Does money demand include demand for the two dollar bill? I haven't seen more of that denomination, but it is apparently experiencing a resurgence in demand for exchange. See this article from yesterday's Washington Post.

In 2005, depository institutions ordered $122 million in $2 notes, according to Federal Reserve statistics. That is more than double the average amount ordered from 1991 to 2000.

...with banking and currency experts not certain what is fueling the surge. A few possibilities are inflation, the introduction of the Sacagawea $1 coin in 2000, and even, according to some, immigration.

Regardless of the reason, anecdotal evidence shows that at the local level, vendors and customers are getting more comfortable with $2 bills.

One group that has embraced the note is the exotic-dancing industry. Strip clubs hand out $2 bills when they give customers their change, and the bills end up in dancers' garters and bartenders' tip jars.

"The entertainers love it because it doubles their tip money," said Angelina Spencer, a former stripper and the current executive director of the Association of Club Executives, an adult nightclub trade group.

In addition to the inflation factor, Robert Hoge of the American Numismatics Society thinks $2 bill demand may be getting help from immigration flows, particularly from Canada and Europe, where currency denominated in twos is common.

Peter Morici, professor at the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland, thinks that with the introduction of the Sacagawea, named for a famous Native American woman, people are beginning to realize an inconvenience of $1 bills. "In order to have a successful $2 bill, you have to have a successful $1 coin," he said.

The obvious implication here is that the dollar just isn't worth what it used to be in terms of purchasing power, thanks to inflation. But it made me wonder...Would our rugby players would play harder if fans threw two dollar bills on the field?