Golden Bicentennial Collection

As part of the  celebrations in 1976 to mark the 200th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Mint struck three special one-time-only circulating commemorative coins.  They were the first commemorative coins issued for circulation, and each coin is richly plated in 24-karat gold. Also included is America’s only commemorative bank note design, a $2 bill that was originally issued for the 1976 bicentennial celebration; the note features 22K gold foil highlights. The coins are a Washington Quarter, Kennedy Half Dollar, and Eisenhower Dollar. Each coin features the dual date “1776-1976” on the obverse and a unique, one-time-only design on the reverse to celebrate the bicentennial: a colonial drummer on the Quarter, Independence Hall in Philadelphia (where the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776) on the Half Dollar, and the Moon and Liberty Bell to symbolize 200 years of U.S. history from the Declaration of Independence to the manned Moon landing on the Dollar. The reverse of the $2 bill depicts the painting “The Signing of the Declaration of Independence” by John Trumbull; among those shown are John Hancock, whose signature is the first on the Declaration of Independence, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin.