U.S. money production in December jogged at the slowest pace since January 2015 but moved quicker than a year earlier, data from the agency responsible for printing currency shows.
462 million in $1s, $2s, $5s, $20s, $50s and $100s were produced last month, accounting for a combined value of more than $11.8 billion, according to Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) production figures published on Wednesday, Jan. 20. These figures compare to November totals of over 528.1 million notes worth more than $12.4 billion.
In percentage comparisons from November to December, there were 12.5% fewer banknotes and they had a 4.5% lower total value. In other monthly differences, there were:
- 8% fewer $1s;
- Nearly 60 times more $2s;
- 26.3% fewer $5s;
- 16.1% fewer $20s; and
- 12.5% fewer $100s.
The lack of $10s in December was a first for a month since May 2014, $2s were produced for a fourth straight month after a seven-month dry spell, and $50s were made for the first time in three months.
Compared to the same month in 2014, the number of notes climbed 4.5% from 441,984,000 and their combined value surged 57.5% from $7,539,200,000.
Below are images of the BEP’s latest monthly production report. They show the type of banknotes manufactured in November at the agency’s two printing facilities.
December 2015 BEP Banknote Production
Facility at Washington, DC
Facility at Fort Worth, TX
The BEP printed 1.2 million in $2 star note. Star notes are replacements for misprinted or damaged notes and for certain serial numbers like 000 000 000. Star notes have serial numbers that end with a star "*" designation, and are also so indicated by quantities in the images above. Money collectors usually find star notes more desirable since they can be harder to find.
The following table lists the type, the amount and the total value of banknotes printed by the BEP for the month:
Banknotes by Denomination: Total Printed and Values
December 2015
| Banknotes | Total Printed | Total Value ($) |
| $1.00 | 147,200,000 | 147,200,000 |
| $2.00 | 7,600,000 | 15,200,000 |
| $5.00 | 44,800,000 | 224,000,000 |
| $10.00 | – | – |
| $20.00 | 166,400,000 | 3,328,000,000 |
| $50.00 | 28,800,000 | 1,440,000,000 |
| $100.00 | 67,200,000 | 6,720,000,000 |
| Totals | 462,000,000 | 11,874,400,000 |
For comparison, four previous monthly money production tables follow.
November 2015
| Banknotes | Total Printed | Total Value ($) |
| $1.00 | 160,000,000 | 160,000,000 |
| $2.00 | 128,000 | 256,000 |
| $5.00 | 60,800,000 | 304,000,000 |
| $10.00 | 32,000,000 | 320,000,000 |
| $20.00 | 198,400,000 | 3,968,000,000 |
| $50.00 | – | – |
| $100.00 | 76,800,000 | 7,680,000,000 |
| Totals | 528,128,000 | 12,432,256,000 |
October 2015
| Banknotes | Total Printed | Total Value ($) |
| $1.00 | 195,200,000 | 195,200,000 |
| $2.00 | 19,200,000 | 38,400,000 |
| $5.00 | 70,720,000 | 353,600,000 |
| $10.00 | 96,000,000 | 960,000,000 |
| $20.00 | 195,520,000 | 3,910,400,000 |
| $50.00 | – | – |
| $100.00 | 208,000,000 | 20,800,000,000 |
| Totals | 784,640,000 | 26,257,600,000 |
September 2015
| Banknotes | Total Printed | Total Value ($) |
| $1.00 | 326,400,000 | 326,400,000 |
| $2.00 | 6,400,000 | 12,800,000 |
| $5.00 | 51,200,000 | 256,000,000 |
| $10.00 | 44,800,000 | 448,000,000 |
| $20.00 | 64,000,000 | 1,280,000,000 |
| $50.00 | 41,600,000 | 2,080,000,000 |
| $100.00 | 144,000,000 | 14,400,000,000 |
| Totals | 678,400,000 | 18,803,200,000 |
August 2015
| Banknotes | Total Printed | Total Value ($) |
| $1.00 | 294,400,000 | 294,400,000 |
| $2.00 | – | – |
| $5.00 | 57,600,000 | 288,000,000 |
| $10.00 | 44,800,000 | 448,000,000 |
| $20.00 | 64,000,000 | 1,280,000,000 |
| $50.00 | – | – |
| $100.00 | 170,240,000 | 17,024,000,000 |
| Totals | 631,040,000 | 19,334,400,000 |
As a perspective, the BEP in FY 2014 produced about 24.8 million banknotes a day that combined to a face value of approximately $560 million. That pace accounts for about 8.9 tons of ink each day. Also, the agency delivered approximately 6.2 billion notes at an average cost of 10 cents per banknote. The BEP indicates that more than 90% of paper notes printed each year are for replacing those already in, or taken out of circulation.
The BEP operates on a fiscal year that begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. For FY 2016, the Fed has ordered 7.6 billion banknotes.
According to the latest data from the Federal Reserve, there was approximately $1.39 trillion in circulation as of Sept. 30, 2015, of which $1.34 trillion was in Federal Reserve notes.
