U.S. coin production increased for a second straight month in June with United States Mint facilities in Philadelphia and Denver pressing over 1.5 billion coins for circulation, the most since October.
With this year’s string of strong production months, the U.S. Mint is on track to make the second most coins since 2001, having already made more than 8.3 coins through the first half of the year.
Overall, coining presses in June struck 1,582,060,000 in cents, nickels, dimes, quarters and dollars for an increase of 2.1% from May but a 5.5% reduction from the same month a year earlier.
The following table shows circulating coin totals by month and their rankings over the past year.
2015 – 2016 June Coin Production Figures
| Month | Mintages | Rank |
| June 2016 | 1,582.06 M | 4 |
| May 2016 | 1,550.12 M | 5 |
| April 2016 | 1,339.06 M | 9 |
| March 2016 | 1,446.14 M | 8 |
| February 2016 | 930.26 M | 12 |
| January 2016 | 1,515.84 M | 6 |
| December 2015 | 707.79 M | 13 |
| November 2015 | 1,245.73 M | 10 |
| October 2015 | 1,757.64 M | 1 |
| September 2015 | 1,476.37 M | 7 |
| August 2015 | 1,142.46 M | 11 |
| July 2015 | 1,665.76 M | 3 |
| June 2015 | 1,673.95 M | 2 |
According to the U.S. Mint’s most recent annual report, it costs 1.43 cents to produce and distribute each Lincoln cent. Despite that, the Federal Reserve always orders more of them than any other denomination. The U.S. Mint in June made 881.6 million in cents, which is 55.7% of the circulating-quality coins produced for the month.
In the latest month-over month comparisons for coins used daily by Americans, June saw:
- 5.4% more Lincoln cents,
- 25.5% fewer Jefferson nickels,
- 12% fewer Roosevelt dimes, and
- 26.6% more America the Beautiful Quarters.
As for other denominations, Presidential $1 Coins, Native American $1 Coins and Kennedy half-dollars are no longer ordered by the Federal Reserve for distribution to banks but the U.S. Mint continues to make them in circulating quality for coin collectors.
More Ronald Reagan $1 Coins
In January, the U.S. Mint struck Native American $1 Coins to the expected amounts needed for all of 2016. That is usually how it works for Kennedy half-dollars but in February another 400,000 were pressed at the Philadelphia Mint and then in March another 400,000 were made at the Denver Mint.
No dollar coin increases were logged in May but in June the U.S. Mint in Denver reported an increase of 980,000 in Ronald Reagan Presidential $1 Coins. The Mint started selling Reagan dollars in rolls, bags and boxes on July 1.
Here’s a summary of all circulating-quality coins produced last month:
US Mint Circulating Coin Production in June 2016
| Denomination | Denver | Philadelphia | Total |
| Lincoln Cents | 418,800,000 | 462,800,000 | 881,600,000 |
| Jefferson Nickels | 66,480,000 | 63,600,000 | 130,080,000 |
| Roosevelt Dimes | 122,000,000 | 134,000,000 | 256,000,000 |
| 2016 ATB Quarters | 158,800,000 | 154,600,000 | 313,400,000 |
| Kennedy Half Dollars | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Native American $1s | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Presidential Dollars | 980,000 | 0 | 980,000 |
| Total | 767,060,000 | 815,000,000 | 1,582,060,000 |
Facilities in Denver and Philadelphia manufacture all U.S. coinage for commerce. In June, the Denver Mint produced 767.06 million coins and the Philadelphia Mint produced 815 million coins.
Coin Production in First Half of 2016
In totals through the first six months of this year, the Denver Mint struck 4,075,960,000 coins and the Philadelphia Mint pressed 4,287,520,000 coins for a combined 8,363,480,000 coins. The combined total marks a 7.6% decline from the 9,050,950,000 coins minted through the first half of 2015.
This next table lists 2016 coin production totals by denomination and by U.S. Mint facility:
YTD 2016 Circulating Coin Production by Denomination
| 1 ¢ | 5 ¢ | 10 ¢ | 25 ¢ | 50 ¢ | N.A. $1 | Pres $1 | Total: | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Denver | 2357.6M | 406.32M | 698M | 595M | 2.1M | 2.1M | 14.84M | 4075.96M |
| Philadelphia | 2496M | 407.28M | 754M | 608.4M | 2.1M | 2.8M | 16.94M | 4287.52M |
| Total | 4853.6M | 813.6M | 1452M | 1203.4M | 4.2M | 4.9M | 31.78M | 8363.48M |
This year’s monthly average of about 1.39 billion coins tracks over 12 months to roughly 16.7 billion coins. The U.S. Mint in 2015 made more than 17 billion circulating coins, marking a sixth straight year of growth and the quickest production pace since the 2001.
The following table breaks down this year’s mintages by coin design:
2016 Circulating Coin Production by Design
| Denver | Philadelphia | Total | |
| Lincoln Cents | 2,357,600,000 | 2,496,000,000 | 4,853,600,000 |
| Jefferson Nickels | 406,320,000 | 407,280,000 | 813,600,000 |
| Roosevelt Dimes | 698,000,000 | 754,000,000 | 1,452,000,000 |
| Shawnee National Forest Quarter | 151,800,000 | 155,600,000 | 307,400,000 |
| Cumberland Gap National Historical Park Quarter | 223,200,000 | 215,400,000 | 438,600,000 |
| Harpers Ferry National Historical Park Quarter | – | – | – |
| Theodore Roosevelt National Park Quarter | – | – | – |
| Fort Moultrie Quarter | – | – | – |
| Kennedy Half Dollars | 2,100,000 | 2,100,000 | 4,200,000 |
| Native American $1 | 2,100,000 | 2,800,000 | 4,900,000 |
| Richard M. Nixon $1 | 4,340,000 | 5,460,000 | 9,800,000 |
| Gerald R. Ford $1 | 5,040,000 | 5,460,000 | 10,500,000 |
| Ronald Reagan $1 | 5,460,000 | 6,020,000 | 11,480,000 |
| Total | 3,855,960,000 | 4,050,120,000 | 7,906,080,000 |
There are currently 457.4 million quarters that haven’t been officially assigned to a design. They’re likely Harpers Ferry quarters for West Virginia. The U.S. Mint released rolls and bags of them on June 6. Their finalized mintages should be available by August.
Coin production figures in this coin news article are based on data aggregated from the Mint’s webpage at: http://www.usmint.gov/about_the_mint/?action=ProductionFigures.
