In November, the U.S. Mint picked up the pace of producing coins for circulation, but, for a third month in a row, the monthly level was very weak from a historical perspective.
Last month, the U.S. Mint produced slightly more than 604.4 million coins, encompassing cents, nickels, dimes, quarters, and half dollars. This represented a 20.4% increase from October, but a significant 33.3% decline compared to November 2022. Additionally, November marks the ninth month this year in which Kennedy halves were minted, resulting in their highest total for a year since 1983.
Here’s how the month ranks against others in the past year:
November 2022 to November 2023 Circulating Coin Production
| Month | Mintages | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| November 2023 | 604.409 M | 11 |
| October 2023 | 501.911 M | 13 |
| September 2023 | 546.03 M | 12 |
| August 2023 | 1,030.38 M | 8 |
| July 2023 | 1,139.30 M | 6 |
| 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 | 7 |
| January 2023 | 1,200.46 M | 4 |
| December 2022 | 846.50 M | 10 |
| November 2022 | 906.00 M | 9 |
For a Second Month, More 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 November, the Mint struck 303.976 million Lincoln cents, accounting for 50.3% of all circulating-quality coins produced for the month. In October, the percentage reached 50.4%. In the months from May 2022 through September 2023, this percentage was frequently below 50%, often well below it. For example, in September, the percentage dropped to 33%. Historically, prior to May 2022 (and now again in November as well as October), more than half of the coins produced each month were cents.
Month-Over-Month Changes
In month-over-month comparisons for coins used daily by Americans, production totals in November saw:
- 20.2% more Lincoln cents,
- 9.8% fewer Jefferson nickels,
- 4,773% more Roosevelt dimes (the Mint reported just 20,000 struck in October vs. 95.48 million made in November), and
- 18.8% fewer quarters.
2023 Kennedy Half Dollar Mintages Rise to 58 Million After November Increase of 13.19 Million
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, the U.S. Mint continues to make them in circulating quality for numismatic products sold to coin collectors. This practice was also true for Kennedy half dollars until recently, specifically starting 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 of Kennedy half dollars for circulation. They have also been produced for general circulation in 2023, with the total struck increasing significantly: 13.19 million in November, 19.71 million in October, 6.3 million in September, 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.
Year to date, the combined total of halves is 58 million, the highest since 1983 when it reached 66.6 million, comprising 27.8 million from Denver and 30.2 million from Philadelphia. This is a significant increase compared to the 2022 production runs, which only totaled 4.9 million from Denver and 4.8 million from Philadelphia, resulting in a combined total of only 9.7 million coins.
The mintages of Native American dollars have remained unchanged since January, with equal 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.
In terms of numismatic products containing the two denominations, on Feb. 6, the U.S. Mint started selling rolls, bags and boxes of 2023 Native American dollars, while on May 15, the bureau began offering 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 November 2023
| Denver | Philadelphia | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lincoln Cent | 152,000,000 | 151,976,000 | 303,976,000 |
| Jefferson Nickel | 27,600,000 | 27,363,000 | 54,963,000 |
| Roosevelt Dime | 47,500,000 | 47,980,000 | 95,480,000 |
| Quarters | 68,400,000 | 68,400,000 | 136,800,000 |
| Kennedy Half-Dollar | 0 | 13,190,000 | 13,190,000 |
| Native American $1 Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 295,500,000 | 308,909,000 | 604,409,000 |
Regarding overall production totals for October, the Denver Mint struck 295.5 million coins, while the Philadelphia Mint made 308.909 million coins, resulting in a combined production of 604,409,000 coins.
YTD Totals
Year to date, the Denver Mint has struck 5,590,200,000 coins and the Philadelphia Mint has made 5,639,700,000 coins, totaling 11,229,900,000 coins, which is 12.1% lower than the 12,773,880,000 coins manufactured during the same period in 2022.
If the current production pace were to continue through December, the annual mintage for 2023 would near 12.3 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 | 2240M | 734.88M | 1286M | 1300.4M | 27.8M | 1.12M | 5590.2M |
| Philadelphia | 2202M | 692.65M | 1410.5M | 1303.2M | 30.2M | 1.12M | 5639.7M |
| Total | 4442M | 1427.53M | 2696.5M | 2603.6M | 58M | 2.24M | 11229.9M |
2023 Mintages Released
In addition to the 2023 Native American dollar with its one-year-only design, the U.S. Mint released five coins for 2023 from their four-year program of American Women Quarters™. These five quarters represent the sixth through tenth 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.
- Maria Tallchief quarters started circulating on Oct. 19 and, on the same day, were made available in rolls and bags.
Of note, the Mint’s reported quarter mintages were corrected, decreasing the total for the Eleanor Roosevelt quarter by a combined 207.4 million, while increasing the total for the Jovita Idar quarter by 207.4 million.
Finally, when examining the coin production by denomination in the table above, there are 308.6 million more quarters produced through November than indicated in the production breakdown by coin design in the table below. The alignment of the two figures will occur when mintages for the final Maria Tallchief quarter become available.
This table breaks down this year’s reported mintages by coin design, including quarters:
Published 2023 Circulating Production by Coin Design
| Denver | Philadelphia | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lincoln Cent | 2,240,000,000 | 2,202,000,000 | 4,442,000,000 |
| Jefferson Nickel | 734,880,000 | 692,650,000 | 1,427,530,000 |
| Roosevelt Dime | 1,286,000,000 | 1,410,500,000 | 2,696,500,000 |
| 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 | 271,800,000 | 284,000,000 | 555,800,000 |
| Jovita Idar Quarter | 188,000,000 | 190,600,000 | 378,600,000 |
| Maria Tallchief Quarter | 0 | ||
| Kennedy Half-Dollar | 27,800,000 | 30,200,000 | 58,000,000 |
| Native American $1 Coin | 1,120,000 | 1,120,000 | 2,240,000 |
| Total | 5,435,400,000 | 5,485,870,000 | 10,921,270,000 |
Personally, I’d like to see a few more pennies minted.
I’ve got a bunch of 2023 pennies.
58M JFK 1/2s all hidden somewhere? Vegas return to cash $lots….. I’ve asked at 4 banks nobody knew nothing, cashier JFK halves, new ones! “I know nothing”
“Pennies From By Heaven” – 1981 movie staring Steve Martin & Bernadette Peters.
NumisdudeTX
“Pennies From Heaven”
It is still amazing to me that after almost 20 years of no Kennedy half dollars being ordered by the Federal Reserve System for circulation, they started ordering them again 2 or 3 years ago…and 58 million made in November! And yet, I haven’t received a Kennedy half dollar in change since around 2001. Where the HELL are all of these Kennedy half dollars winding up?? The Mint hasn’t said, and the Federal Reserve System of 12 Fed banks have not said. This is a numismatic mystery in need of research & investigation for curiosity sake. Does anyone know the… Read more »
“…And to this question, you have the answer, so tell me what I want to know…” – 1982 song written by Patrick Cowley, as sung by the late, great “Sylvester” (the gay, black “Queen of Disco”) – Sylvester James Jr. – RIP!
(As featured in the based on a true story movie “54” about the world-famous discotique Studio 54 in New York City).
NumisdudeTX
Has anyone looked in the school book depository?
D&C,
Lmao! Yoko Ono is hiding in there too…
NumisdudeTX
Good one.
I wonder if they’re being shipped to countries that use U.S. dollars? Don’t a lot of our dollar coins end up in Central or South American economies? I could’ve sworn I read that once or twice over the years. But it is strange to see so many JFK halves being produced. If my bank hadn’t been absorbed by a larger bank which now refuses to order halves and dollar coins, maybe I would’ve gotten some by now. If they’re staying domestic, maybe laundromats are using them or car wash places? Instead of dribbling in a fistful of quarters for their… Read more »
Vachon, I know that Equador uses the USA dollar as it’s only official currency, & the Fed ships them Federal Reserve Notes from the Ft. Worth, Texas BEP Western Currency Printing Facility. But, I’ve never heard if they are shipping them the JFK half dollars since the Fed system started ordering them from the Mint in 2021. They don’t use the Kennedy half dollars in Vegas anymore, as when I was last there in 2000, after 14 trips there in 12 years, there were only like 10 slot machines at Caesar’s Palace casino that took half dollars & by 2000,… Read more »
Maybe they’re shipping them to Ukraine. Joe (or his puppet master) is sending them just about everything else, why not all of our coinage!
I go to my bank, no new half dollars. Maybe they’re being sent to Saudi Arabia.
MBS, the bastard murderer, & de facto ruler of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is probably accepting the JFK half dollars as payment for oil from the USA government…Sad situation that we still deal with that corrupt as Hell country!
NumisdudeTX
Good Lord, if we were to only deal with ‘righteous’ leaders, we would only be able to trade with Switzerland…maybe. I don’t hear any uproar over Xi Jinping and his enslavement of Uyghurs or the release of Covid 19, which has killed millions worldwide. All MBS did was chop up a lousy reporter, big deal. You think our CIA hasn’t done the same thing, or even take out a President, in our country? The only difference between us and Saudi Arabia is we do the job cleaner.
Craig, Of course we do the same things covertly with our CIA, FBI, & NSA. Myy father, who died in late September & was buried with full military honors at Ft. Sam Houston National Military Cemetery in San Antonio, worked his whole 20 year United States Air Force career, with the USAF Intelligence Command based out of Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, with a 1 year tour of duty in Pakistan, 1 year in Thailand, 3 years in Japan & 3 years at a National Security Agency secret, small base in Germany, among his other stations in the… Read more »
Seth, If you were as oil rich as MBS, wouldn’t you also have a stable of the most georgeous prostitutes (male or female is your choice..lol) and the finest spirits on the planet available at your whim? I sure would as why else have so much wealth and power if you’re not going to use it (or abuse it). Sorry to her about your Dad passing. My Dad passed several years ago and he was in WWII as a naval pilot and also received military honors at his funeral. These were truly of the greatest generation. By the way, if… Read more »
Craig, Thanks for the condolences. Sounds like your dad served in the armed forces honorably in WWII, and My dad was in Thailand during the Vietnam War,& they sure were the Greatest Generation. And I salute all veterans & active duty military members at our approximately 400 base here & around the world. My dad was old fashioned, raised strict Southern Baptist and I hate to say he didn’t like “the gays,” which caused a rift between us when I was 17. I hadn’t seen him or talked to him since 2003 when we had our last argument over that… Read more »
Well said.
How about people talk with their natural voice and not hide who they are. How about people not flaunt their differences and then get mad and sue happy because 97% of the world isn’t like them. Everyone wants to hold a card in their pocket to get out of jail or win the argument. Race card. LGBT card, religion card. Whatever. Why are all whites Caucasians but every other American has a descriptor. There aren’t Irish American, Scottish American, Welsh American, Swiss American, German American, French American, In American, Italian American, Greek American, Canadian American Australian American, New Zealand American.… Read more »
Bezos is pretty well off and his old lady ain’t all that hot. Zuckerberg owns most of Hawaii and he can build a decent looking robot to parade around to show his creators.
Mbs is a forward thinker. 200 miles of mirrors so he can always see himself and the hot women will be doubled (70 virgins become 140). Plus it will heat the planet and kill all the infidels.
Marriage is legal prostitution, except way more costly