from 7 years ago-Man arrested for using $2 bills at Best Buy

[jeff of pa]

Mar 3, 2017
Some people don't know that two dollar bills are real, so when Mike Bolesta used over 50 of them to make a purchase at a Best Buy store, an encounter with the police and Secret Service ensued. In this clip from the movie The Two Dollar Bill Documentary, see the story of this false arrest, after a cashier was unsure of the quirky currency and the manager called the cops.



I can forgive an 18 Year old on their first job for Not knowing .

However, The Manager.
and the Police !

I would have Sued Best Buy & the Police !

 

[jeff of pa]

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$2 bills - 5 basic facts you probably don't know​

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[jewelerguy]

I've seen so many stories about cashiers at stores or even banks refusing certain bills and even calling the cops simply because they are uneducated. I think any place that deals with cash should take the time to give their employees a quick lesson on things they might encounter while dealing with cash.

My wife used to be a bank teller years ago and said that an elderly man came in one day and retrieved a $1,000 bill from his safety deposit box and took it to the teller line to deposit into his checking so he could pay some bills. One teller told him it was worthless because they didn't make them any more. Another offered him $500 for it. He was very confused. Finally another bought it from him for $1,000 to keep for herself.

I realize though, that as time passes and our society becomes increasingly cashless, these mistakes will only get worse.

 

[Old Bookaroo]

Many years ago I was working in a Chicago-area grocery store when one of the other cashiers brought over a $10 "yellow back" - a gold certificate. She asked me if it were legal tender. I told her not since 1933.

I offered to pay $10 for it so the customer could purchase her groceries. The Assistant Manager (who was a jerk) came over and as soon as he learned I was willing to pay ten bucks for it, he offered ten bucks. It was limp and I didn't care that much so I just let the whole thing go.

 

[jeff of pa]

they are still legal tender

The restrictions on private ownership of gold certificates were revoked by Treasury Secretary Douglas Dillon effective April 24, 1964, primarily to allow collectors to own examples legally; however, gold certificates are no longer redeemable for gold, but instead can be exchanged at face value for other U.S. coin and bills.

but considering the inrease in collector value, it would be rare to find

 

[Gold Maven]

I guess people forget they have a world of information in their pocket, a simple google search would have informed them in seconds.

 

[Old Bookaroo]

I guess people forget they have a world of information in their pocket, a simple google search would have informed them in seconds.

they are still legal tender

The restrictions on private ownership of gold certificates were revoked by Treasury Secretary Douglas Dillon effective April 24, 1964, primarily to allow collectors to own examples legally; however, gold certificates are no longer redeemable for gold, but instead can be exchanged at face value for other U.S. coin and bills.

but considering the inrease in collector value, it would be rare to find

Thank you for that. "Redeemable" is a bit different from "legal tender."

 

[airborne1092]

After searching a box of half dollars, I paid for a $10. book at B. Dalton with a roll of .50 cent pieces. The cashier told me I couldn't use them. After arguing for a few minutes, I asked to see the manager. She came over and told me they don't have a partition in their drawer for them, but she would let me "use them just this one time." As I was being followed out the door by the manager still trying to make me feel like I was putting them out for using the coins, I laughed and said it's not my problem if they don't have a partition for them, they're legal tender!
WTAF?

 

[bigtruck68]

This one still makes my blood pressure spike. $2 bills are legal currency, full stop. Calling police over that is pure ignorance. I had a wrongful detention scare in California years back and the only relief was getting out quickly, which Alana's Bail Bonds handled, but the embarrassment sticks way longer than the arrest.

 

[ISmellGold]

The same thing kind of happened to me, back in the 90's. I had built up a collection of old bills, 1's 2's 5's 10's and 20's some as far back as the 1930's.
If it was nowadays I probably would of sold them on Ebay, but back then it was kind of a niche thing. I was short on cash so I loaded up my collection and put it in my wallet. 😄
First stop was the Record store ended up buying a Video game and paying with the bills. Stayed around and was looking at Rentals and records.
All of a sudden this guy comes up to me (the Manager) and starts asking about these 5 dollar bills from like the 1930s in perfect condition. He was like did you spend these bills? I was like yeah. He was like those are some old bills. It was pretty funny. Never called the cops or anything tho.

 

[Trezurehunter]

That's what happens when schools don't teach the basics anymore.