U.S. coining presses slowed in February but they still struck more than one billion coins for circulation, the latest manufacturing figures from the United States Mint show.
Nearly 1.1 billion coins spread across cents, nickels, dimes, quarters, and half-dollars were produced last month, lifting the year-to-date total to over 2.3 billion coins.
The latest round of U.S. Mint figures also reveal mintages for the National Park of American Samoa quarter, the first of this year’s five quarters with unique designs.
In headline monthly comparisons, the amount of circulating coins produced in February fell 10.9% from January and declined 12.9% from February 2019. Here’s how the month ranks against others in the past year:
February 2019 to February 2020 Circulating Coin Production
| Month | Mintages | Rank |
| February 2020 | 1,094.30 M | 6 |
| January 2020 | 1,228.08 M | 3 |
| December 2019 | 400.88 M | 13 |
| November 2019 | 898.38 M | 10 |
| October 2019 | 1,154.94 M | 5 |
| September 2019 | 939.66 M | 9 |
| August 2019 | 767.32 M | 11 |
| July 2019 | 1,202.10 M | 4 |
| June 2019 | 1,021.654 M | 8 |
| May 2019 | 485.24 M | 12 |
| April 2019 | 1,253.76 M | 2 |
| March 2019 | 1,054.90 M | 7 |
| February 2019 | 1,256.10 M | 1 |
The Federal Reserve orders more 1-cent coins than any other denomination despite data that shows it costs the U.S. Mint 1.99 cents to make and distribute each one. The Mint produced 608 million Lincoln cents last month, representing 55.6% of the circulating-quality coins produced in February.
Month-Over-Month
In month-over month comparisons for coins used every day by Americans, production totals in February fell by:
- 9% for Lincoln cents,
- 28% for Jefferson nickels,
- 17.9% for Roosevelt dimes, and
- 1.6% 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 quality for coin collectors. Usually in January, the U.S. Mint tends to strike both coins to the expected amounts needed for the entire year. That wasn’t the case for halves.
In February, mintages of Philadelphia Mint-struck Kennedy half-dollars rose by 1.8 million after none were reported out of the plant in January. That adds to the earlier 1.8 million produced Denver halves for a combined 3.6 million. Last year’s half-dollar ended with equal splits of 1.7 million for Denver and Philadelphia for a combined 3.4 million.
Published mintages of the 2020 Native American dollar remained unchanged — 1.26 million from Denver and 1.4 million from Philadelphia for a combined 2.66 million coins. Last year’s dollar had splits of 1.54 million for Denver and 1.4 million for Philadelphia for a combined 2.94 million coins.
The U.S. Mint released rolls and bags of 2020 Native American dollars on Feb. 12. Kennedy halves are expected out on May 4.
Here’s a summary of all circulating-quality coins produced last month:
US Mint Circulating Coin Production in February 2020
| Denomination | Denver | Philadelphia | Total |
| Lincoln Cents | 304,000,000 | 304,000,000 | 608,000,000 |
| Jefferson Nickels | 50,160,000 | 41,040,000 | 91,200,000 |
| Roosevelt Dimes | 76,000,000 | 66,500,000 | 142,500,000 |
| ATB Quarters | 125,400,000 | 125,400,000 | 250,800,000 |
| Kennedy Half Dollars | 0 | 1,800,000 | 1,800,000 |
| Native American $1s | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 555,560,000 | 538,740,000 | 1,094,300,000 |
U.S. Mint plants in Denver and Philadelphia manufacture all of America’s coins for commerce. Last month, the Denver Mint made 555.56 million coins and the Philadelphia Mint made 538.74 million coins for the combined 1,094,300,000 coins.
In the January to February period, the Denver Mint struck 1,181,280,000 coins and the Philadelphia Mint made 1,141,100,000 coins. They combine for a year to date total of 2,322,380,000 coins, which is 16% less than the 2,763,400,000 coins minted in the first two months of last year.
This next table lists 2020 coin production totals by denomination and by U.S. Mint facility:
YTD 2020 Circulating Coin Production by Denomination
| 1 ¢ | 5 ¢ | 10 ¢ | 25 ¢ | 50 ¢ | N.A. $1 | Total: | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Denver | 648M | 123.12M | 158.5M | 248.6M | 1.8M | 1.26M | 1181.28M |
| Philadelphia | 628.4M | 94.8M | 157.5M | 257.2M | 1.8M | 1.4M | 1141.1M |
| Total | 1276.4M | 217.92M | 316M | 505.8M | 3.6M | 2.66M | 2322.38M |
If the current production pace stretched through to December, the annual mintage for 2020 would top 13.9 billion coins. The U.S. Mint made over 11.9 billion coins for circulation in 2019.
Mintages by Unique Design
As mentioned earlier, the U.S. Mint published mintages for the 2020 National Park of American Samoa quarter for the first time.
They registered at 212.2 million from Denver and 249.2 million from Philadelphia for a combined 461.4 million. Based on recent trends, the total will likely be at or toward the top when compared against mintages of the other four unique quarter designs for 2020.
The following table offers a breakdown of this year’s mintages by coin design:
2020 Circulating Coin Production by Design
| Denver | Philadelphia | Total | |
| Lincoln Cents | 648,000,000 | 628,400,000 | 1,276,400,000 |
| Jefferson Nickels | 123,120,000 | 94,800,000 | 217,920,000 |
| Roosevelt Dimes | 158,500,000 | 157,500,000 | 316,000,000 |
| National Park of American Samoa Quarter | 212,200,000 | 249,200,000 | 461,400,000 |
| Weir Farm National Historic Site Quarter (Connecticut) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve Quarter (U.S. Virgin Islands) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park Quarter (Vermont) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve Quarter (Kansas) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kennedy Half-Dollars | 1,800,000 | 1,800,000 | 3,600,000 |
| Native American $1 Coins | 1,260,000 | 1,400,000 | 2,660,000 |
| Total | 1,144,880,000 | 1,133,100,000 | 2,277,980,000 |
There are 44.4 million in quarters that the U.S. Mint has yet to officially assign to a design. These are likely a portion of Connecticut’s Weir Farm National Historic quarter which is scheduled to launch into circulation on April 6.
