The pace of producing U.S. coins for circulation slowed for a fourth straight year after peaking to a 14-year high, the latest manufacturing figures from the United States Mint show.
In 2019, U.S. Mint production facilities in Philadelphia and Denver shipped over 11.9 billion coins to Federal Reserve Banks, marking a decline of 9% from the more than 13.1 billion coins made in 2018.
Contrast these annual figures to the over 17 billion total in 2015 when the U.S. Mint expanded operations and hired more workers as demand for coins ran higher for a sixth consecutive year. Still, the pace in 2019 was 236.6% quicker than in 2009 when U.S. coin production hit rock bottom at just over 3.5 billion coins.
Here is a summary of coin production totals in 2019 compared to those from 2018:
US Mint Annual Coin Production (2019 vs 2018)
| Year 2018 | Year 2019 | 2019 Unit Gain / Loss | 2019 % Gain / Loss | |
| Cents | 7,803,200,000 | 7,040,400,000 | -762,800,000 | -9.8% |
| Nickels | 1,256,400,000 | 1,094,894,400 | -161,505,600 | -12.9% |
| Dimes | 2,199,000,000 | 2,149,000,000 | -50,000,000 | -2.3% |
| Quarters | 1,853,114,000 | 1,651,600,000 | -201,514,000 | -10.9% |
| Half Dollars | 10,900,000 | 3,400,000 | -7,500,000 | -68.8% |
| Native American $1 | 2,800,000 | 2,940,000 | 140,000 | 5.0% |
| Total | 13,125,414,000 | 11,942,234,400 | -1,183,179,600 | -9.0% |
U.S. Mint plants in Philadelphia and Denver manufacture all of America’s coins for commerce. In 2019, the Philadelphia Mint made 6,052,654,400 coins while the Denver Mint made 5,889,580,000 coins.
Mintages of Kennedy half-dollars and Native American dollars are smaller than other coins because they are no longer produced for circulation — Federal Reserve Banks do not order them from the U.S. Mint for distribution into the economy. The two coins are now made by the Mint only for numismatic products.
Published mintages for the 2019 Kennedy half-dollar reached 3.4 million coins with equal splits between the Denver and Philadelphia facilities. In contrast, the 2018 half-dollar was the most produced since the one from 2001 with 6.1 million from Denver and 4.8 million from Philadelphia for a combined 10.9 million coins.
Reported mintages for the space-themed 2019 Native American dollar logged in at 1.54 million for Denver and 1.4 million for Philadelphia for a combined 2.94 million coins — up 140,000 from the previous year which saw dollar equal splits of 1.4 million from both plants.
Of note, the Federal Reserve always orders more 1-cent coins than any other denomination even as data shows it costs the U.S. Mint 2.06 cents to make and distribute each one. The just over 7 billion made in 2019 represents 59% of the production total for 2019.
This next table shows 2019 circulating coin mintages by production facility, denomination and design.
2019 Circulating Coin Production by Design
| Denver | Philadelphia | Total | |
| Lincoln Cents | 3,497,600,000 | 3,542,800,000 | 7,040,400,000 |
| Jefferson Nickels | 527,040,000 | 567,854,400 | 1,094,894,400 |
| Roosevelt Dimes | 1,001,500,000 | 1,147,500,000 | 2,149,000,000 |
| 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) | 129,400,000 | 142,800,000 | 272,200,000 |
| Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness Quarter (ID) | 251,600,000 | 223,400,000 | 475,000,000 |
| 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 | 5,889,580,000 | 6,052,654,400 | 11,942,234,400 |
Quarter Mintages
Mintages of the U.S. Mint’s series of America the Beautiful Quarters® had strengthened each year until turning down in 2016. Quarter production slowed again in 2019 with just over 1.65 billion million made, marking a 10.9% drop from 2018.
Annual quarter mintages since the start of the program include:
- 347 million in 2010,
- 391.2 million in 2011,
- 568 million in 2012,
- 1.455 billion in 2013,
- 1.58 billion in 2014,
- 2.99 billion in 2015,
- 2.35 billion in 2016,
- 2.11 billion in 2017
- 1.85 billion in 2018, and
- 1.6516 billion in 2019.
Five unique quarter designs are issued every year. The America the Beautiful Quarters for 2019 include:
- the 2019 Lowell National Historical quarter for Massachusetts, released on Feb. 4;
- the 2019 American Memorial Park quarter for Northern Mariana Islands, released on April 1;
- the 2019 War in Pacific quarter for Guam, released on June 3;
- the 2019 San Antonio Missions quarter for Texas, released on Aug. 26; and
- the 2019 Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness quarter for Idaho, released on Nov. 4.
River of No Return Quarter Mintages Revealed
In January, the Mint reported for the first time mintages of Idaho’s Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness quarter. They registered at 251.6 million from Denver and 223.4 million from Philadelphia for a combined 475 million, which is the highest by design for 2019 but pretty much in the middle of the pack when compared to issues from past years.
Fifty different America the Beautiful quarter designs have been released from 2010 to 2019. The 2016 Harpers Ferry National Historical quarter for West Virginia remains the mintage leader at 858.63 million while the 2012 Chaco Culture National Historical Park quarter for New Mexico remains at the bottom of the production charts at 44 million.
The scarcest America the Beautiful quarter dollar issue by production facility is the Denver Mint-struck 2012-D Acadia National Park quarter at 21.6 million. The ‘P’ and ‘D’ Chaco Culture quarters follow with each at 22 million.
The U.S. Mint has now produced nearly 15.31 billion America the Beautiful Quarters. Each quarter honors a different national park or national site in the United States or its territories. Here is a breakdown of production totals by quarter design and coin production facility:
2010 – 2019 America the Beautiful Quarters Mintages
| Denver | Philadelphia | Total | |
| 2010 Hot Springs National Park | 34,000,000 | 35,600,000 | 69,600,000 |
| 2010 Yellowstone National Park | 34,800,000 | 33,600,000 | 68,400,000 |
| 2010 Yosemite National Park | 34,800,000 | 35,200,000 | 70,000,000 |
| 2010 Grand Canyon National Park | 35,400,000 | 34,800,000 | 70,200,000 |
| 2010 Mount Hood National Forest | 34,400,000 | 34,400,000 | 68,800,000 |
| 2011 Gettysburg National Military Park | 30,400,000 | 30,800,000 | 61,200,000 |
| 2011 Glacier National Park | 31,200,000 | 30,400,000 | 61,600,000 |
| 2011 Olympic National Park | 30,600,000 | 30,400,000 | 61,000,000 |
| 2011 Vicksburg National Military Park | 33,400,000 | 30,800,000 | 64,200,000 |
| 2011 Chickasaw National Recreation Area | 69,400,000 | 73,800,000 | 143,200,000 |
| 2012 El Yunque Quarter | 25,000,000 | 25,800,000 | 50,800,000 |
| 2012 Chaco Culture Quarter | 22,000,000 | 22,000,000 | 44,000,000 |
| 2012 Acadia Quarter | 21,606,000 | 24,800,000 | 46,406,000 |
| 2012 Hawai’i Quarter | 78,600,000 | 46,200,000 | 124,800,000 |
| 2012 Denali Quarter | 166,600,000 | 135,400,000 | 302,000,000 |
| 2013 White Mountain Quarter | 107,600,000 | 68,800,000 | 176,400,000 |
| 2013 Perry’s Victory Quarter | 131,600,000 | 107,800,000 | 239,400,000 |
| 2013 Great Basin Quarter | 141,400,000 | 122,400,000 | 263,800,000 |
| 2013 Fort McHenry Quarter | 151,400,000 | 120,000,000 | 271,400,000 |
| 2013 Mount Rushmore Quarter | 272,400,000 | 231,800,000 | 504,200,000 |
| 2014 Great Smoky Mountains Quarter | 99,400,000 | 73,200,000 | 172,600,000 |
| 2014 Shenandoah National Park Quarter | 197,800,000 | 112,800,000 | 310,600,000 |
| 2014 Arches National Park Quarter | 251,400,000 | 214,200,000 | 465,600,000 |
| 2014 Great Sand Dunes Quarter | 171,800,000 | 159,600,000 | 331,400,000 |
| 2014 Everglades National Park Quarter | 142,400,000 | 157,601,200 | 300,001,200 |
| 2015 Homestead National Monument of America Quarter | 248,600,000 | 214,400,000 | 463,000,000 |
| 2015 Kisatchie National Forest Quarter | 379,600,000 | 397,200,000 | 776,800,000 |
| 2015 Blue Ridge Parkway Quarter | 505,200,000 | 325,616,000 | 830,816,000 |
| 2015 Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge Quarter | 206,400,000 | 275,000,000 | 481,400,000 |
| 2015 Saratoga National Historical Park Quarter | 215,800,000 | 223,000,000 | 438,800,000 |
| 2016 Shawnee National Forest Quarter | 151,800,000 | 155,600,000 | 307,400,000 |
| 2016 Cumberland Gap National Historical Park Quarter | 223,200,000 | 215,400,000 | 438,600,000 |
| 2016 Harpers Ferry National Historical Park Quarter | 424,000,000 | 434,630,000 | 858,630,000 |
| 2016 Theodore Roosevelt National Park Quarter | 223,200,000 | 231,600,000 | 454,800,000 |
| 2016 Fort Moultrie Quarter | 142,200,000 | 154,400,000 | 296,600,000 |
| 2017 Effigy Mounds National Monument Quarter | 210,800,000 | 271,200,000 | 482,000,000 |
| 2017 Frederick Douglass National Historic Site Quarter | 185,800,000 | 184,800,000 | 370,600,000 |
| 2017 Ozark National Scenic Riverways Quarter | 200,000,000 | 203,000,000 | 403,000,000 |
| 2017 Ellis Island National Monument Quarter | 254,000,000 | 234,000,000 | 488,000,000 |
| 2017 George Rogers Clark National Historical Park Quarter | 180,800,000 | 191,600,000 | 372,400,000 |
| 2018 Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore Quarter (MI) | 182,600,000 | 186,714,000 | 369,314,000 |
| 2018 Apostle Islands National Lakeshore Quarter (WI) | 216,600,000 | 223,200,000 | 439,800,000 |
| 2018 Voyageurs National Park Quarter (MN) | 197,800,000 | 237,400,000 | 435,200,000 |
| 2018 Cumberland Island National Seashore Quarter (GA) | 151,600,000 | 138,000,000 | 289,600,000 |
| 2018 Block Island National Wildlife Refuge Quarter (RI) | 159,600,000 | 159,600,000 | 319,200,000 |
| 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) | 129,400,000 | 142,800,000 | 272,200,000 |
| Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness Quarter (ID) | 251,600,000 | 223,400,000 | 475,000,000 |
| Total | 7,869,206,000 | 7,439,961,200 | 15,309,167,200 |
Coin Production in December 2019
December is traditionally a slow coin production month as the U.S. Mint readies its tooling for the upcoming year’s coins. Last December rang in at 400.8 million coins, falling 55.4% from November and 28.5% from December 2018.
Here’s how the month ranks against others in the past year:
December 2018 to December 2019 Circulating Coin Production
| Month | Mintages | Rank |
| December 2019 | 400.88 M | 13 |
| November 2019 | 898.38 M | 9 |
| October 2019 | 1,154.94 M | 5 |
| September 2019 | 939.66 M | 8 |
| August 2019 | 767.32 M | 10 |
| July 2019 | 1,202.10 M | 4 |
| June 2019 | 1,021.654 M | 7 |
| May 2019 | 485.24 M | 12 |
| April 2019 | 1,253.76 M | 3 |
| March 2019 | 1,054.90 M | 6 |
| February 2019 | 1,256.10 M | 2 |
| January 2019 | 1,507.30 M | 1 |
| December 2018 | 560.64 M | 11 |
This last table shows coinage totals for December:
US Mint Circulating Coin Production in December 2019
| Denomination | Denver | Philadelphia | Total |
| Lincoln Cents | 145,600,000 | 56,400,000 | 202,000,000 |
| Jefferson Nickels | 29,480,000 | 8,400,000 | 37,880,000 |
| Roosevelt Dimes | 36,500,000 | 17,500,000 | 54,000,000 |
| ATB Quarters | 69,000,000 | 38,000,000 | 107,000,000 |
| Kennedy Half Dollars | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Native American $1s | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 280,580,000 | 120,300,000 | 400,880,000 |
Coin production figures in this coin news article are based on data aggregated from the Mint’s webpage at: https://www.usmint.gov/about/production-sales-figures/circulating-coins-production.
I guess the joke is really on us, the US citizens. A comfy 7 BILLION pennies made last year, what an absolute waste of money. Only the collector market needs to be made, not a single for circulation, they are unnecessary. For the love of God…please stop the madness.
In an age where more and more people use debit cards, alternate ways to pay and do not use physical money there definitely seems to be disconnect on why they are producing so many coins anyway.