2012 US Coins: Values & Mintages

US coinage in 2012

The Mint stopped striking Presidential dollars for circulation after the Federal Reserve reported a huge stockpile of unused dollar coins. They were struck for collectors only from 2012.

How many coins were made in 2012

Counting the circulation issues on this page, US mints struck 9,336,226,002 coins dated 2012 across 28 issues. That is close to the 2011 total of 8,200,350,000. In 2013 the figure rose to 11,906,435,800.

By mint: Philadelphia 4,691,240,002 (50%, up from 3,975,750,000) and Denver 4,644,986,000 (50%, up from 4,224,600,000).

2012 coins by denomination

Cents: 6,015,200,000 struck in 2 circulation issues of the Lincoln Shield Cent, up 22% on 2011. The scarcest is the 2012-D (2,883,200,000) and the most plentiful the 2012 (3,132,000,000).

Nickels: 1,023,600,000 struck in 2 circulation issues of the Return to Monticello Nickel, up 3.4% on 2011. The scarcest is the 2012-P (464,640,000) and the most plentiful the 2012-D (558,960,000).

Dimes: 1,676,000,000 struck in 2 circulation issues of the Roosevelt Dime, up 12% on 2011. The scarcest is the 2012-P (808,000,000) and the most plentiful the 2012-D (868,000,000).

Quarters: 568,006,000 struck in 10 circulation issues of the America the Beautiful Quarter, up 45% on 2011. The scarcest is the 2012-D Acadia Quarter (21,606,000) and the most plentiful the 2012-D Denali Quarter (166,600,000).

Half Dollars: 3,500,000 struck in 2 circulation issues of the Kennedy Half Dollar, up 1.4% on 2011. The scarcest is the 2012-D (1,700,000) and the most plentiful the 2012-P (1,800,000).

Dollar Coins: 49,920,002 struck in 10 circulation issues of the Presidential Dollar and Sacagawea Dollar, down 87% on 2011. The scarcest is the 2012-P Trade Routes of the 17th Century Native American Dollar (2,800,000) and the most plentiful the 2012-P Grover Cleveland (second term) (10,680,001).

Every 2012 circulation issue at a glance

• 2012-D Kennedy Half Dollar: 1,700,000 struck, 5th lowest of 116 in the series, similar to 2011.
• 2012-P Kennedy Half Dollar: 1,800,000 struck, 10th lowest of 116 in the series, similar to 2011.
• 2012-P Trade Routes of the 17th Century Native American Dollar: 2,800,000 struck, 23rd lowest of 46 in the series.
• 2012-D Trade Routes of the 17th Century Native American Dollar: 3,080,000 struck, more than 62% of the series' 46 issues.
• 2012-D Grover Cleveland (second term) Presidential Dollar: 3,920,000 struck, 11th lowest of 80 in the series.
• 2012-D Chester A. Arthur Presidential Dollar: 4,060,000 struck, 14th lowest of 80 in the series.
• 2012-D Grover Cleveland (first term) Presidential Dollar: 4,060,000 struck, 15th lowest of 80 in the series.
• 2012-D Benjamin Harrison Presidential Dollar: 4,200,000 struck, 16th lowest of 80 in the series.
• 2012-P Grover Cleveland (first term) Presidential Dollar: 5,460,000 struck, 30th lowest of 80 in the series.
• 2012-P Benjamin Harrison Presidential Dollar: 5,640,001 struck, 33rd lowest of 80 in the series.
• 2012-P Chester A. Arthur Presidential Dollar: 6,020,000 struck, 35th lowest of 80 in the series.
• 2012-P Grover Cleveland (second term) Presidential Dollar: 10,680,001 struck, 40th lowest of 80 in the series.

The 16 more plentiful issues are listed in the tables below.

Lincoln Shield Cent: The Union Shield arrives

In 2010 the Lincoln Shield reverse by Lyndall Bass replaced the Memorial reverse. The shield symbolizes Lincoln's preservation of the Union, with E PLURIBUS UNUM on a banner across the top and ONE CENT on a scroll. Production started below 2 billion at Philadelphia in 2010, then climbed steadily to more than 3 billion by 2012 and 2013.

The 2010 uncirculated sets were the last to include satin finish cents, which makes that version a one year type for the Shield design. Philadelphia and Denver coins from these years are common, while proofs were made only at San Francisco. Collectors look for doubled dies and die cracks, but the most important factor is surface quality, since copper-plated zinc can spot or discolor easily.

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Return to Monticello Nickel: Recovery and the search for cheaper metals

Production recovered from 2010, rising from about 260 million at Philadelphia to more than 750 million at each mint by 2015 and 2016. The Coin Modernization, Oversight and Continuity Act of 2010 directed the Mint to study cheaper alloys. Test pieces were struck in several metals, but the copper-nickel composition stayed unchanged.

Proofs were struck at San Francisco each year, with mintages falling from about 1.7 million in 2010 to about 1 million by 2016 as collector set sales declined. Circulating coins from these years are common. Collectors look for complete steps on Monticello, strong hair detail and minor die varieties. Some dates show die cracks from long production runs. Bright uncirculated coins are easy to find in rolls and mint sets.

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Roosevelt Dime: Recession lows and anniversary specials

The recession of 2009 cut demand sharply. The Mint struck only about 96.5 million dimes at Philadelphia and 49.5 million at Denver, the lowest combined total since 1955. Output recovered quickly. In 2015 a March of Dimes set paired a silver proof dime from West Point with a silver reverse proof dime from Philadelphia. A 2017-S enhanced uncirculated dime followed in a set marking the Mint's 225th anniversary.

Silver proof dimes changed from 90 percent to .999 fine silver in 2019. Circulation mintages stayed above one billion per mint every year from 2013 through 2023, then dropped in 2024 to about 307 million at Philadelphia and 248 million at Denver. Output in 2025 stayed well below the earlier peaks. Low mintage West Point and San Francisco specials are the scarce coins of this era, while off-center strikes and clipped planchets are the usual finds in modern rolls.

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Kennedy Half Dollar: Collector-only production

From 2002 the Mint stopped releasing halves into circulation and struck them only for collectors, sold in rolls, bags and sets. Mintages stayed between about 1.7 and 3.8 million per mint through 2012. In 2014 the Mint marked the 50th anniversary with a 1964-2014 dual-dated gold proof from West Point, 73,772 struck, along with silver versions from all four mints.

Silver proofs switched to .999 fine silver in 2019. Output for collectors rose again after 2020, with Philadelphia striking 30.2 million in 2023. Business strikes of these years are rarely found in change, so most surviving coins are uncirculated, often still in original Mint rolls or packaging. Silver proofs of the 2020s were made in smaller numbers than those of earlier decades.

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Presidential Dollar: Made only for collectors

From 2012 the program continued for collectors only. The Mint struck the remaining presidents in small numbers and sold them in rolls, bags and sets, so these dates are seldom found in change and their mintages are a fraction of the early years.

The original program ended in 2016 with Ronald Reagan. Uncirculated coins from original rolls are the usual way to fill these years in a set and edge lettering errors from this period are much rarer than the early ones.

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Sacagawea Dollar: The first Native American reverses

In 2009 the reverse began changing every year to honor a Native American contribution to American history: the Three Sisters of corn, beans and squash in 2009, the Great Law of Peace in 2010, the Wampanoag treaty in 2011, trade routes in 2012, the treaty with the Delawares in 2013, Native hospitality in 2014 and the Mohawk ironworkers in 2015. Glenna Goodacre's portrait of Sacagawea stayed on the obverse.

The date and mint mark moved to the edge in 2009, lettered with E PLURIBUS UNUM, so the edge is where you check which mint made your coin. A law of 2007 required that at least a fifth of all dollar coins struck each year carry the Native American design, which kept production going even when demand was low.

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