The Mint has released data for January 2011:
1cent = 398.0 Million
5cents = 93.12 M
10cents = 130.0 M
25cents = 61.2 M
50cents = 3.45 M
1dollar = 78.96 M (including 6.3 Million Natives)
This was the strongest January in three years. It's the highest number of nickels produced in a single month since June of 2007! As with many recent years, the Mint gets its annual run of half dollars out of the way in January, and the 3.45 million struck in 2011 is very comparable to the half dollar production in 2010. I don't expect the Mint to strike any more half dollars this year, and you can safely assume that these numbers are final mintages for 2011 halves.
The other exciting trend with this month's data is the weird ratio between the P and D mintmarks. Denver outproduced Philly two to one in cents, nickels, dimes, and Native dollars. I'm sure this will even out as the year progresses, but it does suggest something interesting... that's the nation's recovery from the recession is lopsided and regional.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Mint >> 2010 Year in Review
After 2009's dramatic modern mintage lows, 2010 bounces back to 2008 levels. Keep in mind 2008 levels were far below 2007 to begin with. The Mint made 6.373 billion coins in 2010, comparable to the number struck in 1968. This sits between the 10.1 billion and 3.6 billion struck in 2008 and 2009, respectively.
There were 4 billion of the new shield cents struck, significantly below the 5.4 billion struck in 2008, but far more than the 2.35 billion struck in 2009. (2009 cents were also spread among four commemorative designs, making them far rarer.) I don't think the inaugural shield cent is going to see any major collector value for a long time, unless mintage levels in the near future return to the 15-billion cent levels seen circa Y2K.
For nickels, the story is similar. The 490.6 million 2010 nickels is less than the 640.6 million 2008 nickels, but far more than the 86.6 million 2009 nickels. The 2009 nickels are likely to become a key date for Franki nickel collectors in the decades to come. The low nickel mintages of 2008 and 2010 will always hide in the shadow of the forever infamous 2009 nickel.
Dimes were the only denomination to break the 2008 mintage level, but only by a small excess. Dime production is still a third of its 2005 levels, but 1.1 billion is nothing to get excited about. Like with nickels, the 2010 dime will go unnoticed while its 2009 brother will get all the attention.
Quarters were the big surprise of the year. Hoping to duplicate the success of the State Quarter series, Congress began the National Parks quarters in 2010, a series that will continue through at least through 2021. I was expecting that this series would see high interest and demand, seeing as how popular the state quarters were. Instead, quarters in 2010 (and in 2009) maintained a mintage level for the denomination not seen since the 1930s! Both 2009 and 2010 quarters of any variety will be highly sought after by collectors for the indefinite future, and will become increasingly rare in circulation. Get 'em while you can!
Half dollars, the forgotten denomination, continued to be forgotten. The half dollar's mintage levels have been on life support since 2002. The 3.5 million struck in 2010 is comparable to the approx. 4 million struck annually during 2006-2009. Halves continue to be the rarest of all current US coins, and halves dated 2002-present will be the ones that future collectors will get the most excited about.
Dollar coins have been split among two concurrent series, the Presidents and the Natives. In 2010, 321.44 million Presidents were struck, and 80.78 million Natives were produced, a ratio of about 4 Presidents for every Native. This fulfills the Congressional requirement that 20% of dollar coins in a given year be of the Native variety. The dollar coin did not see any drastic mintage reduction during the Great Recession, and has maintained a healthy production rate of 400-500 million per year. Most impressive for a coin "nobody uses", especially considering how quickly the Presidents' two predecessors fell off the mintage radar during their tenures in 1979 and 2000, respectively.
To recap, 2010 was the year of a "return to normalcy" for pennies, nickels, and dimes. 2010 quarters will be chased by collectors for the rest of the century. Overall Mint output is recovering from the 2009 bottom-out, and I expect mintage levels to rise through 2012.
There were 4 billion of the new shield cents struck, significantly below the 5.4 billion struck in 2008, but far more than the 2.35 billion struck in 2009. (2009 cents were also spread among four commemorative designs, making them far rarer.) I don't think the inaugural shield cent is going to see any major collector value for a long time, unless mintage levels in the near future return to the 15-billion cent levels seen circa Y2K.
For nickels, the story is similar. The 490.6 million 2010 nickels is less than the 640.6 million 2008 nickels, but far more than the 86.6 million 2009 nickels. The 2009 nickels are likely to become a key date for Franki nickel collectors in the decades to come. The low nickel mintages of 2008 and 2010 will always hide in the shadow of the forever infamous 2009 nickel.
Dimes were the only denomination to break the 2008 mintage level, but only by a small excess. Dime production is still a third of its 2005 levels, but 1.1 billion is nothing to get excited about. Like with nickels, the 2010 dime will go unnoticed while its 2009 brother will get all the attention.
Quarters were the big surprise of the year. Hoping to duplicate the success of the State Quarter series, Congress began the National Parks quarters in 2010, a series that will continue through at least through 2021. I was expecting that this series would see high interest and demand, seeing as how popular the state quarters were. Instead, quarters in 2010 (and in 2009) maintained a mintage level for the denomination not seen since the 1930s! Both 2009 and 2010 quarters of any variety will be highly sought after by collectors for the indefinite future, and will become increasingly rare in circulation. Get 'em while you can!
Half dollars, the forgotten denomination, continued to be forgotten. The half dollar's mintage levels have been on life support since 2002. The 3.5 million struck in 2010 is comparable to the approx. 4 million struck annually during 2006-2009. Halves continue to be the rarest of all current US coins, and halves dated 2002-present will be the ones that future collectors will get the most excited about.
Dollar coins have been split among two concurrent series, the Presidents and the Natives. In 2010, 321.44 million Presidents were struck, and 80.78 million Natives were produced, a ratio of about 4 Presidents for every Native. This fulfills the Congressional requirement that 20% of dollar coins in a given year be of the Native variety. The dollar coin did not see any drastic mintage reduction during the Great Recession, and has maintained a healthy production rate of 400-500 million per year. Most impressive for a coin "nobody uses", especially considering how quickly the Presidents' two predecessors fell off the mintage radar during their tenures in 1979 and 2000, respectively.
To recap, 2010 was the year of a "return to normalcy" for pennies, nickels, and dimes. 2010 quarters will be chased by collectors for the rest of the century. Overall Mint output is recovering from the 2009 bottom-out, and I expect mintage levels to rise through 2012.
Mint >> December 2010
Final 2010 annual Mint production totals have been released:
1cent = 4.01083 B
5cents = 490.56 M
10cents = 1.119 B
25cents = 347.0 M
50cents = 3.5 M
1dollar = 402.22 M (including 80.78 M native dollars)
Isolating the December monthly totals:
1cent = 57.6 M
5cents = 3.36 M
10cents = 13.5 M
25cents = none
50cents = none
1dollar = 5.74 M (all native dollars)
The Mint usually winds production down at the end of the gear to gear up for the new year's production schedule. Unlike December '09, the Mint continued to produce coins through December, though at reduced levels compared to Decembers 2006-2008.
I am surprised they struck any dollar coins this December. With none reported in November, I thought the Mint was done making dollar coins for the year.
1cent = 4.01083 B
5cents = 490.56 M
10cents = 1.119 B
25cents = 347.0 M
50cents = 3.5 M
1dollar = 402.22 M (including 80.78 M native dollars)
Isolating the December monthly totals:
1cent = 57.6 M
5cents = 3.36 M
10cents = 13.5 M
25cents = none
50cents = none
1dollar = 5.74 M (all native dollars)
The Mint usually winds production down at the end of the gear to gear up for the new year's production schedule. Unlike December '09, the Mint continued to produce coins through December, though at reduced levels compared to Decembers 2006-2008.
I am surprised they struck any dollar coins this December. With none reported in November, I thought the Mint was done making dollar coins for the year.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Mint >> November 2010
Mint total for Jan-Nov 2010 have been released:
1cent = 3.95323 B
5cents = 487.2 M
10cents = 1.1055 B
25cents = 347.0 M
50cents = 3.5 M
1dollar = 396.48 M (including 75.04 M native american dollars)
Isolating the November 2010 quantities:
1cent = 344.0 M
5cents = 72.96 M
10cents = 114.5 M
25cents = none
50cents = none
1dollar = none
That's right, the Mint did not strike a single coin over 10 cents during November 2010.
This is the lowest monthly mintage for both pennies and dimes since April 2010.
Maybe the Mint is starting their usual December fallow period early this year.
I still find it amazing how few quarters they've made in 2010. All other circulating denominations have seen major production gains compared to 2009. For quarters, the 2010 mintage is 65% of what it was in 2009, and keep in mind 2009 was only 21% of 2008. We are two weeks away from the closing of the year, and I've only seen one National Parks quarter in my change. The intent of the National Parks series was to raise awareness of the parks across the country (and to raise seignorage revenue for the Treasury), but if they don't step up the mintage of quarters soon, nobody will see these coins. These low mintages defeat the purpose of the program, don't they? Then again, the Mint can't just ramp up quarter production without corresponding demand, lest they sit in bank vaults like dollar coins, waiting to be circulated someday. Is it possible that state quarters were produced in such quantity as to meet commercial demand years after the program ended? Time will tell.
1cent = 3.95323 B
5cents = 487.2 M
10cents = 1.1055 B
25cents = 347.0 M
50cents = 3.5 M
1dollar = 396.48 M (including 75.04 M native american dollars)
Isolating the November 2010 quantities:
1cent = 344.0 M
5cents = 72.96 M
10cents = 114.5 M
25cents = none
50cents = none
1dollar = none
That's right, the Mint did not strike a single coin over 10 cents during November 2010.
This is the lowest monthly mintage for both pennies and dimes since April 2010.
Maybe the Mint is starting their usual December fallow period early this year.
I still find it amazing how few quarters they've made in 2010. All other circulating denominations have seen major production gains compared to 2009. For quarters, the 2010 mintage is 65% of what it was in 2009, and keep in mind 2009 was only 21% of 2008. We are two weeks away from the closing of the year, and I've only seen one National Parks quarter in my change. The intent of the National Parks series was to raise awareness of the parks across the country (and to raise seignorage revenue for the Treasury), but if they don't step up the mintage of quarters soon, nobody will see these coins. These low mintages defeat the purpose of the program, don't they? Then again, the Mint can't just ramp up quarter production without corresponding demand, lest they sit in bank vaults like dollar coins, waiting to be circulated someday. Is it possible that state quarters were produced in such quantity as to meet commercial demand years after the program ended? Time will tell.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Mint >> October 2010
Mint production data for Jan-Oct 2010:
1cent = 3.60923 B
5cents = 414.24 M
10cents = 991.0 M
25cents = 347.0 M
50cents = 3.5 M
1dollar = 396.48 M (including 75.04 M Native dollars)
Isolating the October 2010 values:
1cent = 424.0 M
5cents = 84.0 M
10cents = 135.5 M
25cents = 68.0 M
50cents = none
1dollar = 17.92 M (all Presidents)
I still find it amazing that nickel mintages this year are still exceeding quarter mintages. That is unbelievable! That hasn't happened since 1992, and not by this margin.
1cent = 3.60923 B
5cents = 414.24 M
10cents = 991.0 M
25cents = 347.0 M
50cents = 3.5 M
1dollar = 396.48 M (including 75.04 M Native dollars)
Isolating the October 2010 values:
1cent = 424.0 M
5cents = 84.0 M
10cents = 135.5 M
25cents = 68.0 M
50cents = none
1dollar = 17.92 M (all Presidents)
I still find it amazing that nickel mintages this year are still exceeding quarter mintages. That is unbelievable! That hasn't happened since 1992, and not by this margin.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
BEP >> August 2010
BEP totals for August 2010 are here:
http://www.bep.treas.gov/images/MPR_August2010.pdf
$1 = 115.2 M
$2 = none
$5 = none
$10 = none
$20 = 166.4 M
$50 = none
$100 = 166.4 M
Average value per note = $46.73
Most one dollar bills since January.
Seventeenth consecutive month without $10 or $50 notes.
http://www.bep.treas.gov/images/MPR_August2010.pdf
$1 = 115.2 M
$2 = none
$5 = none
$10 = none
$20 = 166.4 M
$50 = none
$100 = 166.4 M
Average value per note = $46.73
Most one dollar bills since January.
Seventeenth consecutive month without $10 or $50 notes.
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