<P> The denomination of two dollars was authorized under a congressional act , and first used in March 1862 . The denomination was continuously used until the 1960s ; by this time the United States Note was the only remaining class of U.S. currency the two - dollar bill was assigned to . In 1966 it was decided to discontinue production of all United States Notes , which included the two - dollar bill . The two - dollar denomination was not immediately reassigned to the Federal Reserve Note class of United States currency and was thus fully discontinued ; the Treasury Department cited the two - dollar bill 's low use and unpopularity as the reason for not immediately resuming use of the denomination . In 1976 , production of the two - dollar denomination was resumed and the two - dollar bill was finally assigned as a Federal Reserve Note , with a new reverse design 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 . It was estimated that if the two - dollar bill replaced approximately half of the one - dollar bills in circulation , the federal government would be able to save about $26 million in 1976 dollars ( $112 million adjusted for inflation ) over the period from 1976 to 1981 , due to reduced production , storage , and shipping costs . </P>
<P> The denomination of two dollars was authorized under a congressional act , and first used in March 1862 . The denomination was continuously used until the 1960s ; by this time the United States Note was the only remaining class of U.S. currency the two - dollar bill was assigned to . In 1966 it was decided to discontinue production of all United States Notes , which included the two - dollar bill . The two - dollar denomination was not immediately reassigned to the Federal Reserve Note class of United States currency and was thus fully discontinued ; the Treasury Department cited the two - dollar bill 's low use and unpopularity as the reason for not immediately resuming use of the denomination . In 1976 , production of the two - dollar denomination was resumed and the two - dollar bill was finally assigned as a Federal Reserve Note , with a new reverse design 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 . It was estimated that if the two - dollar bill replaced approximately half of the one - dollar bills in circulation , the federal government would be able to save about $26 million in 1976 dollars ( $112 million adjusted for inflation ) over the period from 1976 to 1981 , due to reduced production , storage , and shipping costs . </P>
when was the first $ 2 bill made
when was the first $ 2 bill made
March 1862
March 1862