On what date did Series 1976 two-dollar bills become available from U.S. banks?

Series 1976 two-dollar bills became available from U.S. banks on April 13, 1976.

The date was chosen because April 13 was Thomas Jefferson’s birthday. Jefferson’s portrait had appeared on the two-dollar note’s obverse since the denomination’s modern small-size design, making the release date an especially fitting connection.

The reissued note had a green Treasury seal and serial numbers because it was a Federal Reserve Note rather than the earlier United States Note. Its reverse displayed an engraving based on John Trumbull’s Declaration of Independence.

The release coincided with the Bicentennial, which encouraged public interest and collecting. First-day examples were sometimes taken to post offices and stamped with the date, but those cancellations do not automatically make ordinary Series 1976 notes rare or highly valuable.