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| - Wozniak legally purchases uncut sheets of real $2 bills from the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing and works with a print shop to bind them into pads, with which he pranks friends, interviewers and the public at large.
However, Wozniak does not print the bills himself, which would be a federal crime.
For years, a rumor has circulated online that Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak prints his own $2 bills and uses them as legal tender.
ELI5: How does Steve Wozniak print his own legal US $2 bills.
byu/tophmctoph inexplainlikeimfive
"Steve Wozniak, the Apple co-founder, is known for printing his own unique currency — $2 bills that he personally designs," claimed one Instagram post, accompanied by a video purportedly showing Wozniak discussing the practice. The claim also spread on social media platforms including Pinterest and YouTube.
The video is authentic and originated from an episode of "The Engadget Show" titled "Woz's $2 bill sheets."
In the interview, Wozniak says:
Yeah, basically I got a printer in my hometown of Los Gatos, California, to make these pads for me. I got them the supplies from a higher-quality printer, and they're perforated so you can tear them off like Green Stamps. I don't know if it's the right president. The serial numbers are very suspicious, but you can still smell the ink. So don't touch it because it's a little wet.
He added: "They meet the specs of the U.S. government, so by law, these are legal tender. I have been spending them. You can get arrested for them, you cannot get convicted because you're in the right."
In short, the claim that Wozniak prints his own $2 bills is false, despite his frequent recounting of this anecdote, sometimes trolling audiences with tongue-in-cheek comments about the ink still being wet, etc. Making counterfeit money is a serious federal crime. Buying sheets of uncut $2 bills directly from the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing and making pads out of them is not, however. We reached out to Wozniak for comment and will update this article if he responds.
In an archived post on Wozniak's official website, he shared the truth behind the story in response to an email inquiry. The email read: "Reading through the letters section, I saw a reference to a Secret Service interrogation, but nowhere else on your site could I find a description of the incident. Would you mind relating it again (or giving me a pointer to where the story resides)?"
"I have tons of $2 bill stories that will make a whole chapter in my book someday. My $2 bills are real and legit but unusual," Wozniak wrote, explaining:
You can purchase $1, $2, and now $5 bills from the Bureau of Printing and Engraving on sheets. The sheets come in sizes of 4, 16, and 32 bills each. I buy such sheets of $2 bills. I carry large sheets, folded in my pocket, and sometimes pull out scissors and cut a few off to pay for something in a store. It's just for comedy, as the $2 bills cost nearly $3 each when purchased on sheets. They cost even more at coin stores.
"I take the sheets of 4 bills and have a printer, located through friends, gum them into pads, like stationery pads. The printer then perforates them between the bills, so that I can tear a bill or two away," he added, admitting that the bills are not self-produced but are legitimate currency purchased from the U.S. government.
For those interested, the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing offers uncut currency sheets for purchase on its official website.
We have previously investigated other claims involving dollar bills. For instance, in 2022 we fact-checked a rumor that picking up folded dollar bills from the ground could be life-threatening because of the presence of powder inside containing fentanyl and methamphetamine.
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