Department of the Treasury – Budget in Brief 

United States Mint 

Program Summary by Budget Activity 

Dollars in Thousands

FY 2017 FY 2018 FY 2019 FY 2018 to FY 2019 

Budget Activity Actual Estimated Estimated $ Change % Change 

Manufacturing $2,203,909 $2,944,784 $2,970,276 $25,492 0.87% 

Total Resources $2,203,909 $2,944,784 $2,970,276 $25,492 0.87% 

 

Total FTE 1,645 1,705 1,705 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 2019 include: 

 Circulating - Efficiently and effectively 

mint and issue approximately 14.5 billion 

circulating coins in FY 2019 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 2019 United States Mint estimated total 

revenues are $3,288,893,000, total expenses 

are $2,970,276,000 of which $40,500,000 are 

for capital investments, and net results are 

$258,617,000 in earnings. 

In an effort to align more closely with 

Treasury’s strategic goal of achieving 

operational excellence, the Bureau of 

Engraving and Printing (BEP) and the Mint 

will streamline certain functions by migrating 

BEP’s online numismatic sales and marketing 

presence to the Mint’s recently modernized ECommerce infrastructure and services platform 

and centrally coordinating non-IT 

procurements, creating economies of scale and 

reducing expenses. 

The Mint proposes to seek the authority for the 

Secretary to prescribe the composition of the 

nickel, dime, and quarter-dollar coins. This 

authorization would give the Secretary the 

flexibility to implement small changes to the 

copper-nickel circulating coin metal 

compositions, with little or no impact to the 

vending industry and general public. 

Mint supports the Treasury Strategic goals of 

Boosting U.S. Economic Growth and 

Achieving Operational Excellence. 
Department of the Treasury – Budget in Brief 

US Mint FY 2019 Budget Highlights 

Dollars in Thousands 

United States Mint FTE Materials Operating 

& Capital Total 

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

Adjustment to Estimate - Metals Due to Forecasted Decrease in 

Circulating Coin Production ($30,000) ($30,000) 

Adjustment to Estimate - Metals Due to Forecasted Increase in 

Numismatic Coin Metals Prices $280,000 $280,000 

Adjustment to FTE Requirements (96) 

Revised FY 2018 Estimated Resources 1,705 2,490,000 454,784 2,944,784 

Changes to Base 

Maintaining Current Levels (MCLs) $5,492 $5,492 

Pay Annualization $1,011 $1,011 

Non-Pay $4,481 $4,481 

Subtotal Changes to Base $5,492 $5,492 

Total FY 2019 Base 1,705 $2,490,000 $460,276 $2,950,276 

Program Changes 

Program Increases $20,000 $20,000 

Metals Due to Forecasted Increase in Circulating Coin Production $20,000 $20,000 

Subtotal Program Changes $20,000 $20,000 

Total FY 2019 Estimated 1,705 $2,510,000 $460,276 $2,970,276 

FY 2019 Budget Adjustments 

Adjustment to Estimates 

Maintaining Current Level (MCLs) 

Pay Annualization +$1,011,000 / +0 FTE 

Funds are required for the annualization of the 

2018 pay-raise. 

Non-Pay +$4,481,000 / +0 FTE 

Funds are required for non-labor expenses 

such as travel, contracts, rent, supplies, and 

equipment. 

Program Increases 

Metals Due to Forecast Increase in 

Circulating Coin Production +$20,000,000 / 

+0 FTE 

FRB demand for circulating coins is forecasted 

to increase slightly from FY 2018 to FY 2019 

(from 14.0 to 14.5 billion coins). This increase 

coupled with forecasted increases in metal 

prices results in an increase in overall 

production costs for the circulating program. 

Explanation of Budget Activities 

Manufacturing $2,970,276,000 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 quarterdollars. The Mint delivers circulating coinage 

to the FRBs in quantities to support their 

service to commercial banks and other 

financial 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 the 

Beautiful National Parks Quarter Dollar Coin 

Act of 2008 (Public Law 110-456). In 2018, 

the Mint will release quarters honoring 

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore 

(Michigan), Apostle Islands National 
Department of the Treasury – Budget in Brief 

Lakeshore (Wisconsin), Voyageurs National 

Park (Minnesota), Cumberland Island National 

Seashore (Georgia), and Block Island National 

Wildlife Refuge (Rhode Island). In 2019, the 

Mint will release quarters honoring Lowell 

National Historical Park (Massachusetts), 

American Memorial Park (North Mariana 

Islands), War in the Pacific National Historical 

Park (Guam), San Antonio Missions National 

Historical Park (Texas), and Frank Church 

River of No Return Wilderness (Idaho). 

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 2018, the Mint has 

authorization to mint commemorative coins 

for two programs: the World War I American 

Veterans Centennial Commemorative Coin 

(Public Law 113-212) and the Breast Cancer 

Awareness Commemorative Coin (Public Law 

114-148). In 2019, the Mint has authorization 

to mint commemorative coins for two 

programs: the Apollo 11 50th Anniversary 

Commemorative Coin (Public Law 114-282) 

and the American Legion 100th Anniversary 

Commemorative Coin (Public Law 115-65).
Department of the Treasury – Budget in Brief 

Mint Performance Highlights 

FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017 FY 2018 FY 2019

Budget Activity Performance Measures Actual Actual Actual Target Target

Manufacturing Customer Satisfaction Index (%) 89.5 91.0 91.7 90.0 9.0

Manufacturing Seigniorage per Dollar Issued ($) 0.49 0.52 0.45 0.49 0.43

Manufacturing Safety Incident Recordable Rate 3.42 2.53 1.96 2.75 2.75

Manufacturing Numismatic Sales Units (Million 

Units) 5.4 4.2 3.9 3.5 3.5

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 2017, the CSI reached 91.7 

percent, exceeding its 90.0 percent target. 

The Mint anticipates the FY 2018 and FY 

2019 CSI ratings will remain steady. The 

performance target for CSI is 90.0 percent 

for both FY 2018 and FY 2019. 

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 $0.45 in FY 2017, below the 

performance target of $0.48. FY 2017 

results fell below the target as a result of a 

14 percent decrease in circulating shipment 

volumes combined with a four percent 

increase in the cost of metal. FY 2018 and 

FY 2019 seigniorage per dollar issued 

performance targets are set at $0.43 each 

year. 

 

Safety Incident Recordable Rate 

Safety incident recordable rate is the number 

of injuries and illnesses meeting the 

Occupational Safety and Health 

Administration recording criteria per 100 

full-time workers. The safety incident 

recordable rate was 1.96 recordable injuries 

and illnesses per 100 full-time workers in 

FY 2017, which is well below the 2.82 

target and significantly below the industry 

average rate of 5.2 for metal forging and 

stamping manufacturers. The performance 

targets for this measure are 2.75 for both FY 

2018 and FY 2019. 

Numismatic Sales Units 

The numismatic sales unit metric measures 

public demand for coin products sold from 

numismatic operations. Numismatic sales 

units totaled 3.9 million in FY 2017, falling 

short of the 4.4 million target. The primary 

driver for this was a shortfall in sales of 

annual precious metal coins, partially due to 

an overabundance of coin products available 

on the secondary market. Compounding the 

weakness in core product sales was the 

conclusion of the Presidential $1 Coin 

program and the lack of market enthusiasm 

for the FY 2017 commemorative coins. 

Numismatic sales performance targets have 

been established at 3.5 million units for both 

FY 2018 and FY 2019.