The U.S. Mint’s pace of striking coins for circulation slowed in February from January and from the same month a year earlier, but the overall output topped a billion for a second month in a row.
Manufacturing figures from the United States Mint show just over 1.05 billion coins pressed for the month — spread across cents, nickels, dimes and quarters, marking declines of 12.2% from January and 16.3% from February of last year.
Here’s how the month ranks against others in the past year:
February 2022 to February 2023 Circulating Coin Production
| Month | Mintages | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| February 2023 | 1,054.16 M | 9 |
| January 2023 | 1,200.46 M | 5 |
| 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 |
| July 2022 | 1,100.62 M | 8 |
| June 2022 | 1,141.60 M | 7 |
| 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 |
Again, Fewer Pennies
The U.S. Mint’s main mission is to manufacture coins in requested quantities to meet public demand. The Mint produces, sells and then delivers circulating coins to Federal Reserve Banks to support its service to commercial banks and other financial institutions.
The Federal Reserve always orders more 1-cent coins than any other denomination even though the latest data shows that it costs the Mint 2.72 cents to make and distribute each one.
The Mint struck 426.8 million Lincoln cents in February, accounting for 40.5% of the circulating-quality coins made for the month. This continues a sub-50 trend which began in May. Historically, before then, more than half of the coins produced in a given month were cents. As an example contrasting the change, last year’s high-water mark happened in January when 59.8% of the circulating coins minted were cents.
Month-Over-Month
In month-over-month comparisons for coins used daily by Americans, production totals in February decreased:
- 12% for Lincoln cents,
- 16.3% for Jefferson nickels,
- 10.8% for Roosevelt dimes, and
- 9.3% for quarters.
Mintages of Native American Dollars and Kennedy Halves
The U.S. Mint also strikes other coins in circulating quality, namely dollars and half dollars. 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 was true for Kennedy half dollars until recently — specifically, years 2021 and 2022.
Usually in January, the U.S. Mint produces both denominations to the expected amounts needed for the entire year. That has been the case so far this year, but was not for Kennedy halves in each of the two prior years when the Federal Reserve unexpectedly ordered millions more just for circulation (in amounts of about 12 million and 7 million in fiscal years 2021 and 2022, respectively).
It has not been disclosed whether any 2023 Kennedy half dollars will be produced for general circulation. Figures to date have this year’s halves at 2.2 million from each production plant for a total of 4.4 million coins. These compared to production runs in 2022 totaling 4.9 million from Denver and 4.8 million from Philadelphia for 9.7 million coins.
2023 Native American dollar mintages are not expected to change with splits of 1.12 million each from the Denver and Philadelphia Mints for a combined 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. Around May, the bureau is expected to offer collectors rolls and bags of circulating 2023 Kennedy halves.
This next table shows 2023 circulating coin mintages by production facility, denomination, and design.
U.S. Mint Circulating Coin Production in February 2023
| Denver | Philadelphia | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lincoln Cent | 213,600,000 | 213,200,000 | 426,800,000 |
| Jefferson Nickel | 68,880,000 | 59,280,000 | 128,160,000 |
| Roosevelt Dime | 143,000,000 | 133,000,000 | 276,000,000 |
| Quarters | 114,600,000 | 108,600,000 | 223,200,000 |
| Kennedy Half-Dollar | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Native American $1 Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 540,080,000 | 514,080,000 | 1,054,160,000 |
In overall production totals for February, the Denver Mint struck 540.08 million coins and the Philadelphia Mint made 514.08 million coins for the combined 1,054,160,000 coins.
For the year to date, the Denver Mint struck 1,177,820,000 coins and the Philadelphia Mint made 1,076,800,000 coins for a total of 2,254,620,000 coins, which is 10.2% fewer than the 2,509,960,000 coins manufactured through the first two months of 2022.
If the current production pace stretched through to December, the annual mintage for 2023 would top 13.5 billion coins. The U.S. Mint manufactured 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 | 478.4M | 154.8M | 305.5M | 235.8M | 2.2M | 1.12M | 1177.82M |
| Philadelphia | 433.6M | 126.48M | 280M | 233.4M | 2.2M | 1.12M | 1076.8M |
| Total | 912M | 281.28M | 585.5M | 469.2M | 4.4M | 2.24M | 2254.62M |
Lastly, U.S. Mint figures show 469.2 million quarters have been manufactured since January. These are most of the Bessie Coleman quarters with more yet to be made. As a part of the Mint’s series of American Women Quarters™, the Bessie Coleman quarter is the sixth issue overall and first of five for 2023. Bessie Coleman quarters started circulating Jan. 3. More recently, on Feb. 14, the Mint released rolls and bags of them for sale to the public.
As of today banks are beginning to fail in America. Let’s make lots more cents for nothing.
Some serious stuff happening. Depositors with more than $250k are getting a haircut. Companies with deposits in the bank can’t meet payroll. Quite the mess.
This time, East Coast Guru, it took only fifteen years for the banking industry to go from one major financial debacle to the next (2008-2023). It will be interesting but hopefully not too devastating to see how bad this one gets compared to the Great Recession. Bear in mind also that any new safeguards against failure and/or collapse the banks have made since 2008 had to be imposed on them by the United States government. As a consequence, we are aware from the start that the banks’ mentalities themselves haven’t changed one bit since the previous catastrophe and that as… Read more »
Agree. I wonder if credit unions are a safer bet or just a little bit less risky.
I would imagine, E.C. Guru, or at the very least hope that credit unions have less opportunities to be careless with the money that their members entrust to them, but from what we’ve see since 2008 I wouldn’t be so sure.
Stock market is in free fall. My company’s stock is plummeting and all management can do is smile and sound optimistic. Not much help from them there.
There seems to be a sort of rule in life that the only way to learn a lesson once and for all is for there to be serious consequences from your mistake(s). Unfortunately, when American brokerages, banks, insurance companies and automotive firms were on the verge of a complete collapse in 2008, one that they had unquestionably brought on themselves, the government in an act of incomprehensible foolishness invoked the “too big to fail” premise and bailed every single one of those inveterate, habitual and extravagant malingerers out of their catastrophic morass to the tune of somewhere well north of… Read more »
No worries Kaiser, the $1T platinum coin is again being discussed by policy makers to solve all our Government’s ills 😮 😉
Well then, what are they waiting for? Roll the darn thing out!
By the way, that’s still a heck of a lot less than it took to bail out the various corporate transgressors aka non-convicted felons of 2008.
They’ll mint more than one Kaiser 😉
Maybe one of them can be a gold commemorative coin (to skip Congressional approval) dedicated to Bernie Madoff. In the true spirit of all he stood for, it’ll be tin with counterfeit fool’s gold plating.
‘
Kaiser, the $1 Trillion coin sounds like a great plot for a heist movie. Although it’s not like anyone who steals it could launder the $1 Trillion selling to a fence- but perhaps they could hold the country hostage and demand ransom. Oh wait, that’s what Congress already intends to do with refusing to increase the debt limit and send us all over the cliff. Talk about a run on banks if/when that happens….
After those German guys with a getaway handcart were able to steal the Canadian 1 million dollar 220 pound gold coin from a Berlin exhibit never to be seen again, I’d say anything’s possible.
Since I buy all precious metals proof coins, I’m hoping this coin won’t be a proof.
Ha ha ha REB, yeah the Mint will sell you their $1T proof coin for $1.8T then 😉
Right, and no chance of returning for refund. LOL.
So, whoever buys it might as well have it graded and slabbed!
Ha ha ha – EZZZACTLY Major D. Gubmint knows a sucker is born every minute 😉
But Chris, if it’s bullion, Caffeine Mike will sell it in a RED OAK box.
Kaiser, the USG scheme is for the Treasury to authorize it, Mint coin it then have Federal Reserve “buy” it. Trick is, Federal Reserve doesn’t buy it. It’s the ultimate in fiat currency make-believe, statist utopia dream of shuffling paper to come up w/a solution. $1T coin is not for sale to the public.
Caffeine Mike will then need to go to Fiji again and get it to mint a $1T coin for him to hawk on TV 😉
Kaiser,
It’s counterfeit red oak wood boxes Mike “The Numismatic Devil” Mezack presents on HSN’s corrupt coin collector shows…made by the tiny hands of children in communist China who make 25-cents a day & a bowl of rice on a 16-hour day during their one potty break! Sad!
NumisdudeTX
Due to you’re concern, REB, we’ll make sure it’s burnished.
We have a government that spends money like drunken sailors, national debt closing in on $33 Trillion, fed interest rates pegged to be over 6% by years end, 60% of wage earners living pay check to pay check, and let’s not forget about inflation costs. The stock market hasn’t even digested the effects of all those interest rate hikes so I’m not too optimistic about our economic future, in the short term. As far as SVB, it may be an isolated case and not representative of the entire banking system. I’m just amazed that people would put money in an… Read more »
What’s going on
So far, Joe, a couple of bank failures; Silicon Valley Bank and Silvergate Bank.
Seems my disaster theories weren’t far off. Also, don’t forget to congratulate Xi on 5 more years and their version of the f22 from free research done by America. Credit unions are funded by members but fdic backed. So with gubmint, they’ll pay you… just not today tomorrow or anytime soon. But if you owe them 20 bucks, they’ll spend millions hunting you down. Sunrises are pretty, but expect a red dawn. Iran at 83% and notice. Not a peep about the uranium good Ole Hillary sold to Russia for pennies on the dollar. Well maybe not pennies, they cost… Read more »
“Red Dawn”. Great movie. Patrick Swayze. What more to say?
Are you surprised that a bank tied strongly to the cryptocurrency industry would fail? Does it fall on dead eyes that both of these “banks” are located in California?
On your own. That’s what the sign should say.
Likely, yes, Antonio, or “Own Your Own Home Until The Bank Forecloses On You”.
Not if you pay cash for your home.
And the default clock is ticking.
The buzzer rang on yet another bank yesterday, Major D. That makes two so far.
But is it going to “Spring Forward”?
Only works for six months when you have to “Fall Back.” 😉
Still haven’t come across a Bessie Coleman quarter. I’ve asked tellers in several banks and savings & loans, and they have no clue about these but haven’t seen any yet. No rolls either. First time this has happened. Quite different from last year.
Last time I asked about the AWQs in my local bank I got a blank look. They don’t know.
I get that look often, too.
No kidding, Major D. It makes me feel like I’ve landed from another planet.
same here with any 2023 coinage. actually 1 dime and 1 nickel of 2023 so far. No quarters
The big question is, LEE, where in the world (literally) do all those coins go?
I have a Bessie Coleman D, and one Denver dime. I have yet to see a penny or a nickel, and for anything newer than 2015 I rarely see a Philadelphia mint coin. I asked my bank if new coins are still distributed in rolls and they said no. All the rolls that they purchase are mixed years.
It’s been the luck of the draw for me. Most times mixed coins in the Reverse bank rolls- but every so often I get lucky with shiny new coins. No 2023 coin rolls yet- but I did get rolls of 2022 cents, nickels, and Anna May Wong quarters all Philly.
Army medal now in remind me status. You were closer than me with your guess. Congrats.
Ah, that “Remind Me” status. The gift that keeps on not giving.
It only took 6 long days to basically sell out…a long time for a low-mintage item.
NumisdudeTX
Major D,
Perhaps China cleared all the Covid-19 bats out of some big cavern in Wuhan and now have all kinds of space to store US Mint Coin Rolls.
Kaiser,
Your Wuhan rap music gang is going “viral” on the communist Chinese-owned social media platform Tik-Tok!
Their newest album is titled “Bat S**t Crazy”, with the #1 rap song on it being “Wuhan Wet Market”. Their mascot, of course, is a rabid Fledermaus…and their lead singer “Lil’ Commie” wears a Batman costume with an unusually large codpiece. Their concert tickets cost one China panda silver 10-yuan coin.
NumisdudeTX
I can’t stop rolling on the floor laughing, Seth. Absolutely fabulous humor with not a fail in sight. Massive kudos to you!
By the way, Seth, I no longer manage the Wuhan Tang Clan. They’ve left the music business and opted instead for a chain of home cooked bat soup restaurants all across North Korea instead. Their featured item is Special Kim Cream Of Wing.
Kaiser,
The bat soup you mention goes well with food from the newest chain restaurant in Wuhan – Kentucky Fried Bat – they say it tastes like chicken!
Kim Jong “Fat Bastard” Un of DPRK eats it by the bucket I hear.
He also eats little children with his favorite delicacy, Swiss Emmentaler cheese he gets in 25-pound slabs from Switzerland where he & his sister attended college under assumed names…(true story, except for the children part).
NumisdudeTX
oops- I meant “Reserve” bank rolls, of course.
Oh that’s so funny, Major D, because you really had me thinking “Reverse Bank Rolls” were coin rolls the banks made themselves using loose change they had received from the public.
Makes sense to me, Kaiser. Let’s start a new coin term.
Well, you invented it, major D, so all the credit goes your way. But I’m all for it!
The operative question, WayneCa, is “where in the world did all the rolls go?”
It’s clear that we have to keep asking this question until somebody somewhere somehow comes up with what resembles an answer.
I have this quarter Bessie Coleman 2023 D
Awesome!
Has anyone received and checked their army medal yet? Was the correction made to the coin for spelling?
As to the first, Dazed and Coinfused, I didn’t order it so I wouldn’t now. Regarding the second, is it possible the folds of the flag just happened to be rendered in such a way on the medal that it simply gave the appearance of a misspelling?
What is the difference between a w point quarter with the emblem ? An a w point quarter with out the emblem??
Sylvia, I’m not sure what that is, but I’ll take a wild guess and say the difference is “the emblem”?
I’m going to venture an even wilder question, Sylvia, and ask what you mean by “the emblem.” What does it look like and exactly where on the quarter is it located?
Kaiser, I believe “the emblem” is next to “the point”.
Major D, I give up on the emblem, I get the point and I raise you the walrus.