The United States government printed a bit more banknotes in January than in the previous month, data from the agency responsible for producing U.S. currency shows, but the total value of the notes was sharply lower.
More than 449 million in $1s, $2s, $5s, $10s, $20s and $100s was printed in January for a total value of $6.27 billion, according to Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) monthly production figures. In contrast, December’s totals summed to just over 441.98 million notes worth about $7.54 billion.
In percentages, January saw 1.6% more notes compared to December while their combined value was 16.7% lower. In other month-over-month comparisons, there were:
- 3.7% fewer $1s;
- 10.9% more $10s;
- 10% more $20s; and
- 11% fewer $100s
The number of $5s matched the prior month. Also, $2s were printed for the first time since June and the lack of $50s was a first since September.
Compared to a year ago, the number of notes month fell by 11.2% and their combined value was 50.4% lower. The Bureau of Engraving and Printing will be picking up the pace at some point. For 2015, the Federal Reserve has ordered 7.2 billion notes valued at over $188.7 billion.
Below are images of the BEP’s latest monthly production report. They show the type of banknotes manufactured in January at each printing facility:
January 2015 BEP Banknote Production
Facility at Washington, DC
Facility at Fort Worth, TX
In January, the BEP produced 1.104 million star notes spread across $1s, $10s and $100s. These are indicated by the "*" designator in the money production chart directly above. Star notes are replacements for misprinted notes or certain serial numbers, like 000 000 000. Money collectors find them more desirable since they are rarer and more difficult to find.
The following table lists the type, the amount and the total value of banknotes printed by the BEP for the month:
Banknotes by Denomination: Total Printed and Values
January 2015
| Banknotes | Total Printed | Total Value ($) |
| $1.00 | 166,480,000 | 166,480,000 |
| $2.00 | 25,600,000 | 51,200,000 |
| $5.00 | 51,200,000 | 256,000,000 |
| $10.00 | 39,040,000 | 390,400,000 |
| $20.00 | 140,800,000 | 2,816,000,000 |
| $50.00 | – | – |
| $100.00 | 25,984,000 | 2,598,400,000 |
| Totals | 449,104,000 | 6,278,480,000 |
As a perspective, the BEP in FY 2014 manufactured about 24.8 million banknotes a day with a face value of about $560 million. That pace consumes about 8.9 tons of ink per day. The agency delivered approximately 6.2 billion notes at an average cost of 10 cents per banknote. The BEP notes that more than 90% of paper notes printed each year are used to replace those already in, or taken out of circulation.
For comparison, four previous monthly money production tables follow.
December 2014
| Banknotes | Total Printed | Total Value ($) |
| $1.00 | 172,800,000 | 172,800,000 |
| $2.00 | – | – |
| $5.00 | 51,200,000 | 256,000,000 |
| $10.00 | 35,200,000 | 352,000,000 |
| $20.00 | 128,000,000 | 2,560,000,000 |
| $50.00 | 25,600,000 | 1,280,000,000 |
| $100.00 | 29,184,000 | 2,918,400,000 |
| Totals | 441,984,000 | 7,539,200,000 |
November 2014
| Banknotes | Total Printed | Total Value ($) |
| $1.00 | 153,600,000 | 153,600,000 |
| $2.00 | – | – |
| $5.00 | 80,000,000 | 400,000,000 |
| $10.00 | 38,400,000 | 384,000,000 |
| $20.00 | 172,800,000 | 3,456,000,000 |
| $50.00 | 60,800,000 | 3,040,000,000 |
| $100.00 | 9,856,000 | 985,600,000 |
| Totals | 515,456,000 | 8,419,200,000 |
October 2014
| Banknotes | Total Printed | Total Value ($) |
| $1.00 | 326,400,000 | 326,400,000 |
| $2.00 | – | – |
| $5.00 | 108,800,000 | 544,000,000 |
| $10.00 | 115,200,000 | 1,152,000,000 |
| $20.00 | 377,600,000 | 7,552,000,000 |
| $50.00 | 96,000,000 | 4,800,000,000 |
| $100.00 | 29,056,000 | 2,905,600,000 |
| Totals | 1,053,056,000 | 17,280,000,000 |
September 2014
| Banknotes | Total Printed | Total Value ($) |
| $1.00 | 217,600,000 | 217,600,000 |
| $2.00 | – | – |
| $5.00 | 134,400,000 | 672,000,000 |
| $10.00 | 32,000,000 | 320,000,000 |
| $20.00 | 83,200,000 | 1,664,000,000 |
| $50.00 | – | – |
| $100.00 | 19,840,000 | 1,984,000,000 |
| Totals | 487,040,000 | 4,857,600,000 |
