More banknotes were printed in April than a month earlier and a year ago, data from the agency responsible for producing U.S. currency shows. The combined value of the notes also climbed from both periods.
595.3 million in $1s, $5s, $10s, $20s and $100s was printed in April for a combined value of more than $15.5 billion — the most since October 2014, according to Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) monthly production figures published on Friday, May 22. Those totals compare to prior-month tallies of 529.92 million notes worth just over $8.87 billion.
In month-over-month percentage comparisons, April saw 12.3% more notes and their combined value jumped 75.4%. In other monthly differences, there was:
- 6.5% fewer $1s;
- 11.1% more $5s;
- 3.7% more $20s; and
- 150.3% more $100s
The number of $10s matched between the two months. The BEP has not printed $50s for four straight months and presses for $2s have been silent for three. In January, $2s were produced for the first time since June 2014.
Compared to a year ago, the number of notes grew 6.3% from 560 million and their combined value surged 46% from $10,656,000,000. The BEP will continue to pick up their production pace this year. For 2015, the Federal Reserve ordered 7.2 billion notes valued at over $188.7 billion.
Below are images of the BEP’s latest monthly production report. They show the type of banknotes manufactured in April at each of the agency’s printing facility:
April 2015 BEP Banknote Production
Facility at Washington, DC
Facility at Fort Worth, TX
In April, the BEP produced a combined 6.528 million in $100 and $1 star notes. These are indicated by the "*" designator in the money production chart directly above. Star notes are replacements for misprinted notes or certain serial numbers, like 000 000 000. Money collectors find them more desirable since they are rarer and more difficult to find.
The following table lists the type, the amount and the total value of banknotes printed by the BEP for the month:
Banknotes by Denomination: Total Printed and Values
April 2015
| Banknotes | Total Printed | Total Value ($) |
| $1.00 | 185,600,000 | 185,600,000 |
| $2.00 | – | – |
| $5.00 | 64,000,000 | 320,000,000 |
| $10.00 | 57,600,000 | 576,000,000 |
| $20.00 | 179,200,000 | 3,584,000,000 |
| $50.00 | – | – |
| $100.00 | 108,928,000 | 10,892,800,000 |
| Totals | 595,328,000 | 15,558,400,000 |
As a perspective, the BEP in FY 2014 printed about 24.8 million banknotes a day with a face value of about $560 million. That pace accounts for about 8.9 tons of ink each day. The agency delivered approximately 6.2 billion notes at an average cost of 10 cents per banknote. The BEP notes that more than 90% of paper notes printed each year are used to replace those already in, or taken out of circulation.
For comparison, four previous monthly money production tables follow.
March 2015
| Banknotes | Total Printed | Total Value ($) |
| $1.00 | 198,400,000 | 198,400,000 |
| $2.00 | – | – |
| $5.00 | 57,600,000 | 288,000,000 |
| $10.00 | 57,600,000 | 576,000,000 |
| $20.00 | 172,800,000 | 3,456,000,000 |
| $50.00 | – | – |
| $100.00 | 43,520,000 | 4,352,000,000 |
| Totals | 529,920,000 | 8,870,400,000 |
February 2015
| Banknotes | Total Printed | Total Value ($) |
| $1.00 | 198,400,000 | 198,400,000 |
| $2.00 | – | – |
| $5.00 | 51,200,000 | 256,000,000 |
| $10.00 | 44,800,000 | 448,000,000 |
| $20.00 | 172,800,000 | 3,456,000,000 |
| $50.00 | – | – |
| $100.00 | 39,680,000 | 3,968,000,000 |
| Totals | 506,880,000 | 8,326,400,000 |
January 2015
| Banknotes | Total Printed | Total Value ($) |
| $1.00 | 166,480,000 | 166,480,000 |
| $2.00 | 25,600,000 | 51,200,000 |
| $5.00 | 51,200,000 | 256,000,000 |
| $10.00 | 39,040,000 | 390,400,000 |
| $20.00 | 140,800,000 | 2,816,000,000 |
| $50.00 | – | – |
| $100.00 | 25,984,000 | 2,598,400,000 |
| Totals | 449,104,000 | 6,278,480,000 |
December 2014
| Banknotes | Total Printed | Total Value ($) |
| $1.00 | 172,800,000 | 172,800,000 |
| $2.00 | – | – |
| $5.00 | 51,200,000 | 256,000,000 |
| $10.00 | 35,200,000 | 352,000,000 |
| $20.00 | 128,000,000 | 2,560,000,000 |
| $50.00 | 25,600,000 | 1,280,000,000 |
| $100.00 | 29,184,000 | 2,918,400,000 |
| Totals | 441,984,000 | 7,539,200,000 |
