On Tuesday, July 30, the United States Mint published coin production figures through the first half of this year, revealing a substantial slowdown in the pace of coin striking for circulation.
In June, the U.S. Mint manufactured 168 million coins, breaking a streak of two consecutive months of higher production. The monthly level remained solidly below 1 billion for the tenth month in a row, following eight consecutive months above that threshold. In a rare occurrence, the Mint also reported no cents produced in June. Typically, more than half of all coins minted for circulation in a month are cents.
Over the longer time frame, the U.S. Mint has struck over 2.6 billion coins for circulation in the first half of 2024, marking the weakest six-month start since CoinNews began reporting monthly figures in 2011.
June 2023 to June 2024 Circulating Coin Production
| Month | Mintages | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| June 2024 | 168.22 M | 12 |
| May 2024 | 396.08 M | 9 |
| April 2024 | 368.20 M | 11 |
| March 2024 | 332.70 M | 10 |
| February 2024 | 644.86 M | 5 |
| January 2024 | 755.98 M | 4 |
| December 2023 | 151.80 M | 13 |
| November 2023 | 604.409 M | 6 |
| October 2023 | 501.911 M | 8 |
| September 2023 | 546.03 M | 7 |
| August 2023 | 1,030.38 M | 3 |
| July 2023 | 1,139.30 M | 2 |
| June 2023 | 1,297.18 M | 1 |
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 the first half of this year, the Mint struck over 1.4 billion Lincoln cents, accounting for 53.8% of all circulating-quality coins produced for the year.
Month-Over-Month
In month-over-month comparisons for coins used daily by Americans, production totals in June decreased by:
- 40.9% for Jefferson nickels,
- 11.8% for Roosevelt dimes, and
- 8.7% for 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. Nonetheless, this 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 have been produced for general circulation, although it is likely. Half dollar production figures changed in January (+5.7 million), March (+ 1.9 million), April (+2.6 million), May (+3.2 million), and June (+4.9 million), with the latest results showing 9.9 million coins from Philadelphia and 8.4 million from Denver, totaling 18.3 million. 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 were adjusted in February instead of being completed in January. This change was prompted by the absence of reported minting activity for the dollar in Denver throughout January. Since February, the total dollar mintage has remained at 2.24 million coins, with 1.12 million each from Denver and Philadelphia, matching the 2023 total. No changes were reported in March, April, or May.
On Jan. 29, the U.S. Mint started selling Denver- and Philadelphia-minted rolls, bags, and boxes of 2024 Native American dollars. More recently, on April 23, the bureau started offering 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 June 2024
| Denver | Philadelphia | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lincoln Cent | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jefferson Nickel | 3,120,000 | 0 | 3,120,000 |
| Roosevelt Dime | 15,000,000 | 0 | 15,000,000 |
| Quarters | 83,600,000 | 61,600,000 | 145,200,000 |
| Kennedy Half-Dollar | 100,000 | 4,800,000 | 4,900,000 |
| Native American $1 Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 101,820,000 | 66,400,000 | 168,220,000 |
In the overall production totals for June, the Denver Mint produced 101.82 million coins, while the Philadelphia Mint produced 66.4 million coins, resulting in a combined total of 168.22 million coins.
Coin Production in First Half of 2024
Through the first half of this year, the Denver Mint has struck 1,384,800,000 coins, and the Philadelphia Mint has made 1,266,040,000 coins, bringing the total to 2,666,040,000 coins. This is 65.1% fewer than the 7,638,340,000 coins manufactured during the first half of 2023.
If the current production pace were to continue through December, the annual mintage for 2024 would reach 5.3 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
| 1 ¢ | 5 ¢ | 10 ¢ | 25 ¢ | 50 ¢ | N.A. $1 | Total: | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Denver | 740.4M | 32.88M | 138.0 | 464.0M | 8.4M | 1.12M | 1384.8M |
| Philadelphia | 692.8M | 36.72M | 92.5M | 448.2M | 9.9M | 1.12M | 1281.24M |
| Total | 1433.2M | 69.6M | 230.5M | 912.2M | 18.3M | 2.24M | 2666.04M |
2024 Circulating Coin Production by Design
In addition to the 2024 Native American dollar with its one-year-only design, the U.S. Mint has also released the first three of five issues for 2024 from their four-year program of American Women Quarters™. These three coins represent the 11th through 13th releases in the series, each featuring a unique design.
The Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray quarter, the first quarter design for this year, began circulating on Jan. 2. On Feb. 1, the Mint made rolls and bags of the quarter available for purchase by the public. First reported in March figures and unchanged since, a total of 354.2 million Murray quarters were minted, with 185.8 million coming from Denver and 168.4 million from Philadelphia. This marks the lowest mintage total for any quarter in the series to date. In terms of production by facility across the series, the 2024-P ranks as the scarcest, while the 2024-D ties for third scarcest.
Patsy Takemoto Mink quarters entered circulation on March 25, and on March 28, the U.S. Mint began selling rolls and bags of them to the public. The latest figures show Patsy Takemoto Mink quarter mintages at 187.2 million from Denver and 210.2 million from Philadelphia, for a combined 397.4 million, ranking fourth lowest overall in the series. By production facility, however, the 2024-D Mink quarter ranks as the third scarcest.
Of the total production through the first half of this year, 160.6 million quarters have not yet been officially assigned a design by the U.S. Mint. This represents a portion of the Dr. Mary Edwards Walker quarters. Walker quarters entered circulation on June 3, and on June 17, the U.S. Mint started selling rolls and bags of them to the public.
This last table offers a breakdown of this year’s mintages that have been reported by coin design, including the first two quarters:
| Denver | Philadelphia | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lincoln Cent | 740,400,000 | 692,800,000 | 1,433,200,000 |
| Jefferson Nickel | 32,880,000 | 36,720,000 | 69,600,000 |
| Roosevelt Dime | 138,000,000 | 92,500,000 | 230,500,000 |
| Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray Quarter | 185,800,000 | 168,400,000 | 354,200,000 |
| Patsy Takemoto Mink Quarter | 187,200,000 | 210,200,000 | 397,400,000 |
| Dr. Mary Edwards Walker Quarter | – | – | – |
| Celia Cruz Quarter (expected release on Aug. 7) | – | – | – |
| Zitkala-Ša Quarter (expected release on Oct. 21) | – | – | – |
| Kennedy Half-Dollar | 8,400,000 | 9,900,000 | 18,300,000 |
| Native American $1 Coin | 1,120,000 | 1,120,000 | 2,240,000 |
| Total | 1,293,800,000 | 1,211,640,000 | 2,505,440,000 |
