ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, September 14, 1996 TAG: 9609160048
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-2 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
The feisty $2 bill, which has been around since the Founding Fathers controlled the nation's purse strings, is making yet another comeback.
Despite its longevity, the $2 bill has never been particularly popular except at horse track betting windows - $2 being the standard minimum bet. Indeed, the notes were discontinued in 1965.
But a series came out in 1976 in honor of the Bicentennial, and the last of those was printed in 1979.
At the request of the Federal Reserve, the Treasury's Bureau of Engraving and Printing has printed 102 million $2 bills since July because of low supplies. The Fed plans to begin distributing them within a few months.
Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin introduced the new series Friday.
The $2 bill has been a denomination of U.S. currency since 1776.
Thomas Jefferson's portrait has appeared on the face of the bills since 1928. That series featured a picture of Monticello, the home of the nation's third president, on the reverse. The signing of the Declaration of Independence, another piece of Jefferson's handiwork, replaced Monticello in 1976.
- Associated Press
LENGTH: Short : 32 linesby CNB