U.S. coin production soared for a second month in a row, manufacturing figures from the United States Mint show.
In July, U.S. Mint facilities in Philadelphia and Denver struck nearly 1.7 billion coins for circulation, marking their highest monthly output since January 2017. The production pace picked up 6.3% from the previous month and ran 41.2% quicker than in July of last year.
The Mint has increased production to help stem coin circulation issues resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
"I want to assure you that the men and women of the Mint workforce are working as hard as we possibly can to get newly produced coins into the economy. In fact, we are on track to mint more coins this year than we have produced in almost 20 years," U.S. Mint Director David J. Ryder said Aug. 5.
Here’s how the month compares against others in the past year:
July 2019 to July 2020 Circulating Coin Production
| Month | Mintages | Rank |
| July 2020 | 1,697.74 M | 1 |
| June 2020 | 1,596.48 M | 2 |
| May 2020 | 904.12 M | 8 |
| April 2020 | 801.84 M | 11 |
| March 2020 | 898.86 M | 9 |
| 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 | 7 |
| August 2019 | 767.32 M | 12 |
| July 2019 | 1,202.10 M | 4 |
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 799.2 million Lincoln cents last month, representing 47.1% of the circulating-quality coins produced in July.
Month-Over-Month
In month-over month comparisons for coins used daily by Americans, production totals in July saw:
- 10.2% fewer Lincoln cents,
- 33.1% more Jefferson nickels,
- 7.1% fewer Roosevelt dimes, and
- 72.4% more 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 — more were produced in February and then again in July.
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. In July, the Philadelphia Mint made another half million for a new total of 2.3 million. Those added to the 1.8 million produced in January by the Denver plant combine to 4.1 million halves for the year. For reference, 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 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 issue had splits of 1.54 million for Denver and 1.4 million for Philadelphia for a combined 2.94 million coins.
Here’s a summary of all circulating-quality coins produced last month:
US Mint Circulating Coin Production in July 2020
| Denomination | Denver | Philadelphia | Total |
| Lincoln Cents | 460,000,000 | 339,200,000 | 799,200,000 |
| Jefferson Nickels | 108,000,000 | 108,240,000 | 216,240,000 |
| Roosevelt Dimes | 150,000,000 | 150,000,000 | 300,000,000 |
| ATB Quarters | 171,800,000 | 210,000,000 | 381,800,000 |
| Kennedy Half Dollars | 0 | 500,000 | 500,000 |
| Native American $1s | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 889,800,000 | 807,940,000 | 1,697,740,000 |
U.S. Mint plants in Denver and Philadelphia manufacture all of America’s coins for commerce. Last month, the Denver Mint made 889.8 million coins and the Philadelphia Mint made 807.94 million coins for the combined 1,697,740,000 coins.
YTD Totals
Year-to-date, the Denver Mint produced 4,287,800,000 coins and the Philadelphia Mint struck 3,933,620,000 coins for a combined 8,221,420,000 coins — 5.7% more than the 7,781,054,400 coins minted through the first seven months of 2019.
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 | 2339.6M | 439.44M | 762.5M | 743.2M | 1.8M | 1.26M | 4287.8M |
| Philadelphia | 2021.6M | 396.72M | 727M | 784.6M | 2.3M | 1.4M | 3933.62M |
| Total | 4361.2M | 836.16M | 1489.5M | 1527.8M | 4.1M | 2.66M | 8221.42M |
The 2020 monthly average of roughly 1.17 billion coins tracks over 12 months to nearly 14.1 billion coins. The Mint made over 11.9 billion coins for circulation in 2019.
Mintages by Unique Design
Through July the U.S. Mint released four annually issued coins with one-year-only designs. They include:
- the 2020 National Park of American Samoa quarter, which launched on Feb. 3,
- the 2020 Native American dollars, released on Feb. 12,
- the 2020 Weir Farm National Historic Site quarter for Connecticut, which went into circulation on April 6, and,
- the 2020 Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve quarter, which launched into circulation on June 1.
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 | 2,339,600,000 | 2,021,600,000 | 4,361,200,000 |
| Jefferson Nickels | 439,440,000 | 396,720,000 | 836,160,000 |
| Roosevelt Dimes | 762,500,000 | 727,000,000 | 1,489,500,000 |
| National Park of American Samoa Quarter | 212,200,000 | 286,000,000 | 498,200,000 |
| Weir Farm National Historic Site Quarter (Connecticut) | 155,000,000 | 125,600,000 | 280,600,000 |
| 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 | 2,300,000 | 4,100,000 |
| Native American $1 Coins | 1,260,000 | 1,400,000 | 2,660,000 |
| Total | 3,911,800,000 | 3,560,620,000 | 7,472,420,000 |
In subtracting the totals by coin design from the overall production figures by denomination, there is one difference — mintages of quarters are higher by 749 million. These are likely a portion of U.S. Virgin Islands’ Salt River Bay quarters.
Why aren’t the Innovation dollars mentioned in the totals?
They don’t circulate.
They should be included in this article’s listings. The Kennedy half dollars have not been made for circulation since 2002 & the Native American dollars haven’t been made for circulation since 2011 & they are listed in this article.
NumisdudeTX
I remember feeling that way when the Mint said those Innovation Dollars would not be included in mint/proof sets because they were not made for circulation and thinking, “Well, what about all the half dollars since 2002 and most of the dollar coins since 2002 as well?” (and I further think of the 1970-D half dollar, the 1973 Ike dollars, the 1981 SBA dollar, and 1987 half dollars when none were struck for circulation either yet they were included)
Where?