U.S. Mint Produces 644.86 Million Coins for Circulation in February

In February, the pace of striking U.S. coins for circulation slowed, according to manufacturing figures published by the United States Mint, and fell below the 1 billion mark for the sixth consecutive month after eight straight months above that level.

The U.S. Mint struck 644.86 million coins for commerce, including cents, nickels, dimes, quarters, and half dollars, registering drops of 14.7% from January and 38.8% from February 2023.

Here’s how the month compares to others in the past year:

February 2023 to February  2024 Circulating Coin Production

The primary mission of the U.S. Mint is to manufacture coins in response to public demand. The Mint produces, sells, and subsequently delivers circulating coins to Federal Reserve Banks and their coin terminals to support their services to commercial banks and other financial institutions.

Even though it costs the Mint 3.07 cents to make and distribute each 1-cent coin, the Federal Reserve always orders more of them than any other denomination. In February, the Mint struck 408.4 million Lincoln cents, accounting for 63.3% of all circulating-quality coins produced for the month.

Month-Over-Month

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

• 1.1% fewer Lincoln cents,
• 14.3% more Jefferson nickels,
• 35.1% fewer Roosevelt dimes, and
• 33.5% fewer quarters.

Mintages of Native American Dollars and Kennedy Halves

The U.S. Mint also strikes other coins in circulating quality, namely half dollars and dollars. Native American $1 coins are no longer ordered by the Federal Reserve, but they are still made in circulating quality for coin collectors. The same was true for Kennedy half dollars until recently — years 2021, 2022, and 2023.

Usually, in January, the U.S. Mint produces both denominations to the expected amounts needed for the entire year. However, that has not been the case for Kennedy halves in each of the three prior years, as the Federal Reserve unexpectedly ordered millions more for circulation — roughly 12 million, 7 million, and 18 million in fiscal years 2021, 2022, and 2023.

It has not been disclosed whether any 2024 Kennedy half dollars will be produced for general circulation. Figures to date remain unchanged from January, showing this year’s halves at 2.9 million from the Denver Mint and 2.8 million from the Philadelphia Mint, for a total of 5.7 million coins. These figures compare to production runs in 2023 totaling 27.8 million from Denver and 30.2 million from Philadelphia, amounting to 58 million coins — the highest since 1983, when it reached 66.6 million.

Unlike the usual practice, the mintages of the Native American dollar changed in February instead of having already been completed for the year. This adjustment arose because none were reported minted in Denver in January. Totals through February now show the dollar’s mintages at 1.12 million from Denver and the same 1.12 million from Philadelphia, for a combined 2.24 million coins, exactly matching the splits and total in 2023.

On Jan. 29, the U.S. Mint started selling Denver- and Philadelphia-minted rolls, bags, and boxes of 2024 Native American dollars. On May 7, the bureau is expected to offer collectors rolls and bags of circulating 2024 Kennedy halves.

This next table shows 2024 circulating coin mintages by production facility, denomination, and design.

U.S. Mint Circulating Coin Production in February 2024

In the overall production totals for February, the Denver Mint produced 275.84 million coins, while the Philadelphia Mint produced 369.02 million coins, resulting in a combined total of 644.86 million coins.

For the year to date, the Denver Mint has struck 711.58 million coins, and the Philadelphia Mint has made 689.26 million coins, bringing the total to 1,400,840,000 coins. This is 37.9% fewer than the 2,254,620,000 coins manufactured during the first two months of 2023.

If the current production pace were to continue through December, the annual mintage for 2024 would reach 8.4 billion coins. In comparison, the U.S. Mint manufactured over 11.38 billion coins for circulation in 2023, marking the lowest output since 2012.

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

YTD 2024 Circulating Coin Production by Denomination

Lastly, U.S. Mint figures show that 312 million quarters have been manufactured since January. These are Reverend Dr. Pauli Murray quarters, with more yet to be minted. As a part of the Mint’s series of American Women Quarters™, the Murray quarter is the eleventh issue overall and the first of five for 2024. Reverend Dr. Pauli Murray quarters started circulating Jan. 2. On Feb. 1, the Mint released rolls and bags of them for sale to the public. Quarters commemorating the Honorable Patsy Takemoto Mink will enter circulation on March 25, with rolls and bags of them available from the Mint on March 28.