U.S. coin production in October ran the quickest since March and faster than a year earlier, according to manufacturing figures published by the United States Mint.
U.S. Mint figures also provide mintages for New Jersey’s Ellis Island quarter, the fourth of five 2017-dated quarters with unique designs.
Over 1.4 billion in cents, nickels, dimes, quarters and half-dollars were pressed for circulation last month, lifting the year-to-date total to over 12.7 billion coins.
In headline comparisons, October production increased 8.2% from September and advanced 9.7% from October 2016. Here’s how the month stacks up against others in the past year:
2016 – 2017 October Coin Production Figures
| Month | Mintages | Rank |
| October 2017 | 1,423.54 M | 3 |
| September 2017 | 1,316.22 M | 4 |
| August 2017 | 1,167.48 M | 8 |
| July 2017 | 1,254.74 M | 6 |
| June 2017 | 1,252.88 M | 7 |
| May 2017 | 1,156.34 M | 9 |
| April 2017 | 959.54 M | 12 |
| March 2017 | 1,445.8 M | 2 |
| February 2017 | 983.40 M | 10 |
| January 2017 | 1,790.30 M | 1 |
| December 2016 | 696.68 M | 13 |
| November 2016 | 976.04 M | 11 |
| October 2016 | 1,297.36 M | 5 |
The Federal Reserve orders more 1-cent coins from the U.S. Mint than any other denominations even as it costs 1.5 cents to make and distribute each one. The agency struck 856.42 million Lincoln cents in October for 60.2% of the circulating-quality coins produced for the month.
P-Mint Cents
2017-dated circulating cents from the Philadelphia Mint bear a ‘P’ mint mark for the first time in history. This is a one-year-only embellishment, added as a part of the U.S. Mint’s 225th anniversary celebration.
These P-cents are not rare, however, with more than 3.75 billion already made through the first ten months of this year.
Month-Over-Month
In the latest month-over month comparisons for coins used daily by Americans, October production totals saw:
- 9.2% more Lincoln cents,
- 18.6% more Jefferson nickels,
- 8.5% more Roosevelt dimes, and
- 4.3% fewer America the Beautiful Quarters.
Native American $1 Coins and Kennedy half-dollars are no longer ordered by Federal Reserve Banks but they are still made in circulating quality for coin collectors. In January, the U.S. Mint tends to strike both coins to the expected amounts needed for the entire year. The agency in April did produce 140,000 more 2017-P Native American dollars. In October, it also struck 1.1 million more 2017-D Kennedy half-dollars.
Production facilities in Denver and Philadelphia manufacture all of America’s coins for commerce. Last month, the Denver Mint made 699.46 million coins and the Philadelphia Mint made 724.08 million coins.
Here’s a summary of all circulating-quality coins produced during the month:
US Mint Circulating Coin Production in October 2017
| Denomination | Denver | Philadelphia | Total |
| Lincoln Cents | 427,600,000 | 428,820,000 | 856,420,000 |
| Jefferson Nickels | 60,960,000 | 76,560,000 | 137,520,000 |
| Roosevelt Dimes | 117,000,000 | 138,500,000 | 255,500,000 |
| ATB Quarters | 92,800,000 | 80,200,000 | 173,000,000 |
| Kennedy Half Dollars | 1,100,000 | 0 | 1,100,000 |
| Native American $1s | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 699,460,000 | 724,080,000 | 1,423,540,000 |
YTD Totals
Year-to-date figures at 6,260,600,000 coins from Denver and 6,489,640,000 coins from Philadelphia total 12,750,240,000 coins, representing an 11.1% decline from the 14,344,690,000 coins minted by the same time last year.
This next table lists 2017 coin production totals by denomination and by U.S. Mint facility:
YTD 2017 Circulating Coin Production by Denomination
| 1 ¢ | 5 ¢ | 10 ¢ | 25 ¢ | 50 ¢ | N.A. $1 | Total: | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Denver | 3701.6M | 567.36M | 1135M | 852.2M | 2.9M | 1.54M | 6260.6M |
| Philadelphia | 3758.82M | 602.4M | 1230M | 894.8M | 1.8M | 1.82M | 6489.64M |
| Total | 7460.42M | 1169.76M | 2365M | 1747M | 4.7M | 3.36M | 12750.24M |
This year’s monthly average of more than 1.27 billion coins tracks over 12 months to about 15.3 billion coins. The U.S. Mint produced over 16 billion coins in 2016 after making more than 17 billion coins in 2015, the most since 2001.
Ellis Island Quarter Mintages
The U.S. Mint has now released all six 2017-dated coins bearing one-year-only designs. They include the:
- 2017 Native American $1 Coin, released on Jan. 25.
- 2017 Effigy Mounds Quarter for Iowa, released on Feb. 6.
- 2017 Frederick Douglass Quarter for D.C., released on April 3.
- 2017 Ozark Riverways Quarter for Missouri, released on June 5.
- 2017 Ellis Island Quarter for New Jersey, released on Aug. 28.
- 2017 George Rogers Clark Quarter for Indiana, released on Nov. 13
Mintages for the Native American dollar at 1.54 million from Denver and 1.82 million from Philadelphia combine to 3.36 million coins. Last year’s design ended with splits of 2.1 million from Denver and 2.8 million from Philadelphia for 4.90 million coins.
Mintages of New Jersey’s Ellis Island National Monument quarters were reported for the first time, registering at 254 million from Denver and 234 million from Philadelphia for a combined 488 million. These amounts are nowhere near mintage lows for the quarter series. They’re actually the highest of any design this year.
Production figures include 3.4 million quarters that have yet to be officially assigned to a coin design. These are likely early runs of George Rogers Clark National Historical Park quarters.
The following table offers a breakdown of this year’s mintages by coin design:
2017 Circulating Coin Production by Design
| Denver | Philadelphia | Total | |
| Lincoln Cents | 3,701,600,000 | 3,758,820,000 | 7,460,420,000 |
| Jefferson Nickels | 567,360,000 | 602,400,000 | 1,169,760,000 |
| Roosevelt Dimes | 1,135,000,000 | 1,230,000,000 | 2,365,000,000 |
| Effigy Mounds National Monument Quarter | 210,800,000 | 271,200,000 | 482,000,000 |
| Frederick Douglass National Historic Site Quarter | 185,800,000 | 184,800,000 | 370,600,000 |
| Ozark National Scenic Riverways Quarter | 200,000,000 | 203,000,000 | 403,000,000 |
| Ellis Island National Monument Quarter | 254,000,000 | 234,000,000 | 488,000,000 |
| George Rogers Clark National Historical Park Quarter | 0 | ||
| Kennedy Half-Dollars | 2,900,000 | 1,800,000 | 4,700,000 |
| Native American $1 Coins | 1,540,000 | 1,820,000 | 3,360,000 |
| Total | 6,259,000,000 | 6,487,840,000 | 12,746,840,000 |
Coin production figures in this coin news article are based on data aggregated from the Mint’s webpage at: https://www.usmint.gov/circulating-coins-production.
1.1/2 U.S* cent’s it cost$ us to mint 1 U.S* cent. Our U.S* minted 856.42 million cents for the month of October 2017, so it cost us* more than 423.21 million 1/2 cents for October. It must be in or close to a trillion dollars by now, that cost$ us* ah 1/2 cent to mint just 1 U.S* mint cent all these past years. Do our* Fed*s know something we*don’t. Save your penny*s.
I haven’t received a dollar coin in change in the past 5 years…ever…not once….please stop producing the paper version. Does anyone have any dollar value for the non collector versions of the coin sitting on bank shelves, I’ll guess it’s a very very large number.
I know the mint has to legally produce the penny, but it has to stop, waste a waste of money.
Stewart – hi, just my* guess one of the reasons for all the circulating dollar coins starting with the $1.00 IKE*, SUSAN B*, PRESIDENT* & *NATIVE AMERICAN* golden dollars sitting on bank shelves all across the USA*, that if or when the U.S* “NON” precious metal money such as the $1. $5. $10. $20. & so on & so forth, that all the greenbacks$$$$$$$$ our* 12 *Federal Reserve banks keep pumping out each year, could or when, if they keep printing that stuff$$$$$$$$$$$$. will be “obsolete”, just like all the Southern* notes printed during the *American Civil War *, if… Read more »
Can anyone explain why they would mint 1.1M more D mint Half Dollars? Considering they sell an equal amount of both P and D mint by design of their offerings it doesn’t make sense to me.
datadave – hi, ? how does our *mint sell ”’equal”’ amounts of 1/2 dollars if our mint* minted 1.1,million more *Denver mint 1/2 dollars. I* don’t know why they would mint 1.1,million more “”D”” mint half,s like your ? ask, i know you don’t want a ”guess”, but 1 of my guess*s is the * Philly mint pumps out more coins than *Denver as a whole of all the coins minted in the *U.S. so it might be cheaper for *Denver to mint 1.1,million 1/2 dollars, *Philly might have a bigger work load is 1 of my guess,s, but i… Read more »
@Joe Brown – The only way you can get the 2017 half dollars is to buy either a set of rolls (one from each mint) or a 200 half dollar bag (100 from each mint).
datadave & Joe Brown – Since the JFK half dollar hasn’t been put into circulation since 2001, it amazes me how many the Mint sells in circulating quality each year! I realize he was one of our most popular presidents, & is practically a God in Germany among Catholics (I lived there for 3 years & most homes have 2 photos on their walls – the Pope & JFK!) Most of them are put in the annual Mint set, but those are struck on separate coin presses at a little higher pressure. Where do the millions of JFK coins in… Read more »
datadave & Seth Ries – I just drop’ed my subscription plan this year with the U.S.* mint for the Kennedy* half dollar P & D rolls, i have a large shoe box of them still in their white rectang box they came in some place, ill come across them one of these days. Seth prorbully in the mountain with the rest of their coins, of corse!lol
datadave – Dawn on marble head, my* apology, for what you asked in your ? above. My mind takes me else where once in awhile. The 1.1 million more *Denver mint half dollars minted this year than the *Philly mint. My “”Blue Book”’ says, dates after 2001 have not been released into general circulation, ””which we know”” instead being made available in 20 coin rolls, 200 – coin bags, so that’s a roll of 20 P & a roll of 20 D, or for the bags 100 P & 100 D, “””” which we know,””” then the blue book says… Read more »