With 2008 behind us, we can take a look at the full year 2008 coin production figures provided by the US Mint. It's a common observation that coin production falls in slow economic times, and that observation was certainly proven true by the 2008 figures. Production was down across all denominations.
Year over year declines were measured for every denomination. Total coin production for 2008 was 10.14 billion, down from 14.44 billion in 2007.
Here are the totals by denomination and mint. The 2008 table is followed by a production table for 2007, for comparison.
| 2008 US Mint Coin Production (in millions) |
|
Denver |
Philadelphia |
Total |
| 1c |
2,849.60 |
2,569.60 |
5,419.20 |
| 5c |
352.80 |
287.76 |
640.56 |
| 10c |
637.50 |
413.00 |
1,050.50 |
| 25c |
1,287.60 |
1,251.20 |
2,538.80 |
| 50c |
1.70 |
1.70 |
3.40 |
| $1 |
244.82 |
244.30 |
489.12 |
| Total |
5,374.02 |
4,767.56 |
10,141.58 |
.
| 2007 US Mint Coin Production (in millions) |
|
Denver |
Philadelphia |
Total |
| 1c |
3,638.80 |
3,762.40 |
7,401.20 |
| 5c |
626.16 |
571.68 |
1,197.84 |
| 10c |
1,042.00 |
1,047.50 |
2,089.50 |
| 25c |
1,456.24 |
1,340.40 |
2,796.64 |
| 50c |
2.40 |
2.40 |
4.80 |
| $1 |
472.15 |
478.52 |
950.67 |
| Total |
7,237.75 |
7,202.90 |
14,440.65 |
While much attention has been given to the dramatic rise of platinum over the past few years, another metal in the platinum group has risen even more substantially, Rhodium.
From trough to peak, platinum has moved from approximately $400 per ounce to $2,000 per ounce. This represents an increase of 400%. The last leg of the move was spurred by power problems for the South American miners of the metal.
During approximately the same time period, rhodium has moved from $400 per ounce to an incredible $9,400 per ounce. On a percentage basis, that represents an increase of 2,250%!
Rhodium has mostly industrial uses such as its use to make electrical contacts. Rhodium is extremely scare with a worldwide production of only 25 tons.
There don't seem to be any easy ways for the average individual to have invested in rhodium, except for some custom coins which can sometime be found with rhodium alloys of plating.
Another metal from the platinum group, palladium is expected to be available in coin form from the US Mint in the coming years. So far, palladium has lagged behind rhodium and platinum in price appreciation. However, given the performance of its close cousins, I probably would not be averse to picking some up once it becomes available.
