US Mint Coin Production Fell 11.9% in 2025 as Circulating Cent Output Ended
CoinNews reported on January 26, 2026, that the U.S. Mint produced 4.947 billion circulating coins in 2025, down 11.9% from 2024, a fifth straight annual decline and the lowest level since 2009. The total was shaped in a big way by the Treasury ending cent production for circulation, and December figures gave the first mintages for 2026 Semiquincentennial quarters.
Correction (Oct 13, 2026): We corrected the headline, summary and body to match the source. We removed reasons for ending the cent that the source does not give (inflation, cashless payments), examples from Canada and the euro area, claims about rising prices for 2025 cents and counterfeit detection, and unsupported "structural shift" and liquidity statements; corrected an error about the timing of the cent production decline; and replaced them with the production figures by denomination and facility and the sequence of the cent's end as reported. The previous headline was "US Mint Halts Penny Production; Early 2026 Quarters Signal Circulation Shift."
This article is based on a CoinNews report published on January 26, 2026, on U.S. Mint circulating coin production in 2025.
2025 Output Fell 11.9% to 4.947 Billion Coins
According to CoinNews, U.S. Mint facilities delivered 4.947 billion coins to Federal Reserve Banks for circulation in 2025. That was an 11.9% decline from the 5.614 billion coins struck in 2024. It was the fifth straight year of lower production and the lowest level since 2009, when 3.548 billion coins were produced.
The year's total was shaped in large part by the Treasury ending cent production for circulation. The cent has historically been the Mint's highest-volume coin, and 2025 ended with five straight months without it.
Production by denomination in 2025 (change from 2024):
- Cents: 1,300,400,000 (down 59.7%) - Nickels: 1,041,200,000 (up 823.0%) - Dimes: 1,375,500,000 (up 147.8%) - Quarters: 1,191,000,000 (down 29.1%) - Half dollars: 34,000,000 (down 9.6%) - Native American $1: 5,180,000 (up 131.3%)
According to the report, the Philadelphia and Denver Mints make all U.S. coins for commerce. In 2025, Philadelphia produced 2,566,740,000 coins and Denver made 2,380,540,000.
Circulating Cent Production Ends
The penny long accounted for more than half of the Mint's monthly coin output, as the Federal Reserve ordered more of them than any other denomination. Its production cost was most recently estimated at 3.69 cents per coin.
In July 2025, the Mint struck just 400,000 Lincoln cents, only 0.1% of all circulating-quality coins produced that month. As of the report, reported figures had not changed since.
On Feb. 9, President Trump directed an end to penny production, describing it as a step toward reducing "wasteful" government spending. In May, the Treasury confirmed it had placed its final order for penny blanks and would phase out production once current inventories were depleted.
On Nov. 12, the Mint marked the end of circulating cent production with a ceremonial striking event. The Mint said the one-cent coin would be produced only for collector products going forward. "Today the Mint celebrates 232 years of penny manufacturing," Acting Mint Director Kristie McNally said at the time.
On Dec. 11, the last circulating pennies were auctioned, with the top lot realizing $800,000.
2025 Quarters: Two Series-Low Issues
The Mint issued all five 2025 coins of its 2022-2025 American Women Quarters Program, the 16th through 20th coins in the series.
- Ida B. Wells: 309.4 million (143.2 million Denver, 166.2 million Philadelphia) - Juliette Gordon Low: 330.6 million (130.2 million Denver, 200.4 million Philadelphia) - Dr. Vera Rubin: 118.8 million (63 million Denver, 55.8 million Philadelphia) - Stacey Park Milbern: 154.2 million (59.4 million Denver, 94.8 million Philadelphia) - Althea Gibson: 197.2 million (80.0 million Denver, 117.2 million Philadelphia)
The Dr. Vera Rubin quarter has the lowest overall mintage in the series, and the 2025-P Dr. Vera Rubin quarter is the scarcest issue in the entire series. The 2025-D Stacey Park Milbern quarter ranks as the second-lowest mintage in the series and the lowest from Denver.
Half Dollars and Native American Dollars
Kennedy half dollar production in 2025 finished at 34 million, with 19.8 million from Denver and 14.2 million from Philadelphia. Production in 2024 totaled 37.6 million.
As of the report, Native American $1 coins were no longer ordered by the Federal Reserve but were still produced in circulating quality for collectors. The 2025 mintage reached 5.18 million, with 2.52 million from Denver and 2.66 million from Philadelphia, compared with 2.24 million in 2024.
December 2025 and the First 2026 Quarters
The Mint produced 279.2 million coins in December 2025. Compared with November, nickels rose 5.4%, dimes 587.5%, quarters 176.2% and half dollars 34.8%.
The December figures included 2026-dated coins. The Mint had announced that it began shipping 2026 Semiquincentennial circulating coins to the Federal Reserve on Jan. 5. The nickel carries a dual date of 1776-2026, and the dime, quarters and half dollar have one-year-only designs.
According to the report, the 2026 quarters were to recognize the Mayflower Compact, the Revolutionary War, the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution and the Gettysburg Address. December figures showed 79.8 million Mayflower Compact quarters (48.8 million Denver, 31.0 million Philadelphia) and 1 million Revolutionary War quarters.
CoinNews reported at the time that the Mint was expected to begin selling rolls and bags of Mayflower Compact quarters to the public on Feb. 5, 2026, followed by Revolutionary War quarters on March 27, 2026. The report does not show whether those sales later began.
Source: CoinNews, "US Mint Coin Production Falls in 2025 as Cent Output Ends" (January 26, 2026).
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