Realcent.org

I was reading a copy of the U.S. Mint's FY 2013 budget this evening and was suprised by their projected increase in the number of coins they will be producing.

Circulating coin production for FY 2013 is forecasted at 8.4 billion coins—approximately a 9 percent increase over the FY 2012 projection and a 14 percent increase over FY 2011 production. Penny, nickel and dime coin shipments are expected to increase eight to 11 percent in FY 2013 from FY 2012 as coin demand steadily improves. Anticipated quarter-dollar coin shipments reflect a 27 percent increase in demand, the largest projected increase for FY 2013 among the coin denominations.

This report was published early last year and covers the fiscal year that already started on 10/1/2012 so it's not a precise comparison of 2012 dated coins and 2013 dated coins but it still implies that we'll be seeing a lot more 2013 Shields than the already abundant 2012 Shields that we see now.

Here's a link to the report. It's a very interesting read.
http://www.treasury.gov/about/budget-performance/Documents/20%20-%20FY%202013%20US%20Mint%20CJ.pdf

I wonder if the copper cents we are removing from circulation has a significant affect on demand for new cents? I don't know why quarters are going up 27%. More people are using cash and coin for purchases?

thripp wrote:I wonder if the copper cents we are removing from circulation has a significant affect on demand for new cents? I don't know why quarters are going up 27%. More people are using cash and coin for purchases?

More quarters to make up the Seigniorage

Seigniorage derived from specie—metal coins—is a tax, added to the total price of a coin (metal content and production costs), that a customer of the mint had to pay to the mint, and that was sent to the sovereign of the political area.[1]

from dollar coins that are not being made.

thripp wrote:I wonder if the copper cents we are removing from circulation has a significant affect on demand for new cents?

Our efforts to pull copper cents may play a small part in creating the demand for the mint to create more cents for circulation but I doubt that is very significant. I often wonder what the impact of us sitting on piles of unsorted cents has on the demand for producing new ones. When I pick up a box and just add to the growing pile for future sorting then I have effectively withdrawn 2,500 cents from circulation. If I sort the box right away and return the zincs then I have only reduced the amount of circulating cents by about 400.

thripp wrote:I wonder if the copper cents we are removing from circulation has a significant affect on demand for new cents?

Do they even need to replace that loss give theirs like billions of pennies still in circulation?

economy is down, more people are using their change ?

Oh boy! I just need a few rolls for my archives. I'm guessing there will be plenty....

I wonder where they plan to start sourcing copper in the next 5-10 years. I guess they will just have to ask China for some?!?!?!?!

John_doe wrote:I wonder where they plan to start sourcing copper in the next 5-10 years. I guess they will just have to ask China for some?!?!?!?!

We might as well. We already ask them for everything else it seems....