In one sense, nothing at all has happened to US two-dollar bills. They are still in circulation and are still considered legal tender. The fact remains, however, that relatively few people would be able to produce two-dollar bills from their purses or wallets on demand these days. Even at the height of their popularity, during the 1950s and 1960s, two-dollar bills were rarely given out as change or stored in designated cash register slots. If it hadn't been for renewed interest in two-dollar bills during the country's bicentennial in 1976, the denomination may have been completely phased out.

Many people believe that two-dollar bills are so rare or so collectible that hoarding them makes more financial sense than spending them. The truth is that most two-dollar bills in circulation today are worth exactly two dollars. They are not especially rare, at least not from a coin collector's perspective. Federal reserve banks still order two-dollar bills to replace ones pulled from circulation due to condition or age. The reason many of these bills are not seen on the street is that recipients tend to save them as curiosities or collectibles rather than put them into general circulation.

There are organizations and individuals who actively promote the use of two-dollar bills as everyday currency. Many two-dollar bills are marked "this is not a rare bill" to encourage others to spend them like any other denomination. The gift shop at Monticello, the homestead of Thomas Jefferson, is said to routinely give out two-dollar bills as change to honor the president featured on the face of the currency. There are rumors of certain store owners not accepting two-dollar bills from customers, believing that the bills are either counterfeit or no longer considered legal tender.

Two-dollar bills may suffer from the same perception problems as the Susan B. Anthony silver dollar coin or the recent Sacajawea golden dollar coin. Few vending machines are set to accept two-dollar bills, although they are generally accepted at self-service grocery store checkout stands. Two-dollar bills seem to be most popular as tips, although there are rumors that certain military members and out-of-state visitors will deliberately spend two-dollar bills to prove their impact on the local economy.