The “Spirit of ‘76” Comes Alive on 1976 Bicentennial Dollar
July 3, 2026
The 200th anniversary of the United States was celebrated in 1976 in gala fashion. Parades of tall ships sailed the waters of New York Harbor, grand fireworks showered the skies of Boston and Chicago, celebratory processions marched through Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., and hometown parades cheered throughout every other corner of the land. The United States Mint also honored the nation’s Bicentennial by striking quarters, half dollars, and dollar coins with 1776-1976 dual dating on their obverses and patriotic commemorative designs on the reverses.
The 1776-1976 Bicentennial Dollar is the result of a multiyear effort by the American Revolutionary Bicentennial Commission Coins and Medals Advisory Committee, which recommended the United States Mint strike circulating commemorative coins honoring the 200th anniversary of the United States. Such an initiative had to be approved by Congress and coordinated with the United States Treasury and United States Mint – all entities that initially weren’t too keen on the idea.
From PCGS