A bit fewer coins were minted for circulation in March compared to the previous month, coin production figures from the United States Mint show. Mintages for 2013 White Mountain National Forest quarters were also revealed.
For the year-to-date and first quarter, U.S. Mint facilities in Denver and Philadelphia produced 3,096,220,000 circulating-quality coins – the quickest yearly start since 2007.
932,560,00 coins were struck in March, marking a 0.8% decrease from February but a 19.3% increase from the same time last year. March ranks fifth busiest for the U.S. Mint through the last 12 months.
2012 – 2013 March Coin Production Figures / Mintages
| Month | Mintages | Rank |
| March 2013 | 932.56 M | 5 |
| February 2013 | 939.98 M | 4 |
| January 2013 | 1,223.68 M | 1 |
| December 2012 | 245.34 M | 13 |
| November 2012 | 765.76 M | 11 |
| October 2012 | 1,040.12 M | 2 |
| September 2012 | 905.34 M | 7 |
| August 2012 | 655.55 M | 12 |
| July 2012 | 906.62 M | 6 |
| June 2012 | 975.59 M | 3 |
| May 2012 | 819.86 M | 9 |
| April 2012 | 858.04 M | 8 |
| March 2012 | 781.70 M | 10 |
Lincoln cents top coin production figures every month. They accounted for 60.0% of the circulating-quality coins produced in March.
A 21.7% drop in Jefferson nickels and 62.8% fewer Presidential $1 Coins held the month down from February. More of the other denominations were produced with monthly increases of:
- 1.7% for Lincoln cents,
- 1.2% for Roosevelt dimes and
- 9.3% for America the Beautiful Quarters
For reference, coin production figures for last month follow.
US Circulating Coinage Production in March 2013
| Denomination | Denver | Philadelphia | Total |
| Lincoln Cents | 285,200,000 | 274,000,000 | 559,200,000 |
| Jefferson Nickels | 56,880,000 | 24,720,000 | 81,600,000 |
| Roosevelt Dimes | 84,000,000 | 90,500,000 | 174,500,000 |
| 2013 ATB Quarters | 56,000,000 | 56,400,000 | 112,400,000 |
| Kennedy Half Dollars | 0 | 800,000 | 800,000 |
| Native American $1s | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Presidential Dollars | 1,540,000 | 2,520,000 | 4,060,000 |
| Total | 483,620,000 | 448,940,000 | 932,560,000 |
First Quarter 2013
The nearly 3.1 billion coins in the first quarter 2013 is 43.1% more than the 2.164 billion coins struck in the first quarter 2012. Production splits for the year by U.S. Mint facility stand at 1,575,280,000 coins from Denver and 1,520,940,000 coin from Philadelphia.
White Mountain Quarter Mintages
Demand is increasing for quarters. Preliminary mintages were published for the inaugural 2013 America the Beautiful Quarter honoring White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire. Mintage splits for the White Mountain quarter are 107,600,000 from Denver and 68,800,000 from Philadelphia for a combined total of 176,400,000. In comparing those figures to other America the Beautiful Quarters:
- The White Mountain quarter mintage total is second highest. Denali quarters lead at 302 million
- 2013-P White Mountain quarters have the third highest mintage of Philadelphia struck quarters, behind 2011-P Chickasaw quarters at 73.8 million and 2012-P Denali quarters at 135.4 million
- 2013-D White Mountain quarters have the second highest mintage of Denver minted quarters, behind 2012-D Denali quarters at 166.6 million
$1’s and Halves
In other coinage, Native American $1 Coins were not produced last month or in February but Kennedy half-dollars were for the first time this year.
3.64 million Native American $1 Coins were minted in January. They, like the Presidential $1 Coins, have not been produced for commerce since 2011. They are released for coin collectors, however. In fact, beginning tomorrow, April 23, the U.S. Mint will begin selling 2013 Native American $1 Coins in rolls, bags and boxes.
2013-P Kennedy Half Dollars went up 800,000. More will come out from Philadelphia and Denver as half-dollars in rolls and bags are scheduled to go on sale in June. These coins are also only produced for collectors.
The following table offers mintages by coin design.
2013 Circulating Coin Production / Mintages by Design
| Denver | Philadelphia | 2013 Total | |
| Lincoln Cents | 881,200,000 | 902,400,000 | 1,783,600,000 |
| Jefferson Nickels | 183,840,000 | 130,800,000 | 314,640,000 |
| Roosevelt Dimes | 269,500,000 | 302,000,000 | 571,500,000 |
| White Mountain Quarter | 107,600,000 | 68,800,000 | 176,400,000 |
| Perry’s Victory Quarter | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Great Basin Quarter | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Fort McHenry Quarter | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mount Rushmore Quarter | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kennedy Half Dollars | 0 | 800,000 | 800,000 |
| Native American $1 | 1,820,000 | 1,820,000 | 3,640,000 |
| William McKinley $1 | 3,360,000 | 4,760,000 | 8,120,000 |
| Theodore Roosevelt $1 | 3,920,000 | 5,180,000 | 9,100,000 |
| William Howard Taft $1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Woodrow Wilson $1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 1,451,240,000 | 1,416,560,000 | 2,867,800,000 |
In subtracting the above totals by coin design from the overall production figures by denomination, two differences are found.
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America the Beautiful Quarters are higher by 218,200,000. The bulk of them would logically be Perry’s Victory and International Peace Memorial Quarters since they launched on April 1, 2013. Some are likely Great Basin National Park Quarters as their scheduled release is in June.
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Presidential $1 Coins are higher by 10,220,000. The amount likely represents most of the William Howard Taft dollars. Taft $1 coins are expected out in July. Of note, the U.S. Mint from February to March did push up the 2013-D Theodore Roosevelt $1 Coin mintage total by 700,000. Roosevelt dollars in rolls, bags and boxes launched on April 11, 2013.
Coin production figures are based on data aggregated from the U.S. Mint webpage at: http://www.usmint.gov/about_the_mint/?action=coin_production.
