$2 Currency Problem

Thanks to Mike Bolesta (of Best Buy fame - if you read the following article) I am once again interested in $2 bills.

It seems that Mike thought he would express his chagrin to Best Buy after a purchase gone awry, and got a bit of jail time.

PUT YOURSELF in Mike Bolesta’s place. On the morning of Feb. 20, he buys a new radio-CD player for his 17-year-old son Christopher’s car. He pays the $114 installation charge with 57 crisp new $2 bills, which, when last observed, were still considered legitimate currency in the United States proper. The $2 bills are Bolesta’s idea of payment, and his little comic protest, too.

For this, Bolesta, Baltimore County resident, innocent citizen, owner of Capital City Student Tours, finds himself under arrest.

Finds himself, in front of a store full of customers at the Best Buy on York Road in Lutherville, locked into handcuffs and leg irons.

Finds himself transported to the Baltimore County lockup in Cockeysville, where he’s handcuffed to a pole for three hours while the U.S. Secret Service is called into the case.

Have a nice day, Mike.

Several sources have picked up on this thread, most notably Slashdot. There, a long debate leads me to believe that it is Best Buy that violated the law. It seems that there is a requirement for all establishments to accept legal tender for the settlement of debts.

You can check this out on the "urban legend" dimension too. It appears to be true from the normally reliable Snopes (where they also report another "urban legend" about a similar incident at Taco Bell). This must be a fairly fun way to pay bills.

However, the most interesting item in this vein is even a bit more bizzare.

Apparently even Steve Wozniak seems to have had a laugh or two using the "real" $2 bill gag. It seems Woz has taken the gag a bit further than most, though. He likes to use sheets of $2 bills that he buys and has perforated into a gummed pad. Thank heavens that someone thinks a bit out of the box!

I love to see the glee with which these people pay their bills. I haven't felt excited to pay anybody anything for quite some time!