US Government Prints 449M Banknotes in Jan 2015

6
$100s
The BEP printed 7.12 million more notes in January than in December but the value was down by more than $1.26 billion

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

BEP Money Production in Washington DC, January 2015

Facility at Fort Worth, TX

BEP Money Production in Fort Worth TX, January 2015

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

 

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Tom H

All backed by the full faith and credit of a bunch of criminals

Annie

How can I can not able to get $2.00 note?. Where the bep print 25 million piece.

Boz

Can you say hoarded?

Munzen

Annie:
I asked the guys at my bank for some $2s. They were able to get them with no problems.

All:
The uptick in $2s is interesting and encouraging. Maybe someday this country will figure out that there are in fact numbers in between one and five.

Does anyone have any idea why $10s are in such low supply? Maybe all those ATMs that only spit out $20s? There’ve been a few times when cashiers gave me two $5s in change b/c they didn’t have any $10s in their drawer, which seems strange.

RonnieBGood

Fun Facts:
Ever wonder why so much is printed & minted?

40% of all US monetary transactions are done in currency (paper and coins).

90% of all World transactions are done in currency.

J_Dog

Munzen: I’ve been noticing the same thing about $10 bills for several months! I’m almost shocked when I get a $10 bill because I never see them anymore. When I get change I almost always get two $5s instead of a $10. I don’t get it.