US Coin Production in November Slips Below 1 Billion

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Theodore Roosevelt National Park Quarter and Coins
Theodore Roosevelt National Park Quarter mintage reaches 454.8 million

U.S. circulating coin production slowed in November for a second month in a row and dropped below the 1 billion mark for the first time since February, the latest figures from the United States Min show.

Year-end slides are mostly the norm and the latest one will extend into December as the U.S. Mint gears up to strike coins for 2016.

As far as headline comparisons across pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters, the Mint struck just over 976 million of them for declines of 24.8% from October and 21.7% from November of last year.

Here’s how the month stacks up against others in the past year:

November 2015 to November 2016 Coin Production Figures

Month Mintages Rank
November 2016 976.04 M 11
October 2016 1,297.36 M 9
September 2016 1,573.70 M 3
August 2016 1,302.95 M 8
July 2016 1,807.20 M 1
June 2016 1,582.06 M 2
May 2016 1,550.12 M 4
April 2016 1,339.06 M 7
March 2016 1,446.14 M 6
February 2016 930.26 M 12
January 2016 1,515.84 M 5
December 2015 707.79 M 13
November 2015 1,245.73 M 10

 

The Federal Reserve always orders more Lincoln cents from the United States Mint than any other denomination even as it costs about 1.4 cents to make and distribute each one. The U.S. Mint struck a combined 609.6 million of them in November, representing 62.5% of the circulating-quality coins produced for the month.

In the latest month-over month comparisons for coins used daily by Americans, production totals declined:

  • 25.3% Lincoln cents,
  • 9% Jefferson nickels,
  • 17% Roosevelt dimes, and
  • 44.7% America the Beautiful Quarters.

Presidential $1 Coins, Native American $1 Coins and Kennedy half-dollars are no longer ordered by Federal Reserve Banks for distribution but the U.S. Mint continues to make them in circulating quality for coin collectors.

In January, the U.S. Mint produced Native American $1 Coins to the expected amounts needed for all of 2016. That is usually how it works for Kennedy half-dollars but in February another 400,000 were pressed at the Philadelphia Mint and then in March another 400,000 were made at the Denver Mint. In October, the Philadelphia Mint reported that Reagan dollars increased by 420,000.

Here’s a summary of all circulating-quality coins produced last month:

US Mint Circulating Coin Production in November 2016

Denomination Denver Philadelphia Total
Lincoln Cents 351,200,000 258,400,000 609,600,000
Jefferson Nickels 63,120,000 58,320,000 121,440,000
Roosevelt Dimes 90,000,000 69,000,000 159,000,000
2016 ATB Quarters 40,400,000 45,600,000 86,000,000
Kennedy Half Dollars 0 0 0
Native American $1s 0 0 0
Presidential Dollars 0 0 0
Total 544,720,000 431,320,000 976,040,000

 

Facilities in Denver and Philadelphia manufacture all U.S. coins for commerce. In November, the two plants made 544.72 million and 431.32 million coins, respectively.

Year To Date

Year to date, the Denver Mint pressed 7,501,160,000 coins and the Philadelphia Mint struck 7,819,570,000 coins for a combined 15,320,730,000 coins. That’s 6.2% fewer than the 16,338,910,000 coins minted by this time last year.

This next table lists 2016 coin production totals by denomination and by U.S. Mint facility:

YTD 2016 Circulating Coin Production by Denomination

1 ¢ 5 ¢ 10 ¢ 25 ¢ 50 ¢ N.A. $1 Pres $1 Total:
Denver 4288.4M 738M 1370.5M 1084.8M 2.1M 2.1M 15.26M 7501.16M
Philadelphia 4489.2M 754.08M 1442.5M 1110.83M 2.1M 2.8M 18.06M 7819.57M
Total 877.6M 1492.08M 2813M 2195.63M 4.2M 4.9M 33.32M 15320.73M

 

This year’s monthly average of about 1.39 billion coins tracks over 12 months to over 16.7 billion coins. As a resent comparison, the U.S. Mint in 2015 made just over 17 billion coins for a sixth straight year of growth and the fastest production pace since the 2001.

Coins by Design

Beginning in September and specific to this year’s last two quarter designs, the U.S. Mint started publishing partial production figures. In the past, the agency reported totals for quarters only after they had finished making them.

That said, it appears mintages are finalized for North Dakota’s Theodore Roosevelt National Park quarter. Its figures remained the same for a second month in a row, suggesting final mintages of 223.2 million from Denver and 231.6 million from Philadelphia for a combined 454.8 million. That’s 47% lower than the previous Harpers Ferry quarter, which ended with 858.63 million — the highest total among quarters since the 2001 release featuring Vermont.

The following table summarizes this year’s mintages by coin design:

2016 Circulating Coin Production by Design

  Denver Philadelphia Total
Lincoln Cents 4,288,400,000 4,489,200,000 8,777,600,000
Jefferson Nickels 738,000,000 754,080,000 1,492,080,000
Roosevelt Dimes 1,370,500,000 1,442,500,000 2,813,000,000
Shawnee National Forest Quarter 151,800,000 155,600,000 307,400,000
Cumberland Gap National Historical Park Quarter 223,200,000 215,400,000 438,600,000
Harpers Ferry National Historical Park Quarter 424,000,000 434,630,000 858,630,000
Theodore Roosevelt National Park Quarter 223,200,000 231,600,000 454,800,000
Fort Moultrie Quarter 62,600,000 73,600,000 136,200,000
Kennedy Half Dollars 2,100,000 2,100,000 4,200,000
Native American $1 2,100,000 2,800,000 4,900,000
Richard M. Nixon $1 4,340,000 5,460,000 9,800,000
Gerald R. Ford $1 5,040,000 5,460,000 10,500,000
Ronald Reagan $1 5,880,000 7,140,000 13,020,000
Total 7,501,160,000 7,819,570,000 15,320,730,000

 

Coin production figures in this coin news article are based on data aggregated from the Mint’s webpage at: http://www.usmint.gov/about_the_mint/?action=ProductionFigures.

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