This little tidbit from WorldNetDaily.com
A man trying to pay a fee using $2 bills was arrested, handcuffed and taken to jail after clerks at a Best Buy store questioned the currency’s legitimacy and called police.
According to an account in the Baltimore Sun, 57-year-old Mike Bolesta was shocked to find himself taken to the Baltimore County lockup in Cockeysville, Md., where he was handcuffed to a pole for three hours while the U.S. Secret Service was called to weigh in on the case.
After Best Buy personnel reportedly told Bolesta he would not be charged for the installation of a stereo in his son’s car, he received a call from the store saying it was in fact charging him the fee. As a means of protest, Bolesta decided to pay the $114 bill using 57 crisp, new $2 bills.
Bolesta explained what happened when he presented the bills to the cashier at Best Buy Feb. 20.
“She looked at the $2 bills and told me, ‘I don’t have to take these if I don’t want to.’ I said, ‘If you don’t, I’m leaving. I’ve tried to pay my bill twice. You don’t want these bills, you can sue me.’ So she took the money – like she’s doing me a favor.”
Bolesta says the cashier marked each bill with a pen. Other store employees began to gather, a few of them asking, “Are these real?”
“Of course they are,” Bolesta said. “They’re legal tender.”
According to the Sun report, the police arrest report noted one employee noticed some smearing of ink on the bills. That’s when the cops were called. One officer reportedly noticed the bills ran in sequential order.
Said Bolesta: “I told them, ‘I’m a tour operator. I’ve got thousands of these bills. I get them from my bank. You got a problem, call the bank.’ I’m sitting there in a chair. The store’s full of people watching this. All of a sudden, he’s standing me up and handcuffing me behind my back, telling me, ‘We have to do this until we get it straightened out.’
“Meanwhile, everybody’s looking at me. I’ve lived here 18 years. I’m hoping my kids don’t walk in and see this. And I’m saying, ‘I can’t believe you’re doing this. I’m paying with legal American money.’”
Bolesta was taken to the lockup, where he sat handcuffed to a pole and in leg irons while the Secret Service was called.
“At this point,” he says, “I’m a mass murderer.”
Secret Service agent Leigh Turner eventually arrived and declared the bills legitimate, adding, according to the police report, “Sometimes ink on money can smear.”
Now, my question is… how much do you think Best Buy is going to have to pay to settle the wrongful imprisonment charge without going in front of a judge or jury? I’m thinking it’s somewhere in the 6-7 digit area. And how about the imbecile Baltimore Police that actually arrested a man for using legal US currency?
>>>>And how about the imbecile Baltimore Police that actually arrested a man for using legal US currency?>>>
i hear ya but if not for the buffones at the pd…he would not have a case…i would award this man 100,000 as damges agaisnt worst buy
True.
That entire scenario the guy went through is plain simple nuts.
In the seven years I lived in the US, I could never figure out why $2 bills and 50 cent coins were rare compared to other common US currency. And the people I asked had no idea either.
No vending machine I used took 50 cent coins (but took your Susan B. Anthony’s and the gold coloured $1 coins) yet the security safes most stores used accepted $2 notes not a problem.
So, here, on this blog, let a curious Australian put the question again to any American readers. Why are $2 notes and 50 cent coins so rare?
Peter,
I wish there were an even semi-decent answer for that! But alas, I fear not…
The best I can come up with is as follows:
Honestly though, I think it just boils down to universal habit.
John
i know the answer to this>>>Why are $2 notes and 50 cent coins so rare?>>>
actually they arent rare its just neither really caught on by consumers for everyday use….being in the vending biz its a pain to make acomedations aka provide more accpeting mechs for the 50 cent piece…then it creats a sorting issue so we dont take them…thus people dont want them…as far a the duece bill we would have to take the time to sort them out of the ones …as the 5s and 10s go into 1 hopper and the ones in another….sorting through a shoe box of one looking for the duece bills would be a pain in the a$$…hope this helps
never forget the vending business makes the decission about the sucess or failure of a coin..in fact the mint spends a lot of time with us prior to a coin`s release…if we dont take it..its useless to the consumer thus never used…to take a 50 cent piece it is very expensive for us…meaning we would have to spend millions to be able to take a new coin
I think that the 1/5/10 breakout is the easiest as far as making change goes. You throw the $2 bill in there and people get confused. Seriously. People are not that smart, and I point to the stroy as proof.
The $2 bill is frowned upon because in the early part of the last century, $2 was the price of a hooker. Subsequently, the bill was not used in many states (especially in the West). The fity cent piece is almost as heavy a 2 quarters and the cost of upgrading vending machines does play into it.
With vending machines now selling most product at or near the $1 mark, you’ll probably start to see more $1 coins. They are more expensive to produce but they last for decades instead of months.
Interesting story. I think a person’s freedom is priceless. Therefore both the police dept and the store should have to pay in the millions. After all a judge is trying to get 54 million for his pants. Surely a persons freedom and reputation are worth more than that. At least law enforcement should have had a clue regardless of the morons the bean counters hired at the store.
$2 arent new. Im 57 and remember my grandfather showing me one when I was a kid.. I would ask for 750,000 from each paid in cash…$2.00 crisp bills and a free Ipod.
Paul,
That would be awesome! I would love to see this guy demand his payment in $2 bills! And I guarantee I would do that if it were me! :-)
John