The United States government printed more banknotes for circulation in February than in January and during the same time last year, data from the agency responsible for manufacturing American currency shows. The combined value of the notes advanced sharply from the prior month but not from a year ago.
Nearly 506.9 million in $1s, $5s, $10s, $20s and $100s was printed last month for a total value of over $8.3 billion, according to Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) monthly production figures published on Friday, March 20. In contrast, January’s totals tallied to just over 449.1 million notes worth about $6.3 billion while the year-ago February level summed over 400.9 million notes worth about $9.3 billion.
In month-over-month comparisons, February saw 12.9% more notes compared to January while their combined value jumped 32.6%. In other monthly comparisons, there were:
- 19.2% more $1s;
- 14.8% more $10s;
- 22.7% more $20s; and
- 52.7% more $100s
The number of $5s matched for a second straight month. BEP presses for $2s were silent. In January, $2s were printed for the first time since June. No $50s were made for a second month in a row after having logged three consecutive monthly gains.
Compared to a year ago, the number of notes grew by 26.4% but their combined value was 10.9% lower. The Bureau of Engraving and Printing should continue its pace increase. 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 February at each printing facility:
February 2015 BEP Banknote Production
Facility at Washington, DC
Facility at Fort Worth, TX
In February, the BEP produced 1.28 million $100 star notes. These are indicated by the "*" designator in the money production chart directly above. Star notes are replacements for misprinted notes or certain serial numbers, like 000 000 000. Money collectors find them more desirable since they are rarer and more difficult to find.
The following table lists the type, the amount and the total value of banknotes printed by the BEP for the month:
Banknotes by Denomination: Total Printed and Values
February 2015
| Banknotes | Total Printed | Total Value ($) |
| $1.00 | 198,400,000 | 198,400,000 |
| $2.00 | – | – |
| $5.00 | 51,200,000 | 256,000,000 |
| $10.00 | 44,800,000 | 448,000,000 |
| $20.00 | 172,800,000 | 3,456,000,000 |
| $50.00 | – | – |
| $100.00 | 39,680,000 | 3,968,000,000 |
| Totals | 506,880,000 | 8,326,400,000 |
As a perspective, the BEP in FY 2014 printed about 24.8 million banknotes a day with a face value of about $560 million. That pace accounts for about 8.9 tons of ink each day. The agency delivered approximately 6.2 billion notes at an average cost of 10 cents per banknote. The BEP notes that more than 90% of paper notes printed each year are used to replace those already in, or taken out of circulation.
For comparison, four previous monthly money production tables follow.
January 2015
| Banknotes | Total Printed | Total Value ($) |
| $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 | – | – |
| $100.00 | 25,984,000 | 2,598,400,000 |
| Totals | 449,104,000 | 6,278,480,000 |
December 2014
| Banknotes | Total Printed | Total Value ($) |
| $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 |
