The US Mint saw the costs for each of its current four dominant circulating coins drop compared to the previous year.
In a report released recently to the US Congress, the Mint report stated the declines were related to higher production volumes, a drop in metal costs for certain coins and reduced manufacturing costs.
For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2014, the cost to produce and distribute each circulating coin denomination was as follows:
1.66 cents for each cent compared to 1.83 cents in the prior year
8.09 cents for each nickel compared to 9.41 cents in the prior year
3.91 cents for each dime compared to 4.56 cents in the prior year
8.95 cents for each quarter compared to 10.5 cents in the prior year
The report indicated that the average spot prices for nickel rose 3.9 per cent while average copper prices dropped 6.9 per cent. The drop in copper had a positive impact on the nickel, dime, and quarter which are largely made up of copper. The cent, meanwhile, cost more to produce as spot prices for zinc rose 8.4 per cent.
Overall, producing the cent put the Mint in a negative $55 million and another $49.5 for the nickel. However, these costs were offset by the positive savings in producing the other denominations. In total, the US Mint generated $289.1 million in positive seigniorage from circulating coinage, which doubled the previous year total of $137.4 million.