Cent production jumps in January
Having added a “P” mintmark to the Philadelphia cent, the United States Mint has also increased production. The January production figure of 515.2 million is almost 28 percent higher than…
Having added a “P” mintmark to the Philadelphia cent, the United States Mint has also increased production.
The January production figure of 515.2 million is almost 28 percent higher than the January 2016 figure and a whopping 46 percent more than in January 2015.
Just when you think the increased demand might be due to the new mintmark, Denver mintage totals are there to deflate the theory. Its cent production is up by 34 percent from 2016 and 79 percent from 2015.
Put the increase down then to underlying demand for cents from the banking system.
Where cents went up sharply, output of quarters has dropped sharply.
The combined January production figure of 207.6 million is down by 33 percent from the 2016 figure of 309.4 million and 56 percent from the January 2015 number of 468.6 million.
Has the American the Beautiful series reached its “sell by” date, or is this simply a reflection of the economy as a whole?
Because nickel and dime production is up sharply, under normal commercial demand circumstances, quarter output should be up also.
This means the quarter number has to do with circumstances strictly applying to the quarter itself.
Nickel output is up 56 percent from the January 2016 level and six percent from January 2015.
For dimes, the gain is 41 percent from January 2016 and 52 percent from January 2015.
Half dollar production, which goes to coin collectors, is up slightly from 2016 but down sharply from 2015, that is 3.6 million compared to 3.4 million in 2016 and 4.6 million in 2015.
Native American dollar output is down from both the 2016 and 2015 levels. Last year the January output was it for the design. If this year follows that pattern, final output will be down 35 percent, from 4.9 million to 3.2 million. Right now, it is just a monthly total.
Overall, coin output in January was nearly 1.8 billion pieces compared to 1.5 billion in January 2016 and in January 2015.
This article was originally printed in Numismatic News Express. >> Subscribe today
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