When was the U.S. two-dollar bill reissued with its Bicentennial reverse design?

The U.S. two-dollar bill was reissued with its Bicentennial-themed reverse design on April 13, 1976. The date was chosen because it was Thomas Jefferson’s birthday, and Jefferson’s portrait remained on the front of the note.

The redesigned reverse replaced the earlier image of Monticello with an engraving based on John Trumbull’s painting Declaration of Independence. The note returned as a Federal Reserve Note after the denomination had been discontinued in 1966.

Although the reissue coincided with the Bicentennial, the bill was not officially issued solely as a Bicentennial commemorative. That distinction is often missed because the reverse depicts the drafting of the Declaration and the note entered circulation during the 1976 celebrations.

Series 1976 two-dollar notes were produced in large numbers, so their age alone does not make them rare. Some first-day examples were postmarked and collected, but ordinary uncirculated notes generally remain accessible to collectors.