US Coin Production Slowed in February After Reaching Three-Month High in January

The U.S. Mint struck 581.61 million coins for circulating in February – including cents, nickels, dimes, quarters, and half dollars – reflecting declines of 8.2% from January and 9.8% from February 2024.

The U.S. coin production slowed in February after reaching a three-month high in January, according to newly released United States Mint manufacturing data.output remained below 1 billion coins for the 18th consecutive month, following a previous streak of eight months above that level.

The U.S. Mint struck 581.61 million coins for circulating in February – including cents, nickels, dimes, quarters, and half dollars – reflecting declines of 8.2% from January and 9.8% from February 2024.

Here’s how January’s production compares to previous months over the past year:

The U.S. Mint’s primary mission is to manufacture coins in response to public demand. It produces, sells, and delivers circulating coins to Federal Reserve Banks and their coin terminals, ensuring commercial banks and other financial institutions have the necessary supply.

Despite costing the Mint 3.69 cents to produce and distribute each penny, the Federal Reserve consistently orders more of them than any other denomination. In February, the Mint struck 353 million Lincoln cents, accounting for 60.7% of all circulating-quality coins produced for the month.

The future of the penny, however, is increasingly uncertain. On Feb. 9, President Trump ordered an end to its production, calling the move a step toward reducing "wasteful" government spending.

"For far too long the United States has minted pennies which literally cost us more than 2 cents. This is so wasteful! I have instructed my Secretary of the US Treasury to stop producing new pennies. Let’s rip the waste out of our great nations budget, even if it’s a penny at a time," Trump wrote.

Month-Over-Month

In month-over-month comparisons for coins commonly used by Americans, February production saw:

Mintages of Native American Dollars and Kennedy Halves

The U.S. Mint also produces other coins in circulating quality, including half dollars and dollars. While Native American $1 coins are no longer ordered by the Federal Reserve, they continue to be minted in circulating quality for collectors. The same applied to Kennedy half dollars until recent years – specifically in 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 – when they were released into circulation.

In many years, the U.S. Mint strikes both denominations in January to meet the expected demand for the entire year. However, that has not been the case for Kennedy half dollars over the past four years, as the Federal Reserve unexpectedly ordered millions more for circulation – approximately 12 million in 2021, 7 million in 2022, 18 million in 2023, and 52 million in 2024 (fiscal, not calendar years).

It remains uncertain whether any 2025 Kennedy half dollars will be released into general circulation. As of January, production figures indicated 3.6 million half dollars struck at the Denver Mint and 5.8 million at the Philadelphia Mint, totaling 9.4 million coins. February data showed an additional 2 million minted in Denver, raising its year-to-date total to 5.6 million and bringing the overall 2025 half dollar mintage to 11.4 million coins. By comparison, 2024 production reached 21.9 million from Denver and 15.7 million from Philadelphia, for a total of 37.6 million coins.

Mintage levels for 2025 Native American dollars were expected to remain unchanged after January, when 1.12 million were struck at both the Denver and Philadelphia Mints for a combined 2.24 million coins – the same total as in the previous two years. However, February data showed an increase to 3.08 million coins following the addition of 700,000 more minted at the Philadelphia Mint.

On Jan. 28, the U.S. Mint began selling rolls, bags, and boxes of 2025 Native American dollars. Collectors can expect rolls and bags of circulating 2025 Kennedy half dollars to become available on May 6.

The following table details 2025 circulating coin mintages in February by production facility, denomination, and design.

In total February production, the Denver Mint struck 268.36 million coins, while the Philadelphia Mint produced 313.25 million, bringing the combined output to 581.61 million coins.

For the year to date, the Denver Mint has struck 551.86 million coins, and the Philadelphia Mint has made 663.31 million coins, bringing the total to 1,215,170,000 coins