U.S. circulating coin production picked up in September after easing somewhat in August, according to the latest round of United States Mint figures.
More than 1.57 billion in pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters came from the agency’s coining presses last month, marking advances of 20.8% from the previous month and 6.6% from September 2015.
Here’s how the month stacks up against others in the past year:
September 2015 to September 2016 Coin Production Figures
| Month | Mintages | Rank |
| September 2016 | 1,573.70 M | 4 |
| August 2016 | 1,302.95 M | 10 |
| July 2016 | 1,807.20 M | 1 |
| June 2016 | 1,582.06 M | 3 |
| 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 | 11 |
| October 2015 | 1,757.64 M | 2 |
| September 2015 | 1,476.37 M | 7 |
The Federal Reserve always orders more Lincoln cents from the U.S. Mint than any other denomination — even though it costs about 1.4 cents to make and distribute each one. The Mint struck a combined 891.6 million cents in September, representing 56.7% of the circulating-quality coins produced for the month.
In the latest month-over month comparisons for coins used daily by Americans, September saw:
- 31.4% more Lincoln cents,
- 20.6% more Jefferson nickels,
- 11.9% more Roosevelt dimes, and
- 1.1% fewer America the Beautiful Quarters.
Presidential $1 Coins, Native American $1 Coins and Kennedy half-dollars are no longer ordered by the Federal Reserve Banks for distribution but the U.S. Mint continues to make them in circulating quality for coin collectors.
In January, the U.S. Mint produced 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. In August, the Philadelphia Mint reported an increase of 1.12 million in Reagan dollars.
Here’s a summary of all circulating-quality coins produced last month:
US Mint Circulating Coin Production in September 2016
| Denomination | Denver | Philadelphia | Total |
| Lincoln Cents | 462,800,000 | 428,800,000 | 891,600,000 |
| Jefferson Nickels | 77,280,000 | 77,520,000 | 154,800,000 |
| Roosevelt Dimes | 168,500,000 | 155,000,000 | 323,500,000 |
| 2016 ATB Quarters | 105,000,000 | 98,800,000 | 203,800,000 |
| Kennedy Half Dollars | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Native American $1s | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Presidential Dollars | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 813,580,000 | 760,120,000 | 1,573,700,000 |
Facilities in Denver and Philadelphia manufacture all U.S. coins for commerce. Last month, the two plants made 813.58 million and 760.12 million coins, respectively.
In the longer haul from January to September, the Denver Mint pressed 6,329,140,000 coins and the Philadelphia Mint struck 6,718,190,000 coins for a combined 13,047,340,000. That is 2.2% fewer than the 13,335,540,000 coins minted by this time last year.
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 | 3547.2M | 604.8M | 1190.5M | 967.60M | 2.1M | 2.1M | 14.84M | 6329.14M |
| Philadelphia | 3804.4M | 632.4M | 1272.0M | 986.43M | 2.1M | 2.8M | 18.06M | 6718.19M |
| Total | 7351.6M | 1237.2M | 2462.5M | 1954.03M | 4.2M | 4.9M | 32.9M | 13047.33M |
This year’s monthly average of roughly 1.45 billion coins tracks over 12 months to about 17.4 billion coins. As a resent comparison, the U.S. Mint in 2015 made just over 17 billion coins for a sixth straight year of growth and the fastest production pace since the 2001.
Theodore Roosevelt and Fort Moultrie Quarters
The U.S. Mint is now publishing early/partial production figures for quarters by design. In the past, the agency reported totals for quarters only after they had finished making them. Keep that in mind when looking below at the new figures for the Theodore Roosevelt and Fort Moultrie quarters.
2016 Circulating Coin Production by Design
| Denver | Philadelphia | Total | |
| Lincoln Cents | 3,547,200,000 | 3,804,400,000 | 7,351,600,000 |
| Jefferson Nickels | 604,800,000 | 632,400,000 | 1,237,200,000 |
| Roosevelt Dimes | 1,190,500,000 | 1,272,000,000 | 2,462,500,000 |
| 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 | 424,000,000 | 434,630,000 | 858,630,000 |
| Theodore Roosevelt National Park Quarter | 167,000,000 | 176,800,000 | 343,800,000 |
| Fort Moultrie Quarter | 1,600,000 | 4,000,000 | 5,600,000 |
| 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 | 4,760,000* | 5,460,000 | 10,220,000 |
| Gerald R. Ford $1 | 5,040,000 | 5,460,000 | 10,500,000 |
| Ronald Reagan $1 | 5,460,000 | 7,140,000 | 12,600,000 |
| Total | 6,329,560,000 | 6,718,190,000 | 13,047,750,000 |
*Compared to the previous month, the U.S. Mint is showing a 420,000 increase in 2016-D Nixon dollars. However, the Mint did not indicate any dollar increases for September in its main production tables.
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.
