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.