How odd! That the US two-dollar bill should become a good luck charm in Cambodia.
When I arrived in Cambodia in January of 1995, the bills were everywhere. Every money-changing stall, and many other shops, had them on display — for good luck, not currency. There was a rumor that the United Nations UNTAC workers had been paid in $2-dollar bills, but I have never verified this.
The bills are much rarer these days, but you can still see them in some money-changers’ shops. However, they are now appearing in people’s houses and even their wallets. They are often covered in mystic Buddhist symbols common to sak yant tattoos and those mysterious red yantras hanging in shops and houses. In fact, it is even possible to find a red yantra depicting a $2 bill hanging in someone’s private house.
Speaking of sak yant tattoos – common in Cambodia and Thailand – the two most common forms are the butterfly fold and the corner fold-ins.
The website spiritualnexus.net describes these as follows:
One popular fold creates a bowtie shape, likely meant to symbolize gifts or special treatment one hopes to receive through associated fortune. Another common technique folds multiple corners toward the bill’s center, perhaps concentrating luck inward like a magnet. In some cases, the corners are actually cut off, in order to ‘punch out the bad luck.’
The Chinese community in Cambodia has a different use for the $2 bill. Bills, especially those with a red (=good luck) seal, are appropriate gifts for putting inside the traditional lai see red packets for young people at Chinese New Year. The term ‘lai see’ may be short for 壓歲錢; yāsuì qián, meaning “money warding off old age”.
Chinese New Year version of $2 Bill
In fact, the two-dollar bills are considered good luck in many cultures. In America, they have been used for decades by gamblers to bring good luck.
The spiritualnexus.net website even ties the $2 bills to Christianity:
- Firstly, Jesus spent two days deceased in the tomb before rising again, therefore the two dollar bill nods to conquest over death.
- Secondly, there were two criminals crucified alongside Christ, but only one repented resulting in salvation, so the bill references the possibility of spiritual liberation.
- Finally, Christianity teaches God’s kingdom has two realms – Earthly and Heavenly – hence the two dollar bill signifies movement between worlds.
By the way, the $2 bills are still in American circulation, even though they are quite rare. The Series 1976 $2 bill featuring a portrait of Thomas Jefferson on the face and the signing of the Declaration of Independence on the back was issued for the U.S. Bicentennial and remains in current circulation today.