The two-dollar bill was reintroduced in 1976 with a Bicentennial-themed reverse design.
Series 1976 two-dollar notes became available on April 13, Thomas Jefferson’s birthday. The reverse featured an engraved version of John Trumbull’s painting Declaration of Independence, replacing the earlier image of Monticello.
The reissue coincided with the United States Bicentennial, so the note gained a strong association with the anniversary. However, the bill was not issued specifically as a commemorative currency item. The Treasury had announced the reintroduction as a cost-saving measure, and the bicentennial design was selected because of the timing.
The two-dollar denomination had disappeared from circulation after earlier notes were discontinued in 1966. Its return as a Federal Reserve Note helped make the 1976 issue especially recognizable. Collectors sometimes assume every 1976 two-dollar bill is rare, but ordinary circulated examples generally have little extra value.