U.S. Mint Produces Over 1 Billion Coins for Circulation in September

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The U.S. Mint produced over 1 billion coins in September, with 201.8 million of them quarters
The U.S. Mint produced over 1 billion coins in September, with 201.8 million of them quarters

The United States Mint increased their pace of striking coins for circulation in September after their production in August hit a 20-month low, but the number minted was still among the lowest over the past year.

A few million above 1 billion coins — spread across cents, nickels, dimes, and quarters — were struck last month, marking an increase of 5.9% from August but a decline of 14.2% from September 2021.

Here’s how the month compares against others in the past year:

September 2021 to September 2022 Circulating Coin Production

Month Mintages Rank
September 2022 1,003.72 M 11
August 2022 948.06 M 13
July 2022 1,100.62 M 10
June 2022 1,141.60 M 8
May 2022 1,255.32 M 4
April 2022 1,278.88 M 2
March 2022 1,452.58 M 1
February 2022 1,260.12 M 3
January 2022 1,249.84 M 5
December 2021 953.37 M 12
November 2021 1,104.7 M 9
October 2021 1,213.86 M 6
September 2021 1,169.28 M 7

 

The U.S. Mint’s main mission is to manufacture coins based on the nation’s demand and then transport them to Reserve Banks and their coin terminals for distribution into circulation.

The Federal Reserve orders more 1-cent coins from the U.S. Mint than any other denomination even as data shows that it costs 2.1 cents to make and distribute each one. The Mint struck 425.6 million Lincoln cents in September, representing 42.4% of the circulating-quality coins produced last month. Historically, the percentage is from around the low to mid 50s. That has not been the case for several months now with August at 47%, July at 39.4% and June at 40.2%.

Month-Over-Month

In month-over month comparisons for coins used daily by Americans, production totals in September saw:

  • 4.6% fewer Lincoln cents,
  • 25.1% more Jefferson nickels,
  • 13.1% more Roosevelt dimes, and
  • 11.9% more quarters.

Native American $1 coins are no longer ordered by the Federal Reserve, but they are still made in circulating quality for coin collectors. The same is true, or was until last year, for Kennedy half-dollars. Traditionally in January, the U.S. Mint produces both denominations to the expected amounts needed for the entire year. That was the case for Native American dollars in 2021 and for this year (so far), but not for Kennedy halves which saw their mintages increase in multiple months this year (January, May and June) and last year (February, March, April, May and August).

Published mintages of 2022 Native American dollars show equal splits of 980,000 from Denver and 980,000 from Philadelphia for a combined 1.96 million coins. In contrast, the 2021 dollar logged splits of 1.26 million for Denver and 1.26 million for Philadelphia for 2.52 million coins.

In May, mintages for the 2022 Kennedy half-dollar increased for the second time this year, posting a combined increase of 3.6 million to more than double the 3.2 million made in January. They climbed again in June by 2.9 million. Unchanged since, half dollar mintages stand at 4.9 million from Denver and 4.8 million from Philadelphia for a total of 9.7 million. Last year’s half-dollar ended with a mix of 7.7 million from Denver and 5.4 million from Philadelphia for a combined 13.1 million.

The U.S. Mint started selling rolls, bags and boxes of 2022 Native American dollars on Feb. 9. It released rolls and bags of 2022 Kennedy halves on May 5.

Here’s a summary of all the circulating-quality coins produced last month:

U.S. Mint Circulating Coin Production in September 2022

Denver Philadelphia Total
Lincoln Cent 228,400,000 197,200,000 425,600,000
Jefferson Nickel 68,880,000 61,440,000 130,320,000
Roosevelt Dime 133,000,000 113,000,000 246,000,000
Quarters 105,800,000 96,000,000 201,800,000
Kennedy Half-Dollar 0 0 0
Native American $1 Coin 0 0 0
Total 536,080,000 467,640,000 1,003,720,000

 

Minting facilities in Philadelphia and Denver are tasked with making all U.S. coins for commerce. Last month, the Denver Mint struck 536.08 million coins and the Philadelphia Mint pressed 467.64 million coins for the combined 1,003,720,000 coins.

YTD Totals

Year to date, the Denver Mint made 5,381,600,000 coins and the Philadelphia Mint made 5,309,140,000 coins for a total of 10,690,740,000 coins, which is 4.7% fewer than the 11,211,540,000 coins minted through the same period in 2021.

This next table lists coin production totals by denomination and by U.S. Mint facility:

YTD 2022 Circulating Coin Production by Denomination

1 ¢ 5 ¢ 10 ¢ 25 ¢ 50 ¢ N.A. $1 Total:
Denver 2656.4M 594.72M 1164M 960.6M 4.9M .98M 5381.6M
Philadelphia 2626.4M 582.96M 1129M 965M 4.8M .98M 5309.14M
Total 5282.8M 1177.68M 2293M 1925.6M 9.7M 1.96M 10690.74M

 

If the current production pace stretched through to December, the annual mintage for 2022 would reach just over 14.2 billion coins. The U.S. Mint manufactured nearly 14.5 billion coins for circulation in 2021.

2022 Quarter Mintages

In addition to the 2022 Native American dollar with its one-year-only design, the U.S. Mint through September released the first four issues from their four-year program of American Women quarter dollars. Each features a unique design. They include:

From the overall production total, there are 269.8 million in quarters that the U.S. Mint has yet to officially assign to a design. These are likely Nina Otero-Warren quarters with more yet be made.

This last table offers a breakdown of this year’s mintages that have been reported by coin design, including the first two quarters:

2022 Circulating Coin Production by Design

Denver Philadelphia Total
Lincoln Cent 2,656,400,000 2,626,400,000 5,282,800,000
Jefferson Nickel 594,720,000 582,960,000 1,177,680,000
Roosevelt Dime 1,164,000,000 1,129,000,000 2,293,000,000
Maya Angelou Quarter 258,200,000 237,600,000 495,800,000
Dr. Sally Ride Quarter 278,000,000 275,200,000 553,200,000
Wilma Mankiller Quarter 296,800,000 310,000,000 606,800,000
Nina Otero-Warren Quarter
Anna May Wong Quarter (expected release in fall)
Kennedy Half-Dollar 4,900,000 4,800,000 9,700,000
Native American $1 Coin 980,000 980,000 1,960,000
Total 5,254,000,000 5,166,940,000 10,420,940,000

 

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Kaiser Wilhelm

Keep cranking out cents. Countless home storage containers are waiting for them.

Antonio

I have my 2022 D cent, now I need a P cent and I’m fine for the year.

Kaiser Wilhelm

Antonio, your numismatic restraint is truly impressive; kudos, my friend.

Antonio

How does everyone feel about the Washington on the AWQs?

Kaiser Wilhelm

Antonio,
Asked and answered on the immediately prior thread. 🙂

Perry Mason would be proud!

Last edited 5 months ago by Kaiser Wilhelm
Bob Silver

For circulating coinage only, just go to plastic coins like the republic of Transnistria..

Antonio

We should have polymer currency like Mexico and Canada have. We still use paper. I guess it’s tradition.

Antonio

My goodness! You’re right!

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Kaiser Wilhelm

Perhaps this is in anticipation of turning Transnistria into a casino for oligarchs.

Antonio

Touche!

Kaiser Wilhelm

Oh, those wacky Russian-loving Transnistrians going the goose step one better!

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Last edited 5 months ago by Kaiser Wilhelm
Bob Silver

Actually, they were showcasing their Jeet Kune Do skills.

Kaiser Wilhelm

Is that “Field Goal Kicker” in Korean?

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Antonio

If the numbers hold, expect huge amounts of Anna May Wong quarters.

Kaiser Wilhelm

To paraphrase a promise once made to all Americans, we’ll soon have a chicken in every pot, a car in every garage, and an Anna May Wong quarter in every change jar.

Antonio

🙂

Kaiser Wilhelm

These days it might behoove us to latch onto any cause for celebration.

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