that no other note available in any denomination can boast such a distiction, its historic and numismatic importance are inestimable! The records of mid six figure #1 notes can only serve as a starting point, as the significance of these notes pale by comparison.

A true museum piece. Authenticated as the first $2 bill by Gene Hessler, Douglas Murray, Martin Gengerke, RM Smythe, Jess Lipka, Glen Jorde, CGA, PMG, PCGS Currency, Heritage, Len Glazer, Laura Kessler, and Jason W Bradford. The most important piece of currency offered in generations.

Quite literally, the OPPORTUNITY OF ALL LIFETIMES!!!  It is justly deserving of a prominent niche in the finest museum, and if indeed it is acquired by a museum it may never again be available!

Denomination overview

The denomination of two dollars was first used by the United States federal government in July 1862. The denomination was continuously used until 1966 when the only class of U.S. currency it was then assigned to, United States Notes, began to be discontinued. The $2 bill initially wasn't reassigned to the Federal Reserve Note class of United States currency and was thus discontinued; the Treasury Department cited the $2 bill's low use and unpopularity as the reason for not resuming use of the denomination. In 1976 use of the two-dollar denomination was resumed as part of the United States bicentennial ($2.00 is equal to two hundred cents) and the two-dollar bill was finally assigned as a Federal Reserve Note, with a new design on the back featuring John Trumbull's depiction of the drafting of the United States Declaration of Independence replacing the previous design of Monticello. It has remained a current denomination since then, although the vast majority of $2 bills in circulation today are from the 1976 series, with newer bills being inserted into the money supply as needed.

Today, two-dollar bills are not frequently reissued in a new series like other denominations which are printed according to demand. When the Federal Reserve Banking System runs low on its current supply of $2 bills, it will submit an order to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, which will then print more. Demand for $2 bills is low enough that one printing can last for many years.

Though some cash registers accommodate it, its slot is often used for things like checks and rolls of coins. Some vending machines accommodate it, and self-checkout lanes have been known to do so, even if the fact is not stated on the label. Although they usually are not handed out arbitrarily, two-dollar bills can often be found at banks by request. Two-dollar bills are also appropriately given as change at the gift shop of Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's Virginia estate.Two-dollar bills are delivered by Federal Reserve Banks in green straps of 100 bills ($200). They are often packaged in bundles (10 straps/1000 bills equaling $2000) for large shipments, like all other denominations of U.S. currency.

The perceived rarity of a $2 bill can be attributed to its low printing numbers that sharply dropped beginning in the late 1950s when the $2 bill was a United States Note and recently the sporadic printings of still relatively low numbers as a Federal Reserve Note. Lack of public knowledge of the $2 bill further contributes to its perceived rarity. This perceived rarity can lead to a greater tendency to hoard any $2 bills encountered and thus decrease their circulation.

After United States currency was changed to its current size, the two-dollar bill, unlike other denominations, was only assigned to one class of currency, the United States Note. United States Notes had a legal statutory limit of $346,861,016 that could be in circulation at any one time which was not a significant amount of money, even at the time. The bulk of this amount was assigned to the $5 United States Note. From 1929-1957 (from Series of 1928 to Series 1953), the $2 bill on average was printed in quantities of 50 million notes per series with only several variances to this number. From 1957 onwards, $2 bill production figures steadily decreased from 18 million notes in Series 1953A to just 3.2 million notes in its final printing, Series 1963A, which ended in 1966. By contrast, an average of 125 million per series of $5 United States Notes were printed from 1929-1957; the final Series 1963 printing of the $5 United States Note included 67.2 million notes.

When the current note was first issued in 1976, it was met with general curiosity, and was seen as a collectible, not as a piece of regularly circulating currency, which the Treasury intended it to be. The main reason it failed to circulate was that businesses never really requested them as part of their normal operations to give back out in change. This failure is linked to the gradual disappearance of the former $2 United States Notes.

Supplies of the Series 1976 $2 bill were allowed to dwindle until August 1996 when another series finally began to be printed; this series, however, was only printed for the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. Once again, in October 2003, the $2 bill was printed for only the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis after supplies dwindled . A Series 2003A was also issued starting in 2006, with larger numbers and for multiple Federal Reserve Banks, due to an increase in demand for supplies of the note.

Today, there is a common misconception that the $2 bill is no longer in circulation. According to the Treasury, they "receive many letters asking why the $2 bill is no longer in circulation".^[1] In response, the Treasury states: "The $2 bill remains one of our circulating currency denominations. According to B.E.P. statistics, 590,720,000 Series 1976 $2 bills were printed and as of February 28, 1999, there was $1,166,091,458 worth of $2 bills in circulation worldwide." However, "in circulation" does not necessarily mean that the notes are actively circulated, only that this is the amount that hasn't been redeemed for shredding. The Treasury states that the best way for the $2 bill to circulate is if businesses use them as they would any other denomination.

The most significant evidence of the $2 bill's reawakening would be that, in 2005 alone, 61 million $2 bills were printed by the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing. This is more than twice the number of $2 bills that were printed between 1990 and 2001.

Many banks stocking $2 bills will not use them except upon specific request by the customer, and even then, may cause a delay with a trip to the vault. Another factor in the bill's rarity is the outright refusal of some commercial banks to reorder them at all.

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