The United States Bicentennial coins issued for the 1976 celebration carry the double date 1776–1976.
The United States Mint created special circulating commemorative designs for the Washington quarter, Kennedy half dollar, and Eisenhower dollar. Although the coins were struck in 1975 and 1976, each bears the paired years 1776 and 1976 to show the 200-year span being commemorated.
The quarter reverse featured a colonial drummer, the half dollar showed Independence Hall, and the dollar depicted the Liberty Bell superimposed on the Moon. These designs replaced the normal reverses temporarily and became widely recognized symbols of the bicentennial.
The double date is easy to confuse with the year of manufacture. Coins struck in 1975 were still marked 1776–1976, and there were no 1975-dated coins in this special series. America250’s 2026 coinage follows the earlier celebration as another use of circulating currency to mark a national anniversary.