Department of the Treasury – Budget in Brief

United States Mint

Program Summary by Budget Activity

Dollars in Thousands

FY 2016 FY 2017 FY 2018 FY 2017 to FY 2018

Budget Activity Actual Estimated Estimated $ Change % Change

Manufacturing $3,272,106 $2,805,952 $2,694,784 ($120,000) -3.96%

Total Resources $3,272,106 $2,805,952 $2,694,784 ($120,000) -3.96%

FTE 1,692 1,801 1,801 0 0.00%

Summary

The Mint operates under the United States 

Mint’s Public Enterprise Fund (PEF), as 

codified at 31 U.S.C. § 5136. The Mint 

generates revenue through the sale of 

circulating coins to the Federal Reserve Banks 

(FRB), numismatic products to the public, and 

bullion coins to authorized purchasers. All 

circulating and numismatic operating expenses

along with capital investments incurred for the 

Mint’s operations and programs are paid out of 

the PEF. By law, all funds in the PEF are 

available without fiscal year limitation. 

Revenues determined to be in excess of the 

amount required by the PEF are transferred to 

the United States Treasury General Fund. The 

Mint’s key priorities for FY 2018 include:

• Circulating - Efficiently and effectively 

mint and issue approximately 16.0 billion 

circulating coins in FY 2018 to meet the 

needs of commerce.

• Numismatic Program Bullion Products -

Mint and issue bullion coins to meet 

customer demand efficiently and 

effectively.

• Other Numismatic Products - Produce and 

distribute numismatic products in 

sufficient quantities, through appropriate 

channels, to make them accessible, 

available, and affordable to people who 

choose to purchase them. Design, strike,

and prepare for presentation Congressional 

Gold Medals.

FY 2018 United States Mint estimated total 

revenues are $3,098,226,000, total expenses 

are $2,694,784,000 of which $40,500,000 are 

for capital investments, and net results are 

$403,442,000 in earnings.
Department of the Treasury – Budget in Brief

US Mint FY 2018 Budget Highlights

Dollars in Thousands

FY 2018 Budget Adjustments

Adjustment to Estimates

Maintaining Current Level (MCLs)

Pay Raise +$3,100,000 / +0 FTE

Funds are required for the January 2018 payraise.

Pay Annualization +$1,136,000 / +0 FTE

Funds are required for and the annualization of 

the 2017 pay-raise.

Non-Pay +$4,597,000 / +0 FTE

Funds are required for non-labor expenses 

such as travel, contracts, rent, supplies, and 

equipment.

Program Increases 

Metal Due to Forecast Increase in 

Circulating Coin Metal Prices +$20,000,000 

/ +0 FTE

FRB demand for circulating coins will remain 

flat in FY 2018 at 16.0 billion coins; however, 

metal prices are forecasted to rise modestly, 

causing an increase in overall production costs 

for the circulating program. Increases in 

metals prices result in a $20 million increase 

for metal purchases.

Program Decreases 

Metal Due to Forecast Decrease in 

Numismatic/Bullion Coin Production 

-$140,000,000 / -0 FTE

Forecasted demand for the numismatic 

program continues to decrease in FY 2018. 

The Presidential $1 Coin Program ended in 

2016, and the first full-year impact will be in 

FY 2018.

Explanation of Budget Activities

Manufacturing $3,098,226,000 from

revenue/offsetting collections

The Mint has one budget activity: 

Manufacturing. This encompasses the 

bureau’s two major programs: circulating 

coinage and numismatic products, including 

bullion coins, collector coins, and national 

medals.

Circulating Coinage Program Circulating 

coinage includes the minting and issuing of 

pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarter-dollars. 

The Mint delivers circulating coinage to the 

FRBs in quantities to support their service to 

commercial banks and other financial 

FTE Materials 

 Operating & 

Capital Total 

FY 2017 Original Estimate 1,874 $2,510,000 $446,207 $2,956,207 

 10 $8,577 $8,577 

($100,000) ($100,000)

($50,000) ($50,000)

 (83) ($8,832) ($8,832)

Revised - FY 2017 Estimated Resources 1,801 2,360,000 445,952 2,805,952

Changes to Base:

Maintain Current Levels (MCLs) $8,832 $8,832 

 Pay-Raise 3,100 3,100 

 Pay Annualization 1,136 1,136 

 Non-Pay 4,597 4,597 

Subtotal, Changes to the Base $8,832 $8,832 

Total FY 2018 Base 1,801 2,360,000 454,784 2,814,784

Program Changes

 Program Decreases:

 Metals due to forecasted decrease in bullion production ($140,000) ($140,000)

 Program Increases:

 Metals due to forecasted increase in circulating coin metals prices $20,000 $20,000 

Subtotal FY 2018 Program Changes ($120,000) ($120,000)

Total FY 2018 Estimate 1,801 2,240,000 454,784 2,694,784

United States Mint

Adjustment to Estimate - Cyber Security Initiative

Adjustment to Estimate - Metal due to forecasted decrease in circulating coin production

Adjustment to Estimate - Metal due to forecasted decrease in numismatic/bullion production

Adjustment to Estimate - Staffing Streamline
Department of the Treasury – Budget in Brief

institutions. The Mint recognizes revenues 

from the sale of circulating coins at face value 

when they are shipped to the FRBs.

The Mint will continue to mint and issue 

circulating quarter-dollar coins honoring 

America’s national parks and other national 

sites, in accordance with the America’s 

Beautiful National Parks Quarter Dollar Coin 

Act of 2008 (Public Law 110-456). In 2017, 

the Mint will release quarters honoring Effigy 

Mounds National Monument (Iowa), Frederick 

Douglass National Historic Site (District of

Columbia), Ozark National Scenic Riverways 

(Missouri), Ellis Island (Statue of Liberty 

National Monument) (New Jersey), and 

George Rogers Clark National Historical Park 

(Indiana). In FY 2018, the Mint will release 

quarters honoring Pictured Rocks National 

Lakeshore (Michigan), Apostle Islands 

National Lakeshore (Wisconsin), Voyageurs 

National Park (Minnesota), Cumberland Island 

National Seashore (Georgia), and Block Island 

National Wildlife Refuge (Rhode Island). 

Numismatic Program

Bullion Coin Program

The Mint produces and issues gold, silver, and 

platinum bullion coins to authorized 

purchasers through the American Eagle, 

American Buffalo, and America the Beautiful 

Silver Bullion Coin Programs to fulfill 

investor demand. Demand for bullion coins is 

greatly influenced by the performance of other 

investment options, such as equities or 

currency markets, and therefore is highly 

unpredictable. The content and purity of the 

precious metal in the bullion coins are backed 

by the United States Government.

Other Numismatic Products 

The Mint’s numismatic program provides 

high-quality versions of circulating coinage, 

precious metal coins, commemorative coins, 

and medals for sale directly to the public. For 

some numismatic products, authorizing 

legislation specifies program requirements, 

such as design theme, mintage level, and 

duration of product availability. Other 

programs are structured by law to grant the 

Secretary of the Treasury discretion in 

determining product specifications. 

The Mint will continue to mint and issue $1 

coins commemorating the important 

contributions made by Indian tribes and 

individual Native Americans to the 

development and history of the United States 

in accordance with the Native American $1 

Coin Act (Public Law 110-82). 

Commemorative coins are authorized by law 

to recognize and honor people, places, events, 

institutions, and other subjects of historic or 

national significance. In FY 2017, the Mint is 

scheduled to mint commemorative coins for 

two programs: the Lions Club International 

Commemorative Coin (P.L. 112-181) and the 

Boys Town Centennial Commemorative Coins 

(P.L. 114-30). In FY 2018, the Mint has 

authorization to mint commemorative coins

for two programs: the World War I American 

Veterans Centennial Commemorative Coin 

(P.L.113-212) and the Breast Cancer 

Awareness Commemorative Coin (P.L. 114-

148).

Appropriation Change Proposal

The Mint proposes to increase the limit on 

circulating coinage and protective service 

capital from $20 million to $30 million to 

execute a comprehensive capital strategy that 

focuses on safety, equipment replacements, 

protection, and facility improvements.
Department of the Treasury – Budget in Brief

Mint Performance Highlights

FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017 FY 2018

FY 2014 –

FY 2016

Budget Activity Performance Measure Actual Actual Actual Target Target Trend

Manufacturing Customer Satisfaction Index 

(%) 89.8 89.5 91.0 90.0 90.0

Manufacturing Seigniorage per Dollar Issued 

($) 0.37 0.49 0.52 0.48 0.49

Manufacturing Safety Incident Recordable 

Rate 3.31 3.42 2.53 2.83 2.75

Manufacturing Numismatic Sales Units 

(Million Units) 5.7 5.4 4.2 4.4 3.5

Key: DISC - Discontinued, B - Baseline

Description of Performance

Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI)

The Mint conducts a quarterly survey of a 

random sample of active numismatic 

customers. The survey is intended to 

capture customer satisfaction with the 

Mint’s service performance as a coin 

products supplier and with the quality of 

specific products. The CSI is a single 

quantitative score of the survey results. By 

the end of FY 2016, the CSI reached 91.0 

percent, exceeding its 90.0 percent target. 

The Mint anticipates the FY 2017 and 2018 

CSI ratings will remain steady. The 

performance target for CSI is 90.0 percent 

for both FY 2017 and FY 2018. 

Numismatic Sales Units

The numismatic sales unit metric measures 

public demand for coin products sold from 

numismatic operations. Numismatic sales 

units totaled 4.2 million in FY 2016, falling 

short of the 4.6 million target. The primary 

drivers for this shortfall were lower 

customer demand for silver coin products 

and a loss in unit sales of the American 

Eagle Silver (AE) dollar coin due to 

legislative restrictions on the design of coins 

sold during 2016 (Public Law 114-94). 

Numismatic sales performance targets have 

been established at 4.4 million units for 

FY 2017 and 3.5 million for FY 2018.

Safety Incident Recordable Rate

Safety incident recordable rate is the number 

of injuries and illnesses meeting the 

Occupational Safety and Health 

Administration (OSHA) recording criteria 

per 100 full-time workers. The safety 

incident recordable rate was 2.53 recordable 

injuries and illnesses per 100 full-time 

workers in FY 2016, which is below the 

2.91 target and significantly below the 

industry average rate of 5.9 for metal 

forging and stamping manufacturers. The 

performance targets for this measure are 

2.83 for FY 2017 and 2.75 for FY 2018

Seigniorage per Dollar Issued

Seigniorage per dollar issued is the financial 

return on circulating operations, calculated 

as seigniorage divided by the total face 

value of circulating coins shipped to the 

FRBs. It measures the cost effectiveness of 

minting and issuing the United States’ 

circulating coinage. Seigniorage per dollar 

issued was $0.52 in FY 2016, above the 

performance target of $0.47. FY 2016 

results exceeded the target as a result of a 

one percent increase in circulating shipment 

volumes combined with a 10 percent 

decrease in cost of goods sold. FY 2017 and 

FY 2018 seigniorage per dollar issued 

performance targets are set at $0.48 and 

$0.49, respectively.