American coin production exploded in June as the United States Mint struck almost 1 billion coins for circulation and finished the first half of the year at nearly 5 billion coins.
Significant gains were registered across pennies, nickels and dimes, but quarters were hit with an unexpected reversal.
Based on the latest coin production figures, the U.S. Mint delivered 975.59 million coins for circulation in June. The monthly level is the highest since before the Great Recession. The production pace last month was 19.0% quicker than the previous one and 8.0% faster than last year’s monthly record when the U.S. Mint delivered 903.06 million coins in June 2011.
2011-2012 June Coin Production Figures / Mintages
| Month | Mintages | Rank |
| June 2012 | 975.59M | 1 |
| May 2012 | 819.86 M | 5 |
| April 2012 | 858.04 M | 3 |
| March 2012 | 781.70 M | 8 |
| February 2012 | 579.86 M | 12 |
| January 2012 | 802.50 M | 7 |
| December 2011 | 431.78 M | 13 |
| November 2011 | 715.96 M | 9 |
| October 2011 | 690.66 M | 10 |
| September 2011 | 811.42 M | 6 |
| August 2011 | 604.54 M | 11 |
| July 2011 | 821.98 M | 4 |
| June 2011 | 903.06 M | 2 |
As for the previously mentioned bread and butter circulating coins, their monthly increases were:
- 18.4% for Lincoln cents,
- 17.0% for Jefferson nickels, and
- 94.4% for Roosevelt dimes
Lincoln cents accounted for 64.7% of the U.S. Mint’s entire monthly production.
On the opposite side of the equation, not only were quarters missing in production runs for June, but their total was adjusted 5.19 million lower than the previous month. A bit more on this topic later…
U.S. Mint facilities located in Philadelphia and in Denver are responsible for striking all coins for American circulation. Denver’s mint was busier for a fourth straight month with a count of 490.65 million coins versus Philadelphia’s output of 484.94 million coins. A breakdown of the types of coins each plant produced follows.
US Mint Circulating Coin Production in June 2012
| Denver | Philadelphia | Total | |
| Lincoln Cents | 321,200,000 | 310,400,000 | 631,600,000 |
| Jefferson Nickels | 70,560,000 | 51,040,000 | 121,600,000 |
| Roosevelt Dimes | 101,000,000 | 123,500,000 | 224,500,000 |
| 2012 ATB Quarters | -5,190,000 | 0 | -5,190,000 |
| Kennedy Half Dollars | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Native American $1s | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Presidential Dollars | 3,080,000 | 0 | 3,080,000 |
| Total | 490,650,000 | 484,940,000 | 975,590,000 |
U.S. Mint presses have not seen any Kennedy halves since January or Native American dollars since February.
Through the first half of 2012, circulating coin production reached 4,817,550,000 coins. That is a 16.8% increase over the 4,124,010,000 billion minted through the first half of 2011. The current pace would place this year’s annual coin production level above 9.6 billion coins.
Of note, last month’s overall quarter production total did not match up with the combined individual tallies by quarter design. Usually such differences indicate that the U.S. Mint is busy striking new quarters in preparation for an upcoming release. However, the totals are opposite of that scenario, suggesting production has not started for the remaining Hawaii Volcanoes or Denali quarters. Instead, U.S. Mint correctional adjustments may be forthcoming.
US Mint 2012 Coin Production / Mintages by Design
| Denver | Philadelphia | 2012 Total | |
| Lincoln Cents | 1,475,600,000 | 1,647,200,000 | 3,122,800,000 |
| Jefferson Nickels | 323,280,000 | 283,120,000 | 606,400,000 |
| Roosevelt Dimes | 445,000,000 | 454,000,000 | 899,000,000 |
| El Yunque Quarter | 25,000,000 | 25,800,000 | 50,800,000 |
| Chaco Culture Quarter | 22,000,000 | 22,000,000 | 44,000,000 |
| Acadia Quarter | 21,606,000 | 24,800,000 | 46,406,000 |
| Hawai’i Quarter | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Denali Quarter | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kennedy Half Dollars | 1,700,000 | 1,800,000 | 3,500,000 |
| Native American $1 | 2,800,000 | 2,800,000 | 5,600,000 |
| Arthur Presidential $1 | 4,060,000 | 6,020,000 | 10,080,000 |
| Cleveland (1st Term) Presidential $1 | 3,780,000 | 5,460,000 | 9,240,000 |
| Harrison Presidential $1 | 4,200,000 | 5,682,000 | 9,882,000 |
| Cleveland (2nd Term) Presidential $1 | 3,920,000 | 10,722,000 | 14,642,000 |
| Total | 2,332,946,000 | 2,489,404,000 | 4,822,350,000 |
Aside from the gains in pennies, nickels and dimes, specific changes by coin design over the previous month include a 2012-D Acadia quarter declination of 394,000 and increases of:
- 1.26 million for 2012-D Chester Arthur Presidential $1’s and
- 1.12 million for first term 2012-D Grover Cleveland Presidential $1’s, and
- 700,000 for second term 2012-D Grover Cleveland Presidential $1’s
Current coin production figures are based on data aggregated from the U.S. Mint page: http://www.usmint.gov/about_the_mint/?action=coin_production.
Maybe somebody answered this question before, but where do all these coins go? They’re supposed to last for years and years and yet the mint has to continually make more and more. Are there that many hoarders out there for just plain coins with no precious metal content?
Hi Jim, It seems like a lot of coins doesn’t it? Here are a few thoughts. A percentage of our coins end up in our banks. The presidential & native dollars are now like the Morgan dollars were, stockpiled in the banks (and rarely used). They are now only produced for collectors. As the US GDP grows and more stores and shopping centers are added we need more change for the cash registers. Some coins are damaged over time (railroad tracks lol) and are pulled from circulation. Some leave the country (i.e. the 5 U.S. pos. of Guam, Puerto Rico,… Read more »