U.S. Mint Strikes 976.82 Million Coins for Circulation in September

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2018 coins for circulation - cents, nickels, dimes, quarter
U.S. Mint production facilities in Philadelphia and Denver made 976.82 million coins in September

The pace of producing United States coins for circulation picked up in September after slowing to an eight-month low in August but it ran slower than a year earlier, according to manufacturing figures published today, Oct. 4, by the U.S. Mint.

Nearly 977 million in cents, nickels, dimes, and quarters were pressed for circulation last month, lifting the year-to-date production total to more than 10.1 billion coins.

In headline comparisons, the amount of circulating coin produced in September increased 17.5% from August and declined 25.8% from September 2017. Here’s how the month compares against others in the past year:

September 2017 to September 2018 Circulating Coin Production

Month Mintages Rank
September 2018 976.82 M 9
August 2018 831.56 M 12
July 2018 1,403.16 M 3
June 2018 1,198.34 M 7
May 2018 1,291.76 M 6
April 2018 878.74 M 11
March 2018 902.924 M 10
February 2018 1,066.51 M 8
January 2018 1,601.54 M 1
December 2017 762.86 M 13
November 2017 1,346.26 M 4
October 2017 1,423.54 M 2
September 2017 1,316.22 M 5

 

The Federal Reserve always orders more 1-cent coins than any other denomination even as it costs the U.S. Mint 1.82 cents to make and distribute each one. The Mint produced 561.6 million Lincoln cents in September, representing 57.5% of the circulating-quality coins produced for the month.

Month-Over-Month

In month-over month comparisons for coins used daily by Americans, production totals in September increased:

  • 21.7% for Lincoln cents,
  • 4.7% for Jefferson nickels,
  • 14.4% for Roosevelt dimes, and
  • 15.7% for America the Beautiful quarter dollars.

Native American $1 Coins and Kennedy half-dollars are no longer ordered by Federal Reserve Banks but they are still made in circulating-quality for coin collectors. In January, the U.S. Mint tends to make both coins to the expected amounts needed for the entire year.

Higher Kennedy Half-Dollar Mintages

The U.S. Mint in February did strike 1.8 million more 2018-D Kennedy half-dollars. Then in March it made another 3.2 million from Denver and 1.2 million more for Philadelphia. No more have been pressed since then.

Mintages for the half-dollar are at 5.4 million from Denver and 4.8 million from Philadelphia for a combined 10.2 million coins — the most since 2001 and more than doubling those made in 2017. Last year’s release ended with splits of 2.9 million from Denver and 1.8 million from Philadelphia for a combined 4.7 million coins.

Here’s a summary of all coins produced for circulation last month:

US Mint Circulating Coin Production in September 2018

Denomination Denver Philadelphia Total
Lincoln Cents 266,000,000 295,600,000 561,600,000
Jefferson Nickels 53,520,000 48,000,000 101,520,000
Roosevelt Dimes 86,000,000 108,500,000 194,500,000
ATB Quarters 65,000,000 54,200,000 119,200,000
Kennedy Half Dollars 0 0 0
Native American $1s 0 0 0
Total 470,520,000 506,300,000 976,820,000

 

U.S. Mint facilities in Denver and Philadelphia manufacture all of America’s coins for commerce. Last month, the Denver Mint made 470.52 million coins and the Philadelphia Mint made 506.3 million coins.

YTD Totals

Year-to-date figures at 4,893,540,000 coins from Denver and 5,257,814,000 coins from Philadelphia total to 10,151,354,000 coins, marking a 10.4% reduction from the 11,326,700,000 coins minted through the same time last year.

This next table lists 2018 coin production totals by denomination and by U.S. Mint facility:

YTD 2018 Circulating Coin Production by Denomination

1 ¢ 5 ¢ 10 ¢ 25 ¢ 50 ¢ N.A. $1 Total:
Denver 2904M 486.24M 783M 712.8M 5.4M 2.1M 4893.54M
Philadelphia 3114M 481.2M 897.5M 758.914M 4.8M 1.4M 5257.814M
Total 6018M 967.44M 1680.5M 1471.714M 10.2M 3.5M 10151.354M

 

The 2018 monthly average of nearly 1.13 billion coins tracks over 12 months to roughly 13.5 billion coins. In 2017, the U.S. Mint produced over 14.8 billion coins for circulation — the third quickest for a year since 2001, after the more than 16 billion coins were made in 2016 and the over 17 billion coins were made in 2015.

Mintages by Unique Design

The U.S. Mint so far this year has released five 2018-dated coins with one-year-only designs. They include the:

Mintages for the 2018 Native American dollars are 2.1 million from Denver and 1.4 million from Philadelphia for a combined 3.5 million coins. Last year’s release ended with splits of 1.54 million from Denver and 1.82 million from Philadelphia for 3.36 million coins.

This last table offers a breakdown of this year’s mintages by coin design:

2018 Circulating Coin Production by Design

  Denver Philadelphia Total
Lincoln Cents 2,904,000,000 3,114,000,000 6,018,000,000
Jefferson Nickels 486,240,000 481,200,000 967,440,000
Roosevelt Dimes 783,000,000 897,500,000 1,680,500,000
Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore Quarter (MI) 182,600,000 186,714,000 369,314,000
Apostle Islands National Lakeshore Quarter (WI) 213,400,000 223,200,000 436,600,000
Voyageurs National Park Quarter (MN) 197,800,000 237,400,000 435,200,000
Cumberland Island National Seashore Quarter (GA) 0 0 0
Block Island National Wildlife Refuge Quarter (RI) 0 0 0
Kennedy Half-Dollars 5,400,000 4,800,000 10,200,000
Native American $1 Coins 2,100,000 1,400,000 3,500,000
Total 4,774,540,000 5,146,214,000 9,920,754,000

 

Production figures for September include 230.6 million quarters that have yet to be officially assigned to a design. These are a portion of Cumberland Island quarters that started circulating Aug. 27.

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sam

why no article on limited edition silver proof set?

Chas Barber

IMHO no one cares, the Mint killed the S mint gimmick, by making it available @ unlimited #s & time…..will sell into 2o19. Design is old & getting stale needs a new ASE…last the price a RIP OFF