U.S. Mint Produces 13.1 Billion Coins for Circulation in 2018

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Photo of Clad 2018-P Uncirculated Block Island National Wildlife Refuge Quarter - Reverse
A CoinNews photo of a 2018-P Block Island National Wildlife Refuge Quarter

The pace of producing U.S. coins slowed for a third year in a row after peaking to a 14-year high, the latest manufacturing figures from the United States Mint show.

In 2018, production facilities in Philadelphia and Denver shipped over 13.1 billion coins to Federal Reserve Banks for distribution into the economy, marking decreases of 11.7% from the more than 14.8 billion coins made a year earlier and 18.1% from the over 16 billion coins struck in 2016.

Contrast the latest annual figure to 2015 when the U.S. Mint beefed up operations and hired more workers as demand for coinage ran higher for a sixth straight year and drove production above 17 billion coins. That said, the pace in 2018 was 269.9% quicker than in 2009 when U.S. coin production hit bottom at just over 3.5 billion coins.

Here is a summary of annual coin production totals in 2018 against 2017:

US Mint Annual Coin Production (2018 vs 2017)

  Year 2017 Year 2018 2018 Unit Gain / Loss 2018 % Gain / Loss
Cents 8,634,020,000 7,803,200,000 -830,820,000 -9.6%
Nickels 1,373,280,000 1,256,400,000 -116,880,000 -8.5%
Dimes 2,728,000,000 2,199,000,000 -529,000,000 -19.4%
Quarters 2,116,000,000 1,853,114,000 -262,886,000 -12.4%
Half Dollars 4,700,000 10,900,000 6,200,000 131.9%
Native American $1 3,360,000 2,800,000 -560,000 -16.7%
Total 14,859,360,000 13,125,414,000 -1,733,946,000 -11.7%

 

U.S. Mint facilities in Denver and Philadelphia manufacture all of America’s coins for commerce. Last year, the Denver Mint made 6,284,980,000 coins and the Philadelphia Mint made 6,840,434,000 coins.

Mintages of Kennedy half-dollars and Native American dollars are smaller than other coins because they are no longer produced for circulation — Federal Reserve Banks do not order them from the U.S. Mint. The two coins are now made only for numismatic products.

Mintages for the 2018 Kennedy half-dollar total 6.1 million from Denver and 4.8 million from Philadelphia for a combined 10.9 million coins — the most since 2001 and more than doubling those made in 2017. The prior 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.

Mintages for the 2018 Native American dollars total 1.4 million from Denver and 1.4 million from Philadelphia for a combined 2.8 million coins — down from the previous year’s release which ended with splits of 1.54 million from Denver and 1.82 million from Philadelphia for 3.36 million coins.

In unit totals and keeping with practice, 2018 Lincoln cents won among denominations with more than 7.8 billion made — even as it costs the U.S. Mint 1.82 cents to make and distribute each one. The 7.8 billion figure represents 59.5% of the 2018 production total.

This next table shows 2018 circulating coin mintages by production facility, denomination and design.

2018 Circulating Coin Production by Design

  Denver Philadelphia Total
Lincoln Cents 3,736,400,000 4,066,800,000 7,803,200,000
Jefferson Nickels 626,880,000 629,520,000 1,256,400,000
Roosevelt Dimes 1,006,000,000 1,193,000,000 2,199,000,000
Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore Quarter (MI) 182,600,000 186,714,000 369,314,000
Apostle Islands National Lakeshore Quarter (WI) 216,600,000 223,200,000 439,800,000
Voyageurs National Park Quarter (MN) 197,800,000 237,400,000 435,200,000
Cumberland Island National Seashore Quarter (GA) 151,600,000 138,000,000 289,600,000
Block Island National Wildlife Refuge Quarter (RI) 159,600,000 159,600,000 319,200,000
Kennedy Half-Dollars 6,100,000 4,800,000 10,900,000
Native American $1 Coins 1,400,000 1,400,000 2,800,000
Total 6,284,980,000 6,840,434,000 13,125,414,000

 

Mintages of the U.S. Mint’s program of America the Beautiful Quarters® had grown stronger each year until 2016. The overall production of quarters slowed again in 2018 with a bit more than 1.85 billion million made, marking a 12.4% decline from 2017.

Annual quarter mintages since the start of the series include:

  • 347 million in 2010,
  • 391.2 million in 2011,
  • 568 million in 2012,
  • 1.455 billion in 2013,
  • 1.58 billion in 2014,
  • 2.99 billion in 2015,
  • 2.35 billion in 2016,
  • 2.11 billion in 2017, and
  • 1.85 billion in 2018.

Five different quarter designs are issued each year. The America the Beautiful Quarters for 2018 include:

Block Island Quarter Mintages

Official mintages for Rhode Island’s Block Island National Wildlife Refuge quarters were reported for the first time this month, registering at 159.6 million from Denver and 159.6 million from Philadelphia for a combined 319.2 million.

Forty-five different quarter designs have been released from 2010 to 2018. The 2016 Harpers Ferry National Historical quarter for West Virginia remains the mintage leader by design at 858.63 million quarters.

The 2012 Chaco Culture National Historical Park quarter for New Mexico remains at the bottom of the production charts with a total mintage of 44 million. The scarcest America the Beautiful quarter dollar issue by production facility is the Denver Mint-struck 2012-D Acadia National Park quarter at 21.6 million. The ‘P’ and ‘D’ Chaco Culture quarters follow with each at 22 million.

The U.S. Mint has made more than 13.6 billion America the Beautiful Quarters since the series start in 2010. Each quarter honors a different national park or national site in the United States or its territories. Here is a breakdown of production totals by quarter design and coin production facility:

2010 – 2018 America the Beautiful Quarters Mintages

  Denver Philadelphia Total
2010 Hot Springs National Park 34,000,000 35,600,000 69,600,000
2010 Yellowstone National Park 34,800,000 33,600,000 68,400,000
2010 Yosemite National Park 34,800,000 35,200,000 70,000,000
2010 Grand Canyon National Park 35,400,000 34,800,000 70,200,000
2010 Mount Hood National Forest 34,400,000 34,400,000 68,800,000
2011 Gettysburg National Military Park 30,400,000 30,800,000 61,200,000
2011 Glacier National Park 31,200,000 30,400,000 61,600,000
2011 Olympic National Park 30,600,000 30,400,000 61,000,000
2011 Vicksburg National Military Park 33,400,000 30,800,000 64,200,000
2011 Chickasaw National Recreation Area 69,400,000 73,800,000 143,200,000
2012 El Yunque Quarter 25,000,000 25,800,000 50,800,000
2012 Chaco Culture Quarter 22,000,000 22,000,000 44,000,000
2012 Acadia Quarter 21,606,000 24,800,000 46,406,000
2012 Hawai’i Quarter 78,600,000 46,200,000 124,800,000
2012 Denali Quarter 166,600,000 135,400,000 302,000,000
2013 White Mountain Quarter 107,600,000 68,800,000 176,400,000
2013 Perry’s Victory Quarter 131,600,000 107,800,000 239,400,000
2013 Great Basin Quarter 141,400,000 122,400,000 263,800,000
2013 Fort McHenry Quarter 151,400,000 120,000,000 271,400,000
2013 Mount Rushmore Quarter 272,400,000 231,800,000 504,200,000
2014 Great Smoky Mountains Quarter 99,400,000 73,200,000 172,600,000
2014 Shenandoah National Park Quarter 197,800,000 112,800,000 310,600,000
2014 Arches National Park Quarter 251,400,000 214,200,000 465,600,000
2014 Great Sand Dunes Quarter 171,800,000 159,600,000 331,400,000
2014 Everglades National Park Quarter 142,400,000 157,601,200 300,001,200
2015 Homestead National Monument of America Quarter 248,600,000 214,400,000 463,000,000
2015 Kisatchie National Forest Quarter 379,600,000 397,200,000 776,800,000
2015 Blue Ridge Parkway Quarter 505,200,000 325,616,000 830,816,000
2015 Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge Quarter 206,400,000 275,000,000 481,400,000
2015 Saratoga National Historical Park Quarter 215,800,000 223,000,000 438,800,000
2016 Shawnee National Forest Quarter 151,800,000 155,600,000 307,400,000
2016 Cumberland Gap National Historical Park Quarter 223,200,000 215,400,000 438,600,000
2016 Harpers Ferry National Historical Park Quarter 424,000,000 434,630,000 858,630,000
2016 Theodore Roosevelt National Park Quarter 223,200,000 231,600,000 454,800,000
2016 Fort Moultrie Quarter 142,200,000 154,400,000 296,600,000
2017 Effigy Mounds National Monument Quarter 210,800,000 271,200,000 482,000,000
2017 Frederick Douglass National Historic Site Quarter 185,800,000 184,800,000 370,600,000
2017 Ozark National Scenic Riverways Quarter 200,000,000 203,000,000 403,000,000
2017 Ellis Island National Monument Quarter 254,000,000 234,000,000 488,000,000
2017 George Rogers Clark National Historical Park Quarter 180,800,000 191,600,000 372,400,000
2018 Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore Quarter (MI) 182,600,000 186,714,000 369,314,000
2018 Apostle Islands National Lakeshore Quarter (WI) 216,600,000 223,200,000 439,800,000
2018 Voyageurs National Park Quarter (MN) 197,800,000 237,400,000 435,200,000
2018 Cumberland Island National Seashore Quarter (GA) 151,600,000 138,000,000 289,600,000
2018 Block Island National Wildlife Refuge Quarter (RI) 159,600,000 159,600,000 319,200,000
Total 7,009,006,000 6,648,561,200 13,657,567,200

 

Coin Production in December 2017

December is almost always a weak coin production month as the U.S. Mint readies its tooling for the upcoming year’s coins. Some Decembers have actually come in at or near flat for production amounts. Last December logged in with 560.64 million coins, down 26.5% from December 2017. Compared to November, the level dropped 45.6%.

December 2017 to December 2018 Circulating Coin Production

Month Mintages Rank
December 2018 560.64 M 13
November 2018 1,031.24 M 7
October 2018 1,382.18 M 3
September 2018 976.82 M 8
August 2018 831.56 M 11
July 2018 1,403.16 M 2
June 2018 1,198.34 M 5
May 2018 1,291.76 M 4
April 2018 878.74 M 10
March 2018 902.924 M 9
February 2018 1,066.51 M 6
January 2018 1,601.54 M 1
December 2017 762.86 M 12

 

This last table shows coinage totals for December to include a negative adjustment for the 2018-D Native American dollar:

US Mint Circulating Coin Production in December 2018

Denomination Denver Philadelphia Total
Lincoln Cents 155,400,000 169,600,000 325,000,000
Jefferson Nickels 25,440,000 26,400,000 51,840,000
Roosevelt Dimes 32,500,000 40,500,000 73,000,000
ATB Quarters 56,800,000 54,000,000 110,800,000
Kennedy Half Dollars 700,000 0 700,000
Native American $1s -700,000 0 -700,000
Total 270,140,000 290,500,000 560,640,000

 

Coin production figures in this coin news article are based on data aggregated from the Mint’s webpage at: https://www.usmint.gov/about/production-sales-figures/circulating-coins-production.

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