Description and research notes
This 1976 Bicentennial Issue 2 Dollars Federal Reserve Note from the Richmond District (Friedberg 1935-E, EA Block) bears a First Day of Issue cancellation paired with the Bicentennial Missouri state flag stamp. Graded PMG 63 Choice Uncirculated, it is a classic example of the popular 1976 First Day Stamp Cancel series that became one of the most visible collecting phenomena of the U.S. Bicentennial year.
The Bicentennial of 1976 marked two hundred years since the Declaration of Independence, and it was celebrated nationwide as a unifying, educational, and artistic event. Every government department contributed something symbolic to the commemoration. The Treasury Department revived the $2 denomination—dormant since 1966—as the nation’s official paper-money tribute to the 200th anniversary. The Bureau of Engraving and Printing introduced a completely new reverse design based on John Trumbull’s 1818 painting *The Signing of the Declaration of Independence*, connecting the note’s release directly to the founding document of the United States.
On April 13 1976—Thomas Jefferson’s birthday—the new $2 notes were released through banks and post offices across the country. Citizens could purchase crisp notes and have them postmarked with the date of issue, often affixing one of the matching Bicentennial state or patriotic stamps. Each postmarked note became a hand-made souvenir of the nation’s 200th birthday, and thousands of local postmasters created their own variations. Among the most sought-after are those featuring individual state Bicentennial stamps, like this example with Missouri’s 13-cent flag issue and matching 1976 cancellation.
These First Day Stamp Cancels merge numismatics, philately, and American social history: a tangible intersection of currency design, national identity, and public participation. The Missouri flag issue honors one of the thirteen original colonies’ western successors, symbolizing the country’s territorial expansion and unity two centuries after independence.
Certified PMG 63 Choice Uncirculated, this Richmond-district example displays original color, light handling only, and a well-struck stamp cancel. It stands as an authentic artifact of the United States Bicentennial—a day when ordinary Americans turned a simple $2 note into a personal commemoration of their nation’s 200-year story.