Far fewer American coins were struck for circulation in August than in any month since February, the latest coin production figures from the U.S. Mint show.
In other interesting revelations, mintages for the recently released Hawaii Volcanoes quarter are sharply higher than any other America the Beautiful Quarter but one.
655.55 million coins were struck for circulation last month, marking a 27.7% fall from the more than 906 million produced in July. The amount was higher than a year ago, however, as the table of monthly rankings highlights.
2011-2012 August Coin Production Figures / Mintages
| Month | Mintages | Rank |
| August 2012 | 655.55M | 10 |
| July 2012 | 906.62M | 2 |
| June 2012 | 975.59M | 1 |
| May 2012 | 819.86 M | 4 |
| April 2012 | 858.04 M | 3 |
| March 2012 | 781.70 M | 7 |
| February 2012 | 579.86 M | 12 |
| January 2012 | 802.50 M | 6 |
| December 2011 | 431.78 M | 13 |
| November 2011 | 715.96 M | 8 |
| October 2011 | 690.66 M | 9 |
| September 2011 | 811.42 M | 5 |
| August 2011 | 604.54 M | 11 |
Coin production declined across every denomination struck in August with the pace down:
- 23.3% for Lincoln cents,
- 39.5% for Jefferson nickels,
- 27.0% for Roosevelt dimes, and
- 49.6% for America the Beautiful Quarters
Lincoln cents accounted for 69.1% of the entire monthly production total, which is a bit higher than typical.
U.S. Mint facilities located in Philadelphia and in Denver are tasked with producing all of the coins used in American circulation for commerce. Snapping a five-month winning streak, Denver’s total output finally fell below Philadelphia’s. A breakdown follows for the types of coins each facility produced last month.
US Mint Coin Production in August 2012
| Denomination | Denver | Philadelphia | Total |
| Lincoln Cents | 182,800,000 | 270,400,000 | 453,200,000 |
| Jefferson Nickels | 30,240,000 | 13,760,000 | 44,000,000 |
| Roosevelt Dimes | 49,000,000 | 67,500,000 | 116,500,000 |
| 2012 ATB Quarters | 31,000,000 | 10,800,000 | 41,800,000 |
| Kennedy Half Dollars | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Native American $1s | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Presidential Dollars | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 293,040,000 | 362,460,000 | 655,500,000 |
U.S. Mint presses have been quiet for Kennedy halves since January and Native American $1 coins since February. These coins, while minted in circulating quality, are struck only to meet the demand of coin collectors as they are not placed into circulation. The Presidential $1 coins joined the collectible-only group this year.
Through the first eight months of 2012, circulating coin production totaled 6,379,660,000, with splits of 3,116,130,000 for Denver and 3,263,540,000 for Philadelphia. The combined total represents a 14.9% increase over the 5,550,530,000 coins produced through the first eight months in 2011.
This year’s monthly average of more than 797 million coins would place the 2012 annual coin production level at more than 9.5 billion coins.
Hawaii Volcanoes Quarter Mintages
As mentioned, mintages for the Hawaii Volcanoes quarter were revealed. Splits were 78,600,000 million for Denver and 46,200,000 million for Philadelphia for a total of 124,800,000. In an interesting point, the lopsided difference between the two facilities is atypical.
Hawaii Volcanoes quarter mintages are more than double that of any previous 2012-dated quarter. In fact, the amount is higher than any in the series of 2010-2012 America the Beautiful Quarters except for the 2011 Chickasaw National Recreation Area quarter at 143,200,000.
While the U.S. Mint reserves the right to produce more quarters of a current year’s design, it has tended not to once mintages have been published (unlike this year’s Presidential $1 coins).
The following grid offers 2012 mintage figures by coin design.
US Mint 2012 Coin Production / Mintages by Design
| Denver | Philadelphia | 2012 Total | |
| Lincoln Cents | 1,968,000,000 | 2,199,200,000 | 4,167,200,000 |
| Jefferson Nickels | 396,480,000 | 326,640,000 | 723,120,000 |
| Roosevelt Dimes | 588,500,000 | 586,500,000 | 1,175,000,000 |
| 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 | 78,600,000 | 46,200,000 | 124,800,000 |
| 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 | 4,060,000 | 5,460,000 | 9,520,000 |
| Harrison Presidential $1 | 4,200,000 | 5,640,001 | 9,840,001 |
| Cleveland (2nd Term) Presidential $1 | 3,920,000 | 10,680,001 | 14,600,001 |
| Total | 3,120,926,000 | 3,263,540,002 | 6,384,466,002 |
In specific changes above for coins with unique annual designs, there is only one call out — the addition of the Hawaii Volcanoes quarter.
Of note and for a second time this year, the Mint’s published quarter production total (261.21M) does not match up with the combined individual totals by quarter design (266.006M). Usually such differences indicate that the U.S. Mint is striking new quarters in preparation for an upcoming release. However, the totals are opposite of that scenario, suggesting production has not started for the final 2012 Denali National Park quarter and that U.S. Mint correctional adjustments may be forthcoming next month.
Coin production figures are based on data aggregated from the U.S. Mint page: http://www.usmint.gov/about_the_mint/?action=coin_production.
Perhaps the governments’ QE program has started by flooding the world with Hawaii quarters.
Maybe this Hawaii one will finally show up in my pocket change. Still haven’t gotten any 2010 or 2011, although recently some Guam and Puerto Rico ones from 2009 finally have turned up here.
I’ve been buying America The Beautiful Quarters Circulating Coin Set from the mint, to fill the holes in my book. I got a dirty mount hood quarter once. I’ll be dead before I see the rest of them in the banks & stores. You must have live in Denver or Philadelphia where they make them.
Or go to the launch location where you can get a roll for $10 – don’t have to pay the mint’s premium or S&H. Look at all the money you save!
Good idea jim, I can visit the National Parks in the United States Of America. And wife can give up her cruises. That should go over well.
Got a 1945 D Wheat Cent at the coffee shop 1/2 hour ago. In good condition. World War 2 before my time. Still circulating after all these years.
Live near a federal reserve bank and you will get your fresh quarters.
I live just down the street from the one in KC… nothing but state quarters now, with an occasional atb ( I got a chaco one the other day) and an occasional pre 99.
I also like to spend $2 bills for the reaction and education.
hi my name is bill
and i collect coins
but maybe not the way you do
cheers
Live near a federal reserve bank also bill. Never been in their. Pretty well armed I hear. Filled my state quarter book from change up to 2008. Have 3 2009 so far. I collect coins also. Started when I was kid. Have a good weekend.
I was really hoping we could get one mint to produce an ATB quarter with a mintage of less than 20 million. I guess this will not be happening now. Perhaps the glut of State quarters is finally passing and the ATB mintages will rise? I figured one truly low mintage would spur interest in the series and an amount below twenty million felt about right to be the “magic number”. Under ten million, definitely…but that would probably require another recession like the one we’re supposedly out of. I’m liking the low ATB quarter mintages: it’s keeping me searching my… Read more »
I’ve been saving the pre ’99 quarters when I encounter them – I like the eagle reverse. And when all the special quarters are done who knows what they’ll put on the reverse. They changed the nickle and the penny permanently once they started messing with them so I’m thinking the quarter will get a permanent new obverse and/or reverse in 2022 (unless they come up with something else to do like state birds or state flowers or whatever).
Other than the premium priced proof/mint pennies, why in the world in the US Mint producing pennies on a regular basis, they are of no use, at least in the numbers made every year. As proof, I would bet that evrybody reading these posts has perhaps 1000 pennies at their disposal. An obvious savings for the mint and the US. Not meant in any way to be a political question, just a coin question.
This year alone to date, $41.6 million in pennies, what a joke. Each and everyone at a loss.
Cost 1.7 cents to make 1 penny. That was the last I heard.
Talk to your congress people and senators – it is a political issue. Get them to authorize the mint to stop minting pennies and it will. Not a decision the mint can make on it’s own and as often as the mint has reported it is losing money on the penny congress continues to require it make them. Canada has just quit making pennies and nobody there seems to be making a big stink about it. In cash transactions they round up or down to the nearest 5 cents and in all other transactions (e.g. credit card) they keep the… Read more »
Absolutely correct, it is a total waste of money. On another note, it is early September and I have not seen (other than collector sets I own) in circulation a single Kennedy half and for that matter a single $1 coin of any type, and I honestly mean, not a SINGLE dollar coin. They must stop making paper $1 bills, the sooner the better. The last time I did a rough count of previous production totals, the $value of native american and presidential dollars sitting in Fed Bank Reserves was absolutley staggering, must be close to a billion dollars, if… Read more »
According to the BEP, $1 bills account for over 40% of all notes in circulation and last maybe 3.5 years before wearing out. There’s no practical way to recycle old bills so they have to be shredded, then burned or buried. What a stinking waste, but nobody in the government has the (anatomical parts) to stand up to the nay-sayers and do what every other country already did years ago. If people are so wedded to bills, maybe the Treasury could do a full, modern makeover of the $2 bill – real colors and a contemporary design instead of just… Read more »
Since 2002 Kennedy halves have only been made to order for collectors who order them. In other words you’ll never see a Kennedy half in circulation again. As for the billion $1 coins, that may be the value but it’s not the cost to manufacture. I don’t know but it may only cost pennies to mint a $1 coin.
Agreed, they cost a few pennies to make, but once released from the mint, they positively count on the books as an Gov’t asset worth $1, so I would argue that perhaps $1 billion dollars is held in various repositories around the country and will never ever ever be utilized. I know the 2002 onwards Kennedy’s are for collector markets only, and make a wonderful profit being sold, but I have to imagine several billion dollars of Kennedy’s are in bank vaults, which will never ever be utilized. I believe that the vaults must contain every single Kennedy half from… Read more »
On a lighter note, the gov’t could give each American $3 in coins and be done with it, haha.
Received one from a banker who said it was hard to get a hold of. Apparently Loomis has been holding on to them… ? But it is beautiful.