United States Mint facilities in Philadelphia and Denver struck more coins in September than the previous month but fewer than a year earlier, circulating coin production figures published Thursday by the agency reveal.
Figures show a September output of 1,004,240,000 in pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters for a 10% pick up from the previous month and a dip of 8.7% from a year ago. Here’s how the month ranks against others over the past year:
2013 – 2014 September Coin Production Figures
| Month | Mintages | Rank |
| September 2014 | 1,004.24 M | 9 |
| August 2014 | 913.38 M | 12 |
| 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 | 11 |
| January 2014 | 1,449.38 M | 1 |
| December 2013 | 285.96 M | 13 |
| November 2013 | 991.14 M | 10 |
| October 2013 | 1,220.38 M | 5 |
| September 2013 | 1,099.34 M | 6 |
As an always provided sidebar in our monthly coin production articles, we like to remind that the United States Mint does not decide how many coins to make for circulation. It’s the Federal Reserve that orders them based on usage trends and 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 563.2 million pennies in September which is 56.1% of the circulating coins produced for the month.
In coins needed daily for commerce and in month-over-month comparisons, September saw:
- 1.7% more Lincoln cents,
- 12.3% more Jefferson nickels,
- 33.8% more Roosevelt dimes, and
- 16.2% more America the Beautiful Quarters
Presidential $1 Coins, Native American $1 Coins, and Kennedy half-dollars are no longer ordered by Federal Reserve Banks and placed into circulation but the U.S. Mint still strikes them for coin collectors. In January, the agency produced 2014 Native American $1 Coins and 2014 Kennedy half-dollars to the expected amounts needed for this year. Presidential $1 Coins were last struck in May with enough, likely, to support demand for all four 2014 designs.
Facilities in Philadelphia and Denver make all U.S. circulating coinage for commerce. In September, the Denver Mint manufactured 357.28 million coins and the Philadelphia Mint manufactured 646.96 million coins. Here’s a breakdown of the circulating-quality coins made last month:
US Mint Circulating Coin Production in September 2014
| Denomination | Denver | Philadelphia | Total |
| Lincoln Cents | 204,800,000 | 358,400,000 | 563,200,000 |
| Jefferson Nickels | 34,080,000 | 62,160,000 | 96,240,000 |
| Roosevelt Dimes | 62,000,000 | 138,000,000 | 200,000,000 |
| 2013 ATB Quarters | 56,400,000 | 88,400,000 | 144,800,000 |
| Kennedy Half Dollars | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Native American $1s | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Presidential Dollars | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 357,280,000 | 646,960,000 | 1,004,240,000 |
For the January through September period, the Denver Mint struck 5,281,920,000 coins and the Philadelphia Mint struck 4,995,440,000 coins. The two facilities have churned out a total of 10,277,360,000 coins for a 9.2% increase over the 9,409,460,000 coins minted through the first nine months of 2013.
This next table lists 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 | 3147.2M | 468.96M | 866M | 776.8M | 2.1M | 5.6M | 15.26M | 5281.92M |
| Philadelphia | 2996.8M | 486.48M | 838.5M | 648.2M | 2.5M | 3.08M | 19.88M | 4995.44M |
| Total | 6144M | 955.44M | 1704.5M | 1425M | 4.6M | 8.68M | 35.14M | 10277.36M |
The current 2014 monthly average of more than 1.1 billion coins is poised to place this year’s annual coin production total above 13.7 billion coins — the most since 14.4 billion were minted in 2007. Just over 11.9 billion coins were made in 2013.
The following table offers a breakdown of 2014 mintages by coin designs:
2014 Circulating Coin Production / Mintages by Coin Design
| Denver | Philadelphia | 2014 Total | |
| Lincoln Cents | 3,147,200,000 | 2,996,800,000 | 6,144,000,000 |
| Jefferson Nickels | 468,960,000 | 486,480,000 | 955,440,000 |
| Roosevelt Dimes | 866,000,000 | 838,500,000 | 1,704,500,000 |
| 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 | 5,225,520,000 | 4,907,040,000 | 10,132,560,000 |
There is one difference when comparing totals by coin design from the overall production figures by denomination. Mintages of America the Beautiful Quarters are higher by 144.8 million, marking the production start of Florida’s Everglades National Park Quarters. The quarters enter circulation beginning on Nov. 3, 2014. They are the last of the 25-cent pieces for this year and the 25th overall in the series.
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.
