U.S. Coin Production Reaches 801 Million in April; Connecticut Quarter Mintages Published

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Photo 2020 Weir Farm National Historic Site Quarter
This CoinNews photo shows a 2020 Weir Farm National Historic Site Quarter. The U.S. Mint published mintages for the quarter in their production report for April.

U.S. coin production slowed and registered under 1 billion for a second month in a row, according to United States Mint manufacturing figures for April.

U.S. Mint data also revealed mintages for Connecticut’s Weir Farm National Historic quarter, the second of this year’s five quarters with unique designs.

In the headline figure for the month, the Mint produced just over 801 million coins for circulation — spread across nickels, dimes, and quarters, marking declines of 10.8% from March and 36.1% from April 2019.

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

April 2019 to April 2020 Circulating Coin Production

Month Mintages Rank
April 2020 801.84 M 10
March 2020 898.86 M 8
February 2020 1,094.30 M 5
January 2020 1,228.08 M 2
December 2019 400.88 M 13
November 2019 898.38 M 9
October 2019 1,154.94 M 4
September 2019 939.66 M 7
August 2019 767.32 M 11
July 2019 1,202.10 M 3
June 2019 1,021.654 M 6
May 2019 485.24 M 12
April 2019 1,253.76 M 1

 

The Federal Reserve orders more 1-cent coins than any other denomination despite data that shows it costs the U.S. Mint 1.99 cents to make and distribute each one. The Mint produced 403.2 million Lincoln cents last month, for 50.3% of the circulating-quality coins produced in April.

Month-Over-Month

In month-over month comparisons for coins used daily by Americans, production totals in April saw:

  • 20.8% fewer Lincoln cents,
  • 18.9% fewer Jefferson nickels,
  • 61.6% more Roosevelt dimes, and
  • 30% fewer America the Beautiful quarter dollars.

Native American $1 Coins and Kennedy half-dollars are no longer ordered by Federal Reserve Banks but they are still made in circulating quality for coin collectors. Usually in January, the U.S. Mint tends to strike both coins to the expected amounts needed for the entire year. That wasn’t the case for halves at least until the second month of this year.

In February, mintages of Philadelphia Mint-struck Kennedy half-dollars rose by 1.8 million after none were reported out of the plant in January. That adds to the earlier 1.8 million produced Denver halves for a combined 3.6 million. Last year’s half-dollar ended with equal splits of 1.7 million for Denver and Philadelphia for a combined 3.4 million.

Published mintages of the Native American dollar remained unchanged — 1.26 million from Denver and 1.4 million from Philadelphia for a combined 2.66 million coins. Last year’s dollar had splits of 1.54 million for Denver and 1.4 million for Philadelphia for a combined 2.94 million coins.

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

US Mint Circulating Coin Production in April 2020

Denomination Denver Philadelphia Total
Lincoln Cents 208,400,000 194,800,000 403,200,000
Jefferson Nickels 33,360,000 31,680,000 65,040,000
Roosevelt Dimes 107,000,000 99,000,000 206,000,000
ATB Quarters 66,000,000 61,600,000 127,600,000
Kennedy Half Dollars 0 0 0
Native American $1s 0 0 0
Total 414,760,000 387,080,000 801,840,000

 

U.S. Mint plants in Denver and Philadelphia manufacture all of America’s coins for commerce. Last month, the Denver Mint made 414.76 million coins and the Philadelphia Mint made 387.08 million coins for the combined 801.84 million coins.

Year-to-date, the Denver Mint struck 2,120,360,000 coins and the Philadelphia Mint struck 1,902,720,000 coins for a combined 4,023,080,000 coins — 20.7% fewer than the 5,072,060,000 coins minted through the first four months of 2019.

This next table lists 2020 coin production totals by denomination and by U.S. Mint facility:

YTD 2020 Circulating Coin Production by Denomination

1 ¢ 5 ¢ 10 ¢ 25 ¢ 50 ¢ N.A. $1 Total:
Denver 1158.8M 202.8M 333.5M 422.2M 1.8M 1.26M 2120.36M
Philadelphia 1029.6M 160.32M 316M 393.6M 1.8M 1.4M 1902.72M
Total 2188.4M 363.12M 649.5M 815.8M 3.6M 2.66M 4023.08M

 

If the current production pace stretched through to December, the annual mintage for 2020 would near 12.1 billion coins. Usually, however, the production pace slows significantly in December as the Mint prepares for newly dated coinage for the upcoming year. The U.S. Mint made over 11.9 billion coins for circulation in 2019.

Mintages by Unique Design

The U.S. Mint has released to date three annually issued coins with one-year-only designs. They include:

The following table offers a mintage breakdown for it and other denominations:

2020 Circulating Coin Production by Design

  Denver Philadelphia Total
Lincoln Cents 1,158,800,000 1,029,600,000 2,188,400,000
Jefferson Nickels 202,800,000 160,320,000 363,120,000
Roosevelt Dimes 333,500,000 316,000,000 649,500,000
National Park of American Samoa Quarter 212,200,000 249,200,000 461,400,000
Weir Farm National Historic Site Quarter (Connecticut) 135,400,000 113,200,000 248,600,000
Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve Quarter (U.S. Virgin Islands) 0 0 0
Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park Quarter (Vermont) 0 0 0
Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve Quarter (Kansas) 0 0 0
Kennedy Half-Dollars 1,800,000 1,800,000 3,600,000
Native American $1 Coins 1,260,000 1,400,000 2,660,000
Total 2,045,760,000 1,871,520,000 3,917,280,000

 

There are 105.8 million in quarters that the U.S. Mint has yet to officially assign to a design. These are a portion of the U.S. Virgin Islands’ Salt River Bay quarters set to enter circulation on June 1.

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Jake

Thanks for the good read. I would like to note that the US mint originally scheduled today to be the release date for the End of World War II 75th Anniversary American Eagle Gold and Silver Proof Coin. I wonder if they push it back to September.

Chas. Barber

How in the world do they make so many coins & I never see ONE new coin, ever, every bank “We recirculate…” Want a “W” or prive, I saw some slug in Kansas has rolls of them already (W’s- no doubt bags of privy as well…) The USM has alienated more collectors with this BS then ever. Look for the WONKA ticket, I do that cause they’re better odds. USM is so out of step on all bases……

Clark

I am in New York City and almost never see coins in the year they are issued. I used to work down the street from the Federal Reserve. I only get new coins when I go on shopping trips to big box stores outside of New York City. When I go to Pennsylvania, or the Midwest, I get new coins all the time.

sam tweedy

Maybe whining Cuomo is getting all the new coins so he can buy a box of tissues, time to get out of NYC!!!! for good!!! Mafia Cuomo!!!

David

I found W weir farm coin. What should I do?