US Banknote Production in August Reaches 557 Million

U.S. paper money production slowed a bit in August compared to July but the number of larger bills rose sharply, according to monthly data published atypically late (on Oct. 6) by the agency responsible for printing American currency.

The Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) produced 557.05 million banknotes last month for a combined value of more than $16.1 billion. By comparison, July levels reached 566.4 million notes worth over $13.1 billion.

In percentage breakdowns, August saw 1.7% fewer notes than July while their combined value was 22.2% higher. In other month-over-month comparisons, there were:

6.8% more $1s,

18.8% fewer $5s,

4.5% fewer $20s, and

31% more $100s.

The BEP made $50s for the first time since January. Conversely, it did not make $10s for the first time since January. $2s have not been printed since July 2016, and more are not expected for some time. The Federal Reserve noted that their FY 2016 order for $2s was enough to meet demand for "multiple years."

Compared to the same month in 2016, the number of notes fell 22.7% from 720.67 million while their total value was 5.2% higher from $15.3 billion.

BEP FY 2017 Production

The BEP produced 6,224,890,000 notes since the Oct. 1 start of its fiscal year 2017. Aproximately 879,000,000 more had to be printed in September based on the Fed order of 7.1 billion banknotes for FY 2017.

Below are images of the BEP’s latest monthly production report. They show the type of banknotes manufactured at the agency’s two printing facilities.

August 2017 BEP Banknote Production

Facility at Washington, DC

Facility at Fort Worth, TX

The BEP produced 250,000 in $1 star notes. Star notes are replacements for misprinted or damaged notes and for certain serial numbers like 000 000 000. They have serial numbers that end with a star "*" designation, and are also so indicated by quantities in the images above. Money collectors usually find star notes more desirable since they are harder to find.

The following table lists the type, the amount and the total value of banknotes printed by the BEP for the month:

Banknotes by Denomination: Total Printed and Values

August 2017

Banknotes Total Printed Total Value ($) $1.00 205,050,000 205,050,000 $2.00 – – $5.00 83,200,000 416,000,000 $10.00 – – $20.00 134,400,000 2,688,000,000 $50.00 12,800,000 640,000,000 $100.00 121,600,000 12,160,000,000 Totals 557,050,000 16,109,050,000

For comparison, four previous monthly money production tables follow.

July 2017

Banknotes Total Printed Total Value ($) $1.00 192,000,000 192,000,000 $2.00 – – $5.00 102,400,000 512,000,000 $10.00 38,400,000 384,000,000 $20.00 140,800,000 2,816,000,000 $50.00 – – $100.00 92,800,000 9,280,000,000 Totals 566,400,000 13,184,000,000

June 2017

Banknotes Total Printed Total Value ($) $1.00 172,800,000 172,800,000 $2.00 – – $5.00 89,600,000 448,000,000 $10.00 51,200,000 512,000,000 $20.00 141,120,000 2,822,400,000 $50.00 – – $100.00 92,800,000 9,280,000,000 Totals 547,520,000 13,235,200,000

May 2017

Banknotes Total Printed Total Value ($) $1.00 204,800,000 204,800,000 $2.00 – – $5.00 64,000,000 320,000,000 $10.00 51,200,000 512,000,000 $20.00 179,520,000 3,590,400,000 $50.00 – – $100.00 135,040,000 13,504,000,000 Totals 634,560,000 18,131,200,000

April 2017

Banknotes Total Printed Total Value ($) $1.00 230,400,000 230,400,000 $2.00 – – $5.00 70,720,000 353,600,000 $10.00 38,400,000 384,000,000 $20.00 166,400,000 3,328,000,000 $50.00 – – $100.00 128,000,000 12,800,000,000 Totals 633,920,000 17,096,000,000

Federal Reserve data indicates that there was approximately $1.58 trillion in circulation as of Sept. 20, 2017, of which $1.53 trillion was in Federal Reserve notes.

"Recent estimates show that between one-half and two-thirds of the value of U.S. currency in circulation is held abroad," the BEP notes.

As a perspective, the BEP in FY 2016 delivered its 7.6 billion notes at an average cost of 10 cents each. More than 90% of those printed were for replacing those already in, or taken out of circulation.