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Best Buy Has Man Arrested for Using $2 Bills

An anonymous reader writes "Mike Bolesta of Baltimore thought he would protest Best Buy's not-so-great customer service and pay his bill with 57 $2 bills. For his trouble he got to spend some time in the county lock-up." From the article: "..Bolesta was contacted by the store, and was threated with police action if he did not pay the [installation] fee he was told before did not exist. As a sign of protest, Bolesta decided to pay using only $2 bills, which he has an abundance of because he asks his bank for them specifically. Unfortunately for him, the cashier did not seem to understand that the $2 bill is indeed legal US tender, since the bill itself is not often used. After rudely refusing to take the money, the cashier accepted the bills, only to mark them as though they were conterfeit."

10 of 2,088 comments (clear)

  1. Taco Bell Story by slapout · · Score: 1, Redundant

    Reminds me of this $2 bill story:

    http://www.digiserve.com/eescape/closet/silly/2- at -Taco-Bell.html

    --
    Coder's Stone: The programming language quick ref for iPad
  2. Similar Story... by MisterLawyer · · Score: 1, Redundant
    Almost the same thing happened at Taco Bell, but fortunately the security guard that arrived on the scene knew about $2 bills.

    Also, here's a jpg of both sides of a $2 bill in case anybody on /. has never seen one.

  3. Re:Any Legal eagles? by tivoKlr · · Score: 0, Redundant

    That is what I was wondering. This has to be worth some money. Just saying, sorry, I'm an idiot shouldn't be enough...

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    Ocean is land, covered with water.
  4. I call shenanigans!!! by exoir · · Score: 0, Redundant

    As mentions this story reaks of the URBAN MYTH Taco bell story.
    http://www.snopes.com/humor/business/tacobell.htm
    All the dates I've read show this happend in February, so why are we hearing about it now in April?
    Looks like most of the people here fell for it!

  5. Embarrassing... by KingSkippus · · Score: 0, Redundant

    I didn't get locked up, but I once had a cashier get their supervisor's approval before she would accept some Susan B. Anthony dollar coins from me.

    I also often get $2 bills from the bank. They make great tips for lunch. It's just a little something to stand out.

    Contrary to popular belief, $2 bills are still in circulation. You can ask for them at the bank and get as many as you want.

    Here's a link (registration required) to the source at the Baltimore Sun.

  6. I am a Bestbuy cashier by l3vi · · Score: 0, Redundant

    I have taken $2 bills before.

  7. Re:Law Enforcement Ahoy.... by dorsey · · Score: 0, Redundant

    Coins are more expensive to make (both in material and actual money)

    A single coin is more expensive to make than a single bill, but that one coin can replace up to 20 bills, because the bills wear out and need to be replaced every 18 months. In the long run it's actually far cheaper to replace bills with coins.

    --
    hinderfreude ('hin-dur-"froi-d&), n. The feeling of joy derived from being in the way.
  8. Re:Law Enforcement Ahoy.... by abigor · · Score: 0, Redundant

    You're wrong about the expense - coins stay in circulation for decades, while bills have to be replaced every couple of years. I read somewhere that it costs around an extra $500 000 000 to keep all those bills in circulation.

    There's a reason nearly every other country in the western world went with coins in place of low denomination bills. What, do you honestly think they are all wrong, and only the U.S. has it figured out?

  9. Re:Law Enforcement Ahoy.... by hunterx11 · · Score: 0, Redundant

    Actually, it's more economical to mint coins than print bills because coins last that much longer. The U.S. Treasury wants dollar coins to catch on, but despite their best efforts they haven't.

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    English is easier said than done.
  10. Re:Law Enforcement Ahoy.... by jeffphil · · Score: 1, Redundant

    They beat the crap out of $1 bills

    Yeah right. Have you ever tried giving a stripper a $1 coin? They'll beat the crap out of you.