Which U.S. denomination returned as a Federal Reserve Note in 1976 with a Bicentennial-themed reverse?

The two-dollar bill returned as a Federal Reserve Note in 1976 with a Bicentennial-themed reverse.

The Treasury discontinued production of the denomination in 1966, but reintroduced it in the spring of 1976. The timing coincided with the United States Bicentennial, although the note was not issued exclusively as a commemorative currency item. Its reverse replaced the earlier image of Monticello with an engraving based on John Trumbull’s painting Declaration of Independence.

Thomas Jefferson remained on the front, making the note recognizable as the modern two-dollar denomination. The Series 1976 notes were released on April 13, Jefferson’s birthday, and their green Treasury seal identified them as Federal Reserve Notes rather than the earlier United States Notes.

The two-dollar bill remains legal tender. Its relative scarcity in everyday transactions has led to the mistaken belief that it is obsolete or invalid, but the denomination continues to be produced and circulated.