August 2015 US Mint Circulating Coin Production: 1.14 Billion

Blue Ridge ParkwayRv

The U.S. Mint has released its circulating coin production totals for the month of August.

The mint made more than 1.14 billion circulating coins last month, which is 523.3 million less than the July total, or a 31% decrease in overall production.

The chart below details production numbers for the coins, broken down by denomination and mint facility. The first numerical column lists figures for the month of August, while the “Year to Date” numbers represent totals for all of 2015.

2015 US Mint Coin Production Figures
August 2015 YTD 2015
Lincoln Cent – Denver 211.60 M 3,169.60 M
Lincoln Cent – Phil. 391.60 M 3,243.60 M
Jefferson Nickel – Denver 26.64 M 571.92 M
Jefferson Nickel – Phil. 65.28 M 512.64 M
Roosevelt Dime – Denver 65.50 M 1,058.50 M
Roosevelt Dime – Phil. 129.00 M 1,060.00 M
Quarters – Denver 100.40 M 1,162.40 M
Quarters – Phil. 151.60 M 1,033.20 M
Kennedy Half – Denver 0 2.30 M
Kennedy Half – Phil. 0 2.30 M
Native Am Dollar – Denver 0 2.24 M
Native Am Dollar – Phil. 0 2.80 M
Pres Dollar – Denver .84 M 16.81 M
Pres Dollar – Phil. 0 20.86 M
Total 1,142.46 M 11,859.17 M

The table below presents cumulative 2015 production numbers for America the Beautiful quarters and Presidential dollars, differentiated by design. Of the coins in these groups, only two issues show an increased total this month: the Blue Ridge Parkway ATB quarter and the Lyndon Johnson Presidential $1 coin.

These are the first production figures issued for circulating Blue Ridge Parkway quarters, which will cease manufacture as the mint shifts its attention to the upcoming Bombay Hook issue in the ATB series. With over 830 million coins produced, the Blue Ridge Parkway quarters have the highest mintage of any ATB issue; the Kisatchie National Forest and Mount Rushmore designs place 2nd and 3rd in overall quantities struck.

2015 US Mint Coin Production by Design
Denver Phil. Total
Homestead 248.60 M 214.40 M 463.00 M
Kisatchie 379.60 M 397.20 M 776.80 M
Blue Ridge Parkway 505.20 M 325.60 M 830.80 M
Harry S. Truman 3.50 M 4.90 M 8.4 M
Dwight D. Eisenhower 3.64 M 4.90 M 8.54 M
John F. Kennedy 5.18 M 6.16 M 11.34 M
Lyndon B. Johnson 4.20 M 4.90 M 9.10 M

For more information on the U.S. Mint’s production and sales figures, visit its Web site.

Facebook Twitter Email

BEFORE YOU COMMENT:

  1. Mint News Blog is not a retail website. If you wish to buy a coin or banknote, you should contact a reputable dealer. One of our sponsors (see ads at left and top of page) may also have what you’re looking for, so be sure to check out their websites.
  2. Per policy, we do not advise on the value, authenticity, or rarity of readers’ coins and banknotes. For this kind of assistance, you should contact a reputable dealer, preferably one who’s certified by the American Numismatic Association and/or the Professional Numismatists Guild.
  3. Vulgar and/or abusive comments will not be tolerated. Nor will trolls.
  4. Allegations of fraudulent or criminal activity against a named party, when said activity has not been proven in a court of law, will be removed.

Comments

  1. Goat says

    The nickels and dimes are a little higher in population compared to 2009 . Anybody find 2009 in change , got to laugh I told my kids I would give them $5 if they were to find one , I spent $5 about five months ago.

  2. Jerry Diekmann says

    Larry – I don’t think the silver proof set mintage will make it a sleeper. I think it just reflects a long-term decline in demand for proof sets and also uncirculated sets. Back in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, these were the only products the Mint made. Nowadays there are so many more different kinds of coins and sets and finishes available, and I don’t think there has been that big an increase in the number of collectors since that time. Years ago younger people collected coins – now very few do, and I can understand why – there really isn’t anything in circulation to collect anymore. I’m afraid the coin collecting hobby has geriacticfied (my verb) into a hobby for old white men. Those youngsters of the 1950s and 1960s and 1970s represent most of coin collectors now, but there are very few younger people interested in the hobby anymore. And as a long-time coin collector, I can see why – all the emphasis is on perfection , grade 70s, labels, and gimmick coins. The fun is gone – it’s just a business now, and in many respects, not a very nice business anymore – too much greed and dishonesty IMO.

  3. Erik H says

    Goat, I found a few 2009s in change back in the day but stopped looking since by now those that weren’t hoarded are probably well circulated. (I actually got a roll or two of the nickels from the bank, but flipped them.)

  4. Goat says

    Yelp Eric, that’s how I got mine was someone flipped rolls on e-bay , they still command a good premium today ,(not the $5 I paid my kids) the kids thought that was the greatest.

  5. Erik H says

    Jerry, I think more people would be interested in collecting if we still had silver coinage in circulation. I love roll hunting at the bank but I only go for halves because all the silver quarters & dimes have been picked out. The last silver quarter I found was a few years ago. I noticed it in the cash register sitting on top of all the other quarters waiting for me to notice it LOL. I asked the cashier if I could have it, she thought I crazy picking out one from the bunch from about 3 feet away!

    I always know when l’m receiving a silver half from the teller just from the sound it makes too.

  6. Dustyroads says

    Larry, I think maybe yes. As of 8/6/12, silver proof set sales were at 271,240, we are presently trending at 14,098 behind that number.
    As of this date in 2014 the set had sales of 298,667.
    2013–297,331.
    I’m guessing the lower sales numbers are due to the unchanged Mint price and falling spot price.

    Good call!

  7. Erik H says

    Jerry or anybody, what do kids (young adults ) like to collect these days? I’ve always collected something even if there was no monetary gain, only since 2008 did I switch back to PMs.

  8. Larry says

    I think our favorite huckster on HSN slipped a bit and gave out some interesting info on what he paid for the IKE sets tonight. He said he bought about 30% of the entire mintage and spent a million bucks. So, 30% of 17000 = 5100. $1,000,000/5100 = $196.08. So he paid about $196 per set. When he said it, it almost seemed like an “ooops”. I have a feeling the truth may have actually slipped out. Considering what he sells them for, they are making a pretty good chunk of change.

  9. Dustyroads says

    Larry, I’m guessing you already know this, the 2012 silver proof set sold out in the first week of 2013. 2012 was known for it’s early sell outs, it’s so hard to say if this set will do the same, but the Mint seems to be holding things longer these days.

  10. VA Bob says

    Jerry – Excellent comment. My feelings exactly. People are collecting coins few will remember a year from now because they don’t circulate.

    As for over a quarter million silver proof sets being a sleeper? Not hardly. Perhaps they can be hyped as a low mintage to get a few more to horde the sets. But if you want to believe it’s a sleeper, I have a silver JFK 2014 Anniversary set to sell you (so does the Mint), with a lower mintage number.

  11. Erik H says

    Hawkster, that would have been one of my guesses. I have heard of athletes and rappers with huge shoe collections so maybe young males follow the crowd and collect them too?

  12. says

    State quarters. ATB quarters. Presidential dollars. Native American quarters. What do these have in common? These are circulating coins in which the average person on the street has no clue they exist. Sure, most everyone can identify a Washington quarter. But do they have any understanding of the coin’s reverse? Probably not, and especially so for the younger folks.
    How about the “golden” dollars? Try spending these at a store. You’ll probably get some strange looks as you try to use these funny looking token-like coins.
    My point: Not only is the average person completely ignorant as to modern collector coins, he or she is also clueless as to the modern circulating coin programs. It is easy to figure out why coin collecting is becoming yesterday’s news.

  13. Eddie says

    I wished the coin album makers would include the special coins in their albums like the RP C&C sets and special Kennedy issues.

  14. Bill G. says

    The 2015 Silver proof set will only be a sleeper if the Mint doesn’t sell it for another year or two. The 2014 Silver Proof set was looking like a low mintage year, but the Mint has kept on selling it. My guess is that they produced 450,000 – 500,000 of the 2014 and will keep selling it until they are gone. If they only produced 300,000 of the 2015 and stop selling it when they reach that figure, it could be a sleeper.

    I agree with the general sentiment that this hobby is presently in decline. However, these things tend to operate in cycles. Remember, people have been collecting coins for more than 2,000 years. There will come a time when the ranks of this hobby swell again. My guess is that the ATB quarter series will be a winner in the long term. The designs on many of these quarters are first rate. There seems to be a lot less of the political designs that plagued the state quarter series. In the end, beautiful designs will tend to attract collectors especially when those coins are actually circulated, sometimes they don’t even need to be circulated as in the silver eagle program.

    In order for the golden dollars to be collected, we would probably need to see the elimination of the dollar and 2 dollar bills. With no choice but to use the dollar coins we could see them become popular collector’s items. However, I doubt we will ever see the elimination of the paper notes.

  15. JagFan says

    @Eddie,

    The Caps Albums if you go to their site, you can create your own page for only $4.95 plus shipping… Nice Albums, they have the preselected albums and then they allow you to create your own as well. These albums are designed for AirTites…

    The web address is:

    http://www.capsalbum.com/

    The last page of the Presidential Albums would not be that difficult to add additional spots for the Reverse Proofs and possible future Presidents if they materialize once the program is complete.

    Over at Valley Coin, they designed one that has all of the Silver Coins of the World for the years 2012 thru 2015 so the sky is the limit. The only limitation is that you can only go with one size AirTite.

  16. JBK says

    I search 1000s of nickels a month for a project I am working on and I find more Buffalo nickels and silver war nickels than 2009s. I have found about a dozen 2009 P/D nickels in the past few years out of countless thousands of coins searched.

  17. David says

    Once the prez dollars are done will the mintage for the Sacagawea dollars be increased to compensate or do you think the mintages will remain low since they aren’t issued for circulation? And what does the mint plan to do with the billions of prez dollars in government vaults?

  18. JBK says

    I don’t see them increasing Sac mintage unless collector demand also increases.

    I do not know for sure, but I imagine that what is in government vaults (or the Fed) is getting slowly reduced since a few operations do use dollar coins (Boston subway, for one – change is given in dollar coins). I do not know the distribution process, but if the Mint still has them in their possession they could always put them back on sale, as they did with the 2001 half dollars a few years ago. If they are beyond the mint (in bank vaults, for example), then that won’t happen.

  19. Brad says

    Did anyone notice that there is a stated limit of 20,000 (mintage and product) for the 2015 First Spouse Medal Set? I think this is the first year in the program that there has been a published limit on these sets. I gather both limits is referring to this set alone, since there have already been more than 20,000 of the Kennedy coin and spouse medal sets sold. So, the mintage of 20,000 does not include those medals already sold that way.

    There’s no household order limit on these either. I wonder how many people will “back up the truck” and order 100+? The 2014 set still sells for a decent premium over the issue price, but only a fraction of what it was before the second batch. And I think both batches only amounted to 10,XXX produced.

    So, will the 2015 set be worth the effort? Anyone have any thoughts?

  20. Ikaika says

    @Jerry Diekmann

    Very good analysis of the current coin collecting hobby. I have been saying for many years that most of the US Mint purchases are being made by big dealers and flippers. Most of the talk these days is about mintage and how much one can make by flipping. It is very rare to read a discussion on the coin itself. Sad but true.

  21. Jeff says

    CAN I GET AN AMEN Joe. The EBAY The Grey book is for couch potatoes and the elderly that this jerk Mike M. and HSN prey on. I wish HSN would do a survey who’s buying this hyperinflated coinage . What ever happened about informing the public of predators.

  22. NcCoinCollector says

    My contrarian view is that today’s circulating coinage will be more and more collectible the further we move towards a cashless society. As it is if you have more than a few grand in cash the police can seize it just because only criminals use cash. (Asset Forfeiture)
    When I ask for dollars and halfs the teller calls it ,”funny money”. They seem hip to the silver but they are not checking for the Cheerios Sacagawea. I am convinced there a few more to be found in circulation.
    BTW I appreciate your contributions cagcrisp.

  23. VA Bob says

    Brad – unless you’re going for a quick flip, most medals have been notoriously poor investments. The hype of any hint of rarity pushes those fleeting higher secondary sales. EBay might be good for the “now” but it’s a poor long term indicator of value on a large variety of coins/medals. I believe a lot of people think the prices they pay on the bay are the end all, be all price unless, of course, it goes higher. Some do, most, especially medals and clad, don’t. Good if it’s a popular coin like 1914 D Dime. I would say one could get a good idea on future interest by the popularity of a series when nothing special is happening with it. If a few gems appear in a so so series, they might do well on a short sell, but they are probably going to settle lower after the hype is over. The FS series gold or medals, just aren’t popular, no matter how one feels about the specific issues. I picked up the FS medals from the start of the program, with no expectation of them being more valuable, and most likely worth less than issue price. Will we be talking about them after the program ends? Doubtful.

  24. gatortreke says

    Given the comments on our circulating coinage and notably, the Sacagawea dollar, I’ll relay my experience with the golden dollars. I buy a 250 coin box for each design. I spend at least one half of these at local convenience stores, the USPS, etc… The lady at the post office hates them but is obligated to take them. She knows me as the golden dollar man.

    I was initially surprised that when I spent the dollar coins at the various convenience stores around town, most of the cashiers not only recognized the coin, many looked to see which coin it was. I’ve seen a number of them either exchange the coin to keep or set it aside in their drawer. I’ve even heard one cashier call them “cool”. One told me he has a customer who collects them and asks him if he has any new coins so I’m supplying at least one collector in the local area with the latest designs. Many of the cashiers tell me I’m the first to pay with one of the new designs. Generally, they aren’t despised by the cashiers and are met with some type of interest.

    As a general habit, I keep an old prescription bottle full of the dollars in the glove compartment of my car so I always have at least $10 on hand for times when I need a spare dollar or two. In this manner, they are a very convenient way to carry a few dollars.

  25. bob r says

    I have personally given up on all modern silver and gold offerings from the mint with the exception of the P pucks. I will stick with the 18th and earlier 19th century coins. As far as precious metals go silver goes my favorite is the 10oz and kilo stackers.

    Sure I understand it is financially wiser to buy the SVL and GLD ETF’s than the commodity itself but that is not nearly as much fun.

    I am an old coot and remember the days testing the nuke bombs in Nevada, we had lots of thunderstorms here in Kansas and my parents warned us kids not to eat the hail, it may be radio active. I have 8 and 6 year old daughters, the youngest is most interested in coins.

    I always allow her to look at and enjoy our collection. She enjoys taking a Morgan dollar, Indian penny or a Buffalo nickel to school to show and share with her class (yes she could lose it but what the heck it is only $20). As change I always ask the bank for dollar coins, halves and $2 bills to use as my everyday chump change shopping.

    My thought is the mint should put halves and dollars back into circulation kill the penny, and cease the printing of the old dollar bill.

    Yeah it probably will turn out bit coins, bank xfers and plastic money will rule the world but bullion will always be precious to own in your safe.

  26. cagcrisp says

    I counted a total of 29 ‘sold listings’ on the bay that Concluded on Wednesday and Thursday for the Eisenhower Coin and Chronicles. The average Selling price + shipping was $163.36…

  27. cagcrisp says

    09/11/15 BIN Offerings for the Eisenhower coin &chronicles:

    82 Offerings for BIN <= $220 -6
    71 Offerings for BIN <= $210 -7
    65 Offerings for BIN <= $200 -3
    48 Offerings for BIN <= $190 -5
    31 Offerings for BIN <= $180 -5

    47 Offerings for 2 sets BIN <= $440 -4

  28. cagcrisp says

    As of 09/11/15 on the bay offerings for the ‘high relief Liberty’

    All BIN’s 117 – 7
    Auction 69’s 9 + 0
    Auction 70’s 33 + 2
    Reserve OGP Auction with high opening price 4 +0
    True OGP Auction 6 + 2
    Total offerings for ‘high relief Liberty’ 169 -3

  29. cagcrisp says

    2 MS 68 high relief Liberty’s are up for auction. One is a PL.Both have 6 says to go. The only other 68 that has been offered was the only Sale out of 815 ‘sold offerings’ that Sold for less than $1490.00…

  30. Joe #2 says

    Jeff, That is why you have to have some background on coins / paper money..
    Nobody forces “you” to buy from HSN, The Coin vault or anyone else for that matter… First rule is to NEVER buy on TV.
    I do know Mike has 100% feedback on ebay. He is doing something right. Each there own..

  31. says

    VaBob–You are absolutely right about medals generally being a terrible financial investment, however, as a long time collector of graded First Spouse bronze medals, I can attest that in MS69 RD condition, they have held their value at $300-$400 or more. In grade MS68RD, Mary Todd Lincoln can sell in the high three digit range. This has been so for several years.

  32. Buzz Killington says

    The Coin & Currency set is off backorder. When will it sell out?

    P.S. RD= RED for a bronze or copper coin. I guess you’ve never seen a graded Lincoln cent.

  33. A different Jeff says

    @Hawkster-
    The designations RD RB an BN apply only to copper or copper-based coins – half cent, large and small cents other than the Flying Eagles and Indian Head through early 1864, and two cent pieces.

    RD means red, indicating full mint luster.
    RB means red-brown, and indicates the coin has some oxidation or patina, but some mint luster is still present.
    BN means brown, and is how you will find most circulated coins and those that have been exposed to air.

  34. says

    A different Jeff said:
    @Hawkster-
    The designations RD RB an BN apply only to copper or copper-based coins – half cent, large and small cents other than the Flying Eagles and Indian Head through early 1864, and two cent pieces. …

    It apparently doesn’t apply to our current circulating cupro-nickel clad coins (dime, quarter, half), which are 91.67% copper. Apparently, the coin’s surface needs to be copper.

  35. says

    different Jeff,
    Thanks. If grading companies have such toning based designations for copper based coins, you would have thought they would have comparable designations for silver based coins. I propose the following: BK means black toning, RB means rainbow toning, and BR means bronze toning.

  36. MarkInFlorida says

    Bob R I don’t think it’s financially wiser to have gold and silver ETFs, if a big crash comes, they might not have enough to go around, or they might be forced to sell low. As they say “If you can’t touch it, you don’t own it.” Just keep it well hidden. Did you read where the COMEX has only one ounce of real gold for every 200 ounces of paper gold they trade?!

  37. says

    MarkInFlorida said:
    Bob R I don’t think it’s financially wiser to have gold and silver ETFs, if a big crash comes, they might not have enough to go around, or they might be forced to sell low. As they say “If you can’t touch it, you don’t own it.” Just keep it well hidden. …

    You should be aware that the two major gold ETFs, GLD and IAU, don’t own gold contracts. They own actual physical gold bars stored in London and Zurich vaults, respectively. A very interesting alternative to those two ETFs is OUNZ, run by Axel Merk (see http://www.merkfunds.com/about-us/press/2014-05-14.html). In addition to the ability to trade OUNZ shares on the stock market, you can also redeem OUNZ shares for physical gold (including gold American Eagle coins), shipped directly to your home or office.

  38. gary says

    @bob

    Your Mom actually let you test nuke bombs in Nevada? Cool!
    My Mom only let me have a cap pistol that broke.

  39. Dave SW FL says

    Great link, Longarm.

    Just remember, Holter & Sinclair are perma Bulls in PMs. They look for any and every possible justification for their bullish stance and have encouraged loading up on PMs on the way up AND on the way down. Their message ALWAYS has a sense of urgency – a hallmark of a great salesperson.

    Maybe they should work for Mike!

    Not saying the linked article is garbage, but maybe taken with a grain of salt in light of their history.

    All MHO

  40. A different Jeff says

    @D Rittenhouse –
    It does seem like there should be some kind of indicator for the golden dollars. Maybe something like this:

    BS or FB meaning Brass or Fresh (or full) Brass indicating partial or full mint luster, respectively
    OX meaning oxidized, showing oxidation to some extent
    FO meaning fully oxidized, showing the icky greyish-black surface
    DL meaning dull, showing lack of luster without oxidation or toning
    TN meaning toned, again without oxidation

    There are many coins worldwide that are made of a brass alloy. I am sure this is not a new concern.
    I have a 1985 Finnish 5 mark, a 1987 Canadian dollar, a 1983 German 5 pfennig, a 1975 Spanish 1 peseta, a 1943 British three pence, several Australian 1 and 2 dollars and a 1999 dutch 1 euro (bi-metal). Most would rate DL, a couple TN and one OX.

    Just some observations as coins continue to use ‘exotic’ alloys.

  41. Jerry Diekmann says

    Erik – I think the days of coin collecting, as in finding valuable coins in change, are gone forever. My two daughters, son, two granddaughters and three grandsons – that’s eight “offspring”- are different as night and day in some areas but are alike in one way – none of them have any interest in collecting coins. The newer generation(s) has (have) too many other creations which were unheard of in my youth and early adult years to choose from and contend with. Collecting coins just doesn’t compare in satisfaction to them when compared with other opportunities for spending leisure time.

    There will always be coin collectors, but just not as many. I have collected coins for 50+ years, and I can tell you that collecting clad coins is just a boring necessity for completeness. There are no rarities in the 50 years they have been around (I don’t count error coins in my definition of rare or necessary for a complete collection). The same designs have been around for far too long, and the only relief has been the State and ATB quarters and the Westward Journey nickels for just two years. I think the Mint may realize the declining popularity of coin collecdting, because they have come up with so many gimmick coins in the past ten years or so – special finishes, congratulatyions sets, birth year sets, and the proliferation of coins that don’t even circulate – like the Sacagawea and Native American and Presidential dollars and JFK half dollars, and their creations for such coins as the baseball HOF coins, the JFK gold 3/4 oz. half dollar, the RP presidential dollars, and even the recently issued beautiful HR $100 LibertyFlying Eagle gold coin. But the Mint is not attracting younger collectors for several reasons. The coin products are simply much too expensive to buy for younger (and also many older) people, and the method of obtaining them from the Mint is cumbersome and fraught with difficulties because of the Mint’s policies regarding the numbers minted, the household limits, and the open secret of the Mint’s too-close relationship with the big coin dealers. The crux of the problem is that the Mint doesn’t care one iota who they sell to – they just want to sell the limit they have set. Notice that when the Mint has control of the mintage limit, it is always less than what Congress imposes when a commemorative coin is issued.

    Coin collecting has been pretty much taken over nowadays by the big dealers, their friends in fraud and dishonesty the TPGs, together with an unhealthy (to the hobby) mix of flippers who are not collectors but really speculators who are able to take advantage of the Mint’s byzantine actions in selling coins over the last ten years or so. I can’t call the Mint’s action a policy, because a policy would indicate some foresight went into the policy, but the Mint’s “policy”, if there is even one, could only be considered haphazard at best and downright stupid at worst. The truth is probably somewhere in-between. So many of you bloggers have expressed your rightful frustration and disgust with the Mint’s policies, it is easy to see why many people who might think of becoming coin collectors would be turned off by what is happening in the coin markets nowadays. A younger person would be completely blown away and wouldn’t stand a chance trying to navigate through the minefield that now exists among the Mint, TPG graders, and flippers, to say nothing of the problems that have always existed because of shady and unscrupulous coin dealers and overgraded coins and lowballing potential sellers with less-than honest bids. All of these problems contribute, IMO, to working against a thriving coin collecting hobby. I was lucky – I got to experience it when I was younger, but like my youth, I’m afraid it is gone now too. I don’t mean to sound so pessimistic, but I am just trying to be realistic.

  42. Sherril says

    Is there anybody on here that would like to trade a Eisenhower set for a Truman set?????I have an extra Eisenhower set but I need a Truman set?How would you do it and know that the person is reliable and trustworthy?Is it even possible??

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *