More money was printed by the U.S. government in May than a month earlier and the combined value of the notes was sharply higher, data from the agency responsible for producing U.S. currency shows.
617.9 million in $1s, $5s, $20s $50s and $100s were made last month for a total value of just over $12.8 billion, according to the latest round of monthly production figures published by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP). By comparison, April saw 560 million notes worth almost $10.7 billion. In percentages, May saw 10.3% more notes versus the prior month and their combined value was 20.3% higher.
In other month-over-month comparisons, 8.6% fewer $1s were made and there were 12.5% less $100s. Other denominations increased by:
- 38.1% for $5s;
- 7.2% for $20s; and
- 375.0% for $50s
$50s appeared for a second straight month after having not been printed since October.
Here are images of the BEP reports showing the type of banknotes manufactured during the month:
May 2014 BEP Banknote Production
Facility at Washington, DC
Facility at Fort Worth, TX
In May, the BEP printed 320,000 $5 star notes. These are indicated by the "*" designator in the production chart above. Star notes are replacements for misprinted notes or certain serial numbers, like 000 000 000. Money collectors find them desirable since they are more difficult to find.
The following table lists the type, the amount and the total value of banknotes printed by the BEP for the month:
Banknotes by Denomination: Total Printed and Values
May 2014
| Banknotes | Total Printed | Total Value ($) |
| $1.00 | 204,800,000 | 204,800,000 |
| $2.00 | 0 | 0 |
| $5.00 | 70,720,000 | 353,600,000 |
| $10.00 | 0 | 0 |
| $20.00 | 236,800,000 | 4,736,000,000 |
| $50.00 | 60,800,000 | 3,040,000,000 |
| $100.00 | 44,800,000 | 4,480,000,000 |
| Totals | 617,920,000 | 12,814,400,000 |
As a perspective, the BEP in Fiscal Year 2013 manufactured about 26 million banknotes a day with a face value of about $1.3 billion. Approximately 6.6 billion notes went out for the year at an average cost of 10 cents per banknote. The BEP also reported that more than 90% of the paper notes printed each year are to replace those already in, or taken out of circulation.
For comparison, four previous monthly money production tables follow.
April 2014
| Banknotes | Total Printed | Total Value ($) |
| $1.00 | 224,000,000 | 224,000,000 |
| $2.00 | 0 | 0 |
| $5.00 | 51,200,000 | 256,000,000 |
| $10.00 | 0 | 0 |
| $20.00 | 220,800,000 | 4,416,000,000 |
| $50.00 | 12,800,000 | 640,000,000 |
| $100.00 | 51,200,000 | 5,120,000,000 |
| Totals | 560,000,000 | 10,656,000,000 |
March 2014
| Banknotes | Total Printed | Total Value ($) |
| $1.00 | 249,600,000 | 249,600,000 |
| $2.00 | 0 | 0 |
| $5.00 | 28,800,000 | 144,000,000 |
| $10.00 | 0 | 0 |
| $20.00 | 179,840,000 | 3,596,800,000 |
| $50.00 | 0 | 0 |
| $100.00 | 51,200,000 | 5,120,000,000 |
| Totals | 509,440,000 | 9,110,400,000 |
February 2014
| Banknotes | Total Printed | Total Value ($) |
| $1.00 | 122,240,000 | 122,240,000 |
| $2.00 | 0 | 0 |
| $5.00 | 25,920,000 | 129,600,000 |
| $10.00 | 83,200,000 | 832,000,000 |
| $20.00 | 108,800,000 | 2,176,000,000 |
| $50.00 | 0 | 0 |
| $100.00 | 60,800,000 | 6,080,000,000 |
| Totals | 400,960,000 | 9,339,840,000 |
January 2014
| Banknotes | Total Printed | Total Value ($) |
| $1.00 | 179,200,000 | 179,200,000 |
| $2.00 | 0 | 0 |
| $5.00 | 0 | 0 |
| $10.00 | 70,400,000 | 704,000,000 |
| $20.00 | 172,800,000 | 3,456,000,000 |
| $50.00 | 0 | 0 |
| $100.00 | 83,200,000 | 8,320,000,000 |
| Totals | 505,600,000 | 12,659,200,000 |
