Collectors call 1869 $2 bills lazy deuces. The nickname derives from the fact that the large two on the front of each bill is laying on its side. At some point someone said the term lazy deuce and it stuck. The two dollar national bank note was discontinued in 1878, so that leaves just a nine year production period. Most 1869 two dollar bills are very scarce today. The most common examples in poor condition are worth around $1,000. Examples from rare banks or bills that are in perfect condition are worth and sell for several thousand dollars or more. Even if a bank was open in 1869 it didn’t necessarily print two dollar bills. There were plenty of dollar coins circulating in the 1860s, so a lot of national banks didn’t bother to print one and two dollar bills because the need was already being satisfied by coinage. Even if a bank did choose to print 1869 two dollar bills, they were still only printed at a rate of one two dollar bill for every three one dollar bill. Most banks that did print $2 bills almost always issued less than 10,000 examples over the entire life of the bank. You can see why some are so rare and valuable today.
Remember that Series of 1875 can also printed on $2 bills in addition to the 1869 charter date. These notes can have a red seal that is spiked or rounded. Each two dollar bill may or may not have a red charter number stamped on its face. It all depends on when the bill was actually printed between 1869 and 1878.
We provide free appraisals for all national currency. Send us a picture of your bank note and we would be happy to tell you how much it is worth. We can also provide our buy and sell prices.
Sales@AntiqueMoney.com – (864) 430-4020
The following national banks printed 1869 $2 bills:
- Charter 1693 – National Bank of Commerce of Chicago, Illinois
- Charter 1696 – First National Bank of Leon, Iowa
- Charter 1694 – National Bank of Lebanon, Kentucky
- Charter 1690 – First National Bank of Austin, Minnesota
- Charter 1691 – Union Square National Bank of New York, New York
- Charter 1689 – Ohio National Bank of Cleveland, Ohio
- Charter 1692 – First National Bank of Murfreesboro, Tennessee
- Charter 1695 – First National Bank of Utah, Utah
