The pace of producing U.S. coins for circulation climbed in July for a second month in a row and the one billion level was hurdled for the sixth time this year, according to the latest round of manufacturing figures from the United States Mint.
U.S. Mint data also revealed mintages for Guam’s War in the Pacific quarter, the third of this year’s five quarters with unique designs.
In the headline figure for the month, the Mint’s coining presses struck more than 1.2 billion coins, marking a 17.7% increase from June but a 14.3% decline from July 2018.
Here’s how the month compares against others in the past year:
July 2018 to July 2019 Circulating Coin Production
| Month | Mintages | Rank |
| July 2019 | 1,202.10 M | 6 |
| June 2019 | 1,021.654 M | 9 |
| May 2019 | 485.24 M | 13 |
| April 2019 | 1,253.76 M | 5 |
| March 2019 | 1,054.90 M | 7 |
| February 2019 | 1,256.10 M | 4 |
| January 2019 | 1,507.30 M | 1 |
| December 2018 | 560.64 M | 12 |
| November 2018 | 1,031.24 M | 8 |
| October 2018 | 1,382.18 M | 3 |
| September 2018 | 976.82 M | 10 |
| August 2018 | 831.56 M | 11 |
| July 2018 | 1,403.16 M | 2 |
The Federal Reserve always orders more 1-cent coins than any other denomination even with the latest data showing it costs the U.S. Mint 2.06 cents to make and distribute each one. The bureau produced 714.8 million Lincoln cents in July, representing 59.5% of the circulating-quality coins produced for the month.
Month-Over-Month
In month-over month comparisons for coins used daily by Americans, production totals in July increased by:
- 19% for Lincoln cents,
- 11.2% for Jefferson nickels,
- 21.9% for Roosevelt dimes, and
- 9.6% for America the Beautiful quarter dollars.
Native American $1 Coins and Kennedy half-dollars are no longer ordered by Federal Reserve Banks but they are still made in circulating finish for coin collectors. In January, the U.S. Mint tends to strike both coins to the expected amounts needed for the entire year.
That said, the bureau’s data for February did show an increase of 140,000 in 2019-D Native American dollars. Reported mintages for the space-themed piece are at 1.54 million for Denver and 1.4 million for Philadelphia for a combined 2.94 million coins — up from last year’s dollar mintages by the added 140,000.
Mintages for the 2019 Kennedy half-dollar remained the same for a sixth straight month, totaling 3.4 million coins with equal splits between the Denver and Philadelphia Mints. Last year’s half-dollar was the most produced since the one from 2001. It saw 6.1 million from Denver and 4.8 million from Philadelphia for a combined 10.9 million coins.
Here’s a summary of all circulating-quality coins produced last month:
US Mint Circulating Coin Production in July 2019
| Denomination | Denver | Philadelphia | Total |
| Lincoln Cents | 353,600,000 | 361,200,000 | 714,800,000 |
| Jefferson Nickels | 55,920,000 | 60,480,000 | 116,400,000 |
| Roosevelt Dimes | 95,500,000 | 147,000,000 | 242,500,000 |
| ATB Quarters | 61,200,000 | 67,200,000 | 128,400,000 |
| Kennedy Half Dollars | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Native American $1s | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 566,220,000 | 635,880,000 | 1,202,100,000 |
U.S. Mint facilities in Denver and Philadelphia manufacture all of America’s coins for commerce. Last month, the Philadelphia Mint produced 635.88 million coins and the Denver Mint produced 566.22 million coins.
YTD Totals
Year-to-date, the Philadelphia Mint struck 4,007,574,000 coins and the Denver Mint struck 3,773,480,000 coins for a combined 7,781,054,400 coins — 6.7% fewer than the 8,342,974,000 coins minted through the first seven months of 2018.
This next table lists 2019 coin production totals by denomination and by U.S. Mint facility:
YTD 2019 Circulating Coin Production by Denomination
| 1 ¢ | 5 ¢ | 10 ¢ | 25 ¢ | 50 ¢ | N.A. $1 | Total: | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Denver | 2232.4M | 346.84M | 673M | 518M | 1.7M | 1.54M | 3773.48M |
| Philadelphia | 2326.8M | 408.974M | 797.5M | 471.2M | 1.7M | 1.4M | 4007.574M |
| Total | 4559.2M | 755.814M | 1470.5M | 989.2M | 3.4M | 2.94M | 7781.0544M |
The 2019 monthly average of about 1.11 billion coins tracks over 12 months to roughly 13.3 billion coins. The U.S. Mint made over 13.1 billion coins for circulation in 2018.
Mintages by Unique Design
Through July, the U.S. Mint released four annually issued coins with one-year-only designs. They include:
- the 2019 Lowell National Historical quarter for Massachusetts, released on Feb. 4;
- the 2019 Native American $1 Coin, released on Feb. 13;
- the 2019 American Memorial Park quarter for Northern Mariana Islands, released on April 1; and
- the 2019 War in Pacific quarter for Guam, released June 3.
As mentioned earlier, the U.S. Mint published War in the Pacific quarter mintages for the first time. They tallied to 114.4 million from Denver and 116.6 million from Philadelphia for a combined 231 million — the smallest total for a 25-cent piece since New Hampshire’s White Mountain National Forest quarter was released in late 2013.
The following table offers a breakdown of this year’s mintages by coin design:
2019 Circulating Coin Production by Design
| Denver | Philadelphia | Total | |
| Lincoln Cents | 2,232,400,000 | 2,326,800,000 | 4,559,200,000 |
| Jefferson Nickels | 346,840,000 | 408,974,000 | 755,814,000 |
| Roosevelt Dimes | 673,000,000 | 797,500,000 | 1,470,500,000 |
| Lowell National Historical Park Quarter (MA) | 182,200,000 | 165,800,000 | 348,000,000 |
| American Memorial Park Quarter (MP) | 182,600,000 | 142,800,000 | 325,400,000 |
| War in the Pacific National Historical Park Quarter (GU) | 114,400,000 | 116,600,000 | 231,000,000 |
| San Antonio Missions National Historical Park Quarter (TX) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness Quarter (ID) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kennedy Half-Dollars | 1,700,000 | 1,700,000 | 3,400,000 |
| Native American $1 Coins | 1,540,000 | 1,400,000 | 2,940,000 |
| Total | 3,734,680,000 | 3,961,574,000 | 7,696,254,000 |
There are 84.8 million in quarters that the U.S. Mint has yet to officially assign to a design. Most likely, these are a portion of the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park quarters scheduled for release on Aug. 26.
War in the Pacific best quarter design since the 1976 Drummer Boy!!…..