For the third consecutive month, the United States Mint reduced its coin production pace in August, but it remained consistent in surpassing the one-billion-coin mark for the eighth month in a row.
Last month, the U.S. Mint struck just over 1 billion coins, including cents, nickels, dimes, quarters, and half dollars, marking a 9.6% decrease from July and an 8.7% increase from August 2022. The month also signifies the sixth this year in which Kennedy halves were produced, with their total now the highest for a year since 2001.
Here’s how the month ranks against others in the past year:
August 2022 to August 2023 Circulating Coin Production
| Month | Mintages | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| August 2023 | 1,030.38 M | 9 |
| July 2023 | 1,139.30 M | 7 |
| June 2023 | 1,297.18 M | 2 |
| May 2023 | 1,417.78 M | 1 |
| April 2023 | 1,250.32 M | 3 |
| March 2023 | 1,187.94 M | 5 |
| February 2023 | 1,054.16 M | 8 |
| January 2023 | 1,200.46 M | 4 |
| December 2022 | 846.50 M | 13 |
| November 2022 | 906.00 M | 12 |
| October 2022 | 1,177.14 M | 6 |
| September 2022 | 1,003.72 M | 10 |
| August 2022 | 948.06 M | 11 |
Fewer Pennies
The main mission of the U.S. Mint is to manufacture coins in response to public demand. The Mint produces, sells and then delivers circulating coins to Federal Reserve Banks to support their service to commercial banks and other financial institutions.
Even though it costs the Mint 2.72 cents to make and distribute each 1-cent coin, the Federal Reserve always orders more of them than any other denomination.
In August, the Mint struck 432 million Lincoln cents, which accounted for 41.9% of the circulating-quality coins made for the month. This continues a trend that began in May 2022, when the percentage of cents produced in a given month fell below 50%. Historically, before then, more than half of the coins produced in each month were cents. For instance, in January of last year, 59.8% of the circulating coins minted were cents, which contrasts with the current situation.
Month-Over-Month
In month-over-month comparisons for coins used daily by Americans, production totals in August declined by:
- 5.6% for Lincoln cents,
- 9% for Jefferson nickels,
- 8.9% for Roosevelt dimes, and
- 18.5% for quarters.
2023 Kennedy Half Dollar Mintages Highest Since 2001
In addition to cents, nickels, dimes, and quarters, the U.S. Mint also produces dollars and half dollars in circulating quality. While the Federal Reserve no longer orders Native American $1 coins, they are still minted in circulating quality for coin collectors. This was also true for Kennedy half dollars until recently, specifically beginning in 2021.
Typically, in January, the U.S. Mint produces both denominations in the expected amounts needed for the entire year. However, this remains the case only for Native American dollars, as Kennedy halves saw their mintages increase in multiple months in 2021, 2022, and 2023.
In the past two fiscal years (2021 and 2022), the Federal Reserve unexpectedly ordered millions more Kennedy half dollars for circulation, with amounts of about 12 million and 7 million, respectively. It’s expected that Kennedy half dollars have been produced for general circulation in 2023 as well, with the total struck increasing by 4.8 million in August, 3.2 million in July, 1.7 million in May, 2.5 million in April, 2.2 million in March, and 4.4 million in January.
As of now, the combined total of halves is 18.8 million, the highest since the 40.7 million in 2001, with 5.4 million from Denver and 13.4 million from Philadelphia. This is in comparison to the 2022 production runs, which totaled 4.9 million from Denver and 4.8 million from Philadelphia, for a combined total of 9.7 million coins.
The mintages of Native American dollars have remained unchanged since January, with splits of 1.12 million from the Denver Mint and 1.12 million from the Philadelphia Mint, for a combined total of 2.24 million coins. In contrast, the 2022 dollar recorded equal splits of 980,000 from each facility, for a total of 1.96 million coins.
On Feb. 6, U.S. Mint started selling rolls, bags and boxes of 2023 Native American dollars. On May 15, the bureau started offering collectors rolls and bags of circulating 2023 Kennedy halves.
This next table shows a summary of all the circulating-quality coins produced last month:
U.S. Mint Circulating Coin Production in August 2023
| Denver | Philadelphia | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lincoln Cent | 156,000,000 | 276,000,000 | 432,000,000 |
| Jefferson Nickel | 50,160,000 | 83,520,000 | 133,680,000 |
| Roosevelt Dime | 78,000,000 | 174,500,000 | 252,500,000 |
| Quarters | 78,000,000 | 129,400,000 | 207,400,000 |
| Kennedy Half-Dollar | 0 | 4,800,000 | 4,800,000 |
| Native American $1 Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 362,160,000 | 668,220,000 | 1,030,380,000 |
Regarding overall production totals for August, the Denver Mint struck 362.16 million coins, while the Philadelphia Mint made 668.22 million coins, resulting in a combined production of 1,030,380,000 coins.
YTD Totals
Year to date, the Denver Mint has struck 4,719,840,000 coins, and the Philadelphia Mint has made 4,189,460,000 coins, for a total production of 9,577,520,000 coins. This figure is 1.1% lower than the 9,687,020,000 coins manufactured during the same period in 2022.
If the current production pace were to continue through December, the annual mintage for 2023 would be near 14.4 billion coins. In comparison, the U.S. Mint produced over 13.6 billion coins for circulation in 2022.
This next table lists coin production totals by denomination and by U.S. Mint facility:
YTD 2023 Circulating Coin Production by Denomination
| 1 ¢ | 5 ¢ | 10 ¢ | 25 ¢ | 50 ¢ | N.A. $1 | Total: | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Denver | 1841.2M | 599.52M | 1233M | 1039.6M | 5.4M | 1.12M | 4719.84M |
| Philadelphia | 1864M | 599.04M | 1287.52M | 1092.6M | 13.4M | 1.12M | 4857.68M |
| Total | 3705.2M | 1198.56M | 2520.52M | 2132.2M | 18.8M | 2.24M | 9577.52M |
2023 Quarter Mintages
In addition to the 2023 Native American dollar with its one-year-only design, the U.S. Mint through August released the first four of five coins for 2023 from their four-year program of American Women Quarters™. These four quarters represent the sixth through ninth in the series, and each features a unique design.
- Bessie Coleman quarters began circulating on Jan. 3, and on Feb. 14, the Mint offered rolls and bags of the quarter for purchase by the public.
- Edith Kanakaʻole quarters started circulating on March 27 and were also made available in Mint rolls and bags on the same day.
- Eleanor Roosevelt quarters entered circulation and became available in rolls and bags on June 6.
- Jovita Idar quarters began circulating on Aug. 14 and were made available in rolls and bags on Aug. 15.
Mintages for the Roosevelt and Idar quarters have not been reported yet. In fact, out of the total coin production, 771.6 million quarters have not been officially assigned a design by the U.S. Mint.
The final quarter design for this year, featuring Maria Tallchief, is scheduled to be released on Oct. 23.
This table breaks down this year’s reported mintages by coin design, including quarters:
Published 2023 Circulating Coin Production by Design
| Denver | Philadelphia | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lincoln Cent | 1,841,200,000 | 1,864,000,000 | 3,705,200,000 |
| Jefferson Nickel | 599,520,000 | 599,040,000 | 1,198,560,000 |
| Roosevelt Dime | 1,233,000,000 | 1,287,520,000 | 2,520,520,000 |
| Bessie Coleman Quarter | 317,200,000 | 302,000,000 | 619,200,000 |
| Edith Kanaka’Ole Quarter | 368,600,000 | 372,800,000 | 741,400,000 |
| Eleanor Roosevelt Quarter | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jovita Idar Quarter | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Maria Tallchief Quarter | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kennedy Half-Dollar | 5,400,000 | 13,400,000 | 18,800,000 |
| Native American $1 Coin | 1,120,000 | 1,120,000 | 2,240,000 |
| Total | 4,366,040,000 | 4,439,880,000 | 8,805,920,000 |
ok here’s an idea – instead of spending 2.7 cents to make a new lincoln cent, the treasury pays a bounty of 2 cents for every cent turned in for a limited time.
i guarantee we’ll get a 30-year supply of lincoln cents in no time, and yet still save the government money over making new ones.
that’s why the time limit – during that time, the fed/treasury would not release any cents for circulation. of course that would dry up the supply of cents everywhere as everyone tries to cash in (including after any announcement and the beginning of a collection window), another reason for the limited time to reduce this inconvenience. but it’s not like we haven’t had practically years of coin shortages anyway, so a small period of time (say, 1 month) won’t be so bad. and also to be clear, once you turn in your cents, you don’t get any cents back –… Read more »
you would presumably have to have more than $600 in cents turned in (the usual minimum amount for 1099MISC issuance). and since this is to save the government money, there’s really no reason to even have this be taxable income – just make it tax-free, since you are helping the mint save money, which saves on taxes.
You know if this is tax free, then trading in copper futures ought to be tax free as well, and not because the Speaker of the House’s brother is a copper trader at Goldman Sachs! Funny story, my ex-wife worked for Hillary Clinton in the Obama White House. After she cleaned my clock she went straight to Goldman Sachs. For the right person, that women’s studies degree can really pay off
Great idea. I’ve been hoarding, I mean collecting, pre-1982 Lincoln Cents since 1982 and have quite a hoard, I mean collection. I’d be more than happy to offload it at a 2.75% premium. The bag must weigh several pounds. I was hoping to sell it off for the value of copper like I did with post 1952 Canadian silver back in the mid seventies when I lived in Canada. I used the money I made to buy more coins.
Man yes, young no. About retired now, in my mid sixties. I have talked with dealers in the past and they advised me against it, although it would be interesting on one level but really for another savvy individual. Also an advantage of attending large coin shows to talk with different dealers. My local one is the Long Beach Show, which is pretty extensive. On another note, I did save a number of silver Canadian coins from 1937 – 1952. I was surprised to find coins with King George VI on them still in circulation. I kept those. Even have… Read more »
First day of Fall and the mint finally announced release date for the uncirculated set (Dec 5)
Tom,
And don’t forget the Mint also yesterday finally set the date for the issue of the Marine Corps small size bronze medal at $20 for December 14… I just can’t wait! Lol.
NumisdudeTX
Kaiser,
Yep…all thanks to the horrible last U.S. Mint Director David J. Ryder, who raised the price of the Mint’s small bronze medals from $6.95 to $20 and the Mint’s large bronze medals from $39.95 to $160, which is one of many reasons for his quick, unplanned l, early departure from Washington, D.C. He is now signing coin slab labels for a coin grading company. Lmao.
NumisdudeTX
Oh good! Another set I won’t be purchasing.
Can get pretty much the same coins out of circulation or from your local financial institution for face value. I only occasionally buy an uncirculated set. I believe last year because I wanted the Native American dollar. This year doesn’t interest me. I’m not a fan of ballet.
I wonder where those half dollars are going? I used to be able to get them from my bank but since they were cannibalized in a merger back in 2017 they’ve started referring to physical coin and currency as “inventory” and won’t get them anymore. It’s baffled me for some time that banks – places I thought had money in them – don’t actually want to have money in them for their customers (or whatever derogatory-sounding term they use to describe depositors like how credit card companies refer to those who make on-time payments as “deadbeats”)