For the first time in seven months and for only the second time this year, United States Mint in August struck fewer than 1 billion coins for circulation.
That’s not too eyebrow-raising since August is typically tepid for coin production, one of the slowest months of a given year.
Figures from the U.S. Mint show an August output of 913.38 million in pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters. The level is down 31.4% from July for the weakest month in 2014, yet it’s 26% higher than the same time last year. Here’s how the month stacks up to others over the past year:
2013 – 2014 August Coin Production Figures
| Month | Mintages | Rank |
| August 2014 | 913.38 M | 11 |
| July 2014 | 1,331.34 M | 2 |
| June 2014 | 1,279.82 M | 4 |
| May 2014 | 1,326.80 M | 3 |
| April 2014 | 1,007.96 M | 8 |
| March 2014 | 1,025.40 M | 7 |
| February 2014 | 939.04 M | 10 |
| January 2014 | 1,449.38 M | 1 |
| December 2013 | 285.96 M | 13 |
| November 2013 | 991.14 M | 9 |
| October 2013 | 1,220.38 M | 5 |
| September 2013 | 1,099.34 M | 6 |
| August 2013 | 724.91 M | 12 |
As an always provided sidebar in our monthly coin production articles, we like to include this reminder:
The United States Mint does not decide how many coins to make for circulation. It’s the Federal Reserve that orders them from the U.S. Mint based on usage trends and coinage requests from financial institutions around the country.
Lincoln cents always lead coin production figures even as it takes about 1.8 cents to strike and distribute each one. The U.S. Mint made 553.6 million pennies in August which is 60.6% of the circulating coins produced for the month. For coins used every day by Americans and in month-over-month comparisons, August saw:
- 28.1% fewer Lincoln cents,
- 36.4% fewer Jefferson nickels,
- 36.5% fewer Roosevelt dimes, and
- 34.8% fewer America the Beautiful Quarters
Presidential $1 Coins, Native American $1 Coins, and Kennedy half-dollars are no longer ordered by Federal Reserve Banks but the U.S. Mint still makes them in circulating-quality for coin collectors. In January, the Mint produced 2014 Native American $1 Coins and 2014 Kennedy half-dollars to the expected amounts needed for the entire year. Presidential $1 Coins were last minted in May and it seems enough are now in inventory to support demand across all four 2014 designs.
U.S. Mint facilities in Philadelphia and Denver manufacture all the circulating coinage for commerce. In August, the Denver Mint struck 611.82 million coins and the Philadelphia Mint produced 301.56 million coins. Here’s a breakdown for the circulating-quality coins made by the U.S. Mint last month:
US Mint Circulating Coin Production in August 2014
| Denomination | Denver | Philadelphia | Total |
| Lincoln Cents | 360,400,000 | 193,200,000 | 553,600,000 |
| Jefferson Nickels | 59,520,000 | 26,160,000 | 85,680,000 |
| Roosevelt Dimes | 110,500,000 | 39,000,000 | 149,500,000 |
| 2013 ATB Quarters | 81,400,000 | 43,200,000 | 124,600,000 |
| Kennedy Half Dollars | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Native American $1s | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Presidential Dollars | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 611,820,000 | 301,560,000 | 913,380,000 |
For the January through August period, the Denver Mint made 4,924,640,000 coins and the Philadelphia Mint produced 4,348,480,000 coins. The two facilities have churned out a total of 9,273,120,000 coins for an 11.6% increase over the 8,310,120,000 coins minted through the first eight months of 2013.
This next table offers 2014 coin production totals by denomination and by U.S. Mint facility:
YTD 2014 Circulating Coin Production by Denomination
| 1 ¢ | 5 ¢ | 10 ¢ | 25 ¢ | 50 ¢ | N.A. $1 | Pres $1 | Total: | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Denver | 2942.4M | 434.88M | 804M | 720.4M | 2.1M | 5.6M | 15.26M | 4924.64M |
| Philadelphia | 2638.4M | 424.32M | 700.5M | 559.8M | 2.5M | 3.08M | 19.88M | 4348.48M |
| Total | 5580.8M | 859.2M | 1504.5M | 1280.2M | 4.6M | 8.68M | 35.14M | 9273.12M |
The current 2014 monthly average of more than 1.1 billion coins is poised to place this year’s annual coin production total above 13.9 billion coins — the most since 14.4 billion were minted in 2007. Just over 11.9 billion coins were made in 2013.
Great Sand Dunes National Park Quarter Mintages
Great Sand Dunes National Park Quarters for Colorado, the fourth of the five quarter designs for 2014 and the 24th issued America the Beautiful Quarter, entered circulation beginning on Aug. 25. The latest Mint data shows that Great Sand Dunes quarter mintages total 331.4 million with splits 171.8 million from Denver and 159.6 million from Philadelphia. The amount is the third highest mintage of America the Beautiful Quarters. It falls behind the immediate prior 2014 Arches quarter and last year’s final quarter depicting Mount Rushmore.
The following table offers a breakdown of 2014 mintages across coin designs:
2014 Circulating Coin Production / Mintages by Coin Design
| Denver | Philadelphia | 2014 Total | |
| Lincoln Cents | 2,942,400,000 | 2,638,400,000 | 5,580,800,000 |
| Jefferson Nickels | 434,880,000 | 424,320,000 | 859,200,000 |
| Roosevelt Dimes | 804,000,000 | 700,500,000 | 1,504,500,000 |
| Great Smoky Mountains Quarter | 99,400,000 | 73,200,000 | 172,600,000 |
| Shenandoah National Park Quarter | 197,800,000 | 112,800,000 | 310,600,000 |
| Arches National Park Quarter | 251,400,000 | 214,200,000 | 465,600,000 |
| Great Sand Dunes Quarter | 171,800,000 | 159,600,000 | 331,400,000 |
| Everglades National Park Quarter | – | – | – |
| Kennedy Half Dollars | 2,100,000 | 2,500,000 | 4,600,000 |
| Native American $1 | 5,600,000 | 3,080,000 | 8,680,000 |
| Warren G. Harding $1 | 3,780,000 | 6,160,000 | 9,940,000 |
| Calvin Coolidge $1 | 3,780,000 | 4,480,000 | 8,260,000 |
| Herbert Hoover $1 | 3,780,000 | 4,480,000 | 8,260,000 |
| Franklin D. Roosevelt $1 | 3,920,000 | 4,760,000 | 8,680,000 |
| Total | 4,924,640,000 | 4,348,480,000 | 9,273,120,000 |
Coin production figures in this coin news article are based on data aggregated from the U.S. Mint website at: http://www.usmint.gov/about_the_mint/?action=coin_production.
