1981 US Coins: Values & Mintages

US coinage in 1981

Susan B. Anthony dollars were made only for collector sets, ending the design until a final run in 1999.

How many coins were made in 1981

Counting the circulation issues on this page, US mints struck 16,520,790,029 coins dated 1981 across 13 issues. That is close to the 1980 total of 16,426,066,073. In 1982 the figure rose to 19,458,707,386.

No earlier year on our list comes close: it was the largest output up to that point.

By mint: Philadelphia 9,460,164,000 (57%, up from 6,689,665,000), Denver 7,057,134,029 (43%, up from 6,955,189,073) and San Francisco 3,492,000 (0.02%, down from 1,205,012,000).

1981 coins by denomination

Cents: 12,864,985,677 struck in 2 circulation issues of the Lincoln Memorial Cent, up 2.5% on 1980. The scarcest is the 1981-D (5,373,235,677) and the most plentiful the 1981 (7,491,750,000).

Nickels: 1,022,305,843 struck in 2 circulation issues of the Jefferson Nickel, down 6.7% on 1980. The scarcest is the 1981-D (364,801,843) and the most plentiful the 1981-P (657,504,000).

Dimes: 1,388,934,143 struck in 2 circulation issues of the Roosevelt Dime, down 4.5% on 1980. The scarcest is the 1981-P (676,650,000) and the most plentiful the 1981-D (712,284,143).

Quarters: 1,177,438,833 struck in 2 circulation issues of the Washington Quarter, up 2% on 1980. The scarcest is the 1981-D (575,722,833) and the most plentiful the 1981-P (601,716,000).

Half Dollars: 57,383,533 struck in 2 circulation issues of the Kennedy Half Dollar, down 26% on 1980. The scarcest is the 1981-D (27,839,533) and the most plentiful the 1981-P (29,544,000).

Dollar Coins: 9,742,000 struck in 3 circulation issues of the Susan B. Anthony Dollar, down 89% on 1980. The scarcest is the 1981-P (3,000,000) and the most plentiful the 1981-S (3,492,000).

Every 1981 circulation issue at a glance

• 1981-P Susan B. Anthony Dollar: 3,000,000 struck, the lowest mintage of all 11 Susan B. Anthony Dollar issues, down from 27,610,000 in 1980.
• 1981-D Susan B. Anthony Dollar: 3,250,000 struck, 2nd lowest of 11 in the series, down from 41,628,708 in 1980.
• 1981-S Susan B. Anthony Dollar: 3,492,000 struck, 3rd lowest of 11 in the series, down from 20,422,000 in 1980.
• 1981-D Kennedy Half Dollar: 27,839,533 struck, more than 77% of the series' 116 issues, similar to 1980.
• 1981-P Kennedy Half Dollar: 29,544,000 struck, more than 78% of the series' 116 issues, down from 44,134,000 in 1980.
• 1981-D Jefferson Nickel: 364,801,843 struck, more than 61% of the series' 146 issues, down from 502,323,448 in 1980.
• 1981-D Washington Quarter: 575,722,833 struck, more than 79% of the series' 144 issues, similar to 1980.
• 1981-P Washington Quarter: 601,716,000 struck, more than 83% of the series' 144 issues, similar to 1980.
• 1981-P Jefferson Nickel: 657,504,000 struck, more than 86% of the series' 146 issues, similar to 1980.
• 1981-P Roosevelt Dime: 676,650,000 struck, more than 52% of the series' 168 issues, similar to 1980.
• 1981-D Roosevelt Dime: 712,284,143 struck, more than 55% of the series' 168 issues, similar to 1980.
• 1981-D Lincoln Memorial Cent: 5,373,235,677 struck, more than 78% of the series' 104 issues, similar to 1980.

The 1 more plentiful issues are listed in the tables below.

Lincoln Memorial Cent: Aluminum trials, West Point and the zinc switch

Rising copper costs led the Mint to strike about 1.5 million aluminum cents dated 1974 as a test. Congress did not approve them. Nearly all were melted, though a few left the Mint and are not legal to own. Meanwhile, demand kept growing. The West Point facility struck billions of cents in these years with no mint mark, making them indistinguishable from Philadelphia coins.

Proofs struck at San Francisco show Filled S and Clear S varieties in 1979 and 1981. The clear S is the scarcer. In 1982 the Mint changed to copper-plated zinc, lowering the weight from 3.11 grams to 2.5 grams. That year has seven major varieties combining metal (bronze or zinc), date size (large or small) and mint (Philadelphia or Denver). A scale is the easiest way to tell bronze from zinc for 1982.

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Jefferson Nickel: The P mint mark and high output

In 1980 Philadelphia began placing a P on its nickels, the first time since the wartime silver years. The mint mark has been used ever since. Output ranged from a few hundred million to nearly 900 million at each mint, with Philadelphia's 1982 figure of 292 million among the lowest of the decade. San Francisco proofs continued every year. Prestige proof sets from 1983 onward included the nickel.

Collectors grade these coins by how many of Monticello's steps are complete. On dates struck with tired dies a full steps coin can be hard to find. Most coins from this era are common and found in uncirculated condition in rolls and mint sets. Errors such as off center strikes, clipped planchets and struck through debris are popular finds from this high volume period.

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Roosevelt Dime: Mint marks move above the date

In 1968 the mint mark moved to the obverse just above the date. San Francisco began striking proof dimes for collectors the same year. A few proof dies left the Mint without the S, creating the rare no-S proofs dated 1968, 1970, 1975 and 1983. The 1975 is one of the great modern rarities with only two examples known. Proof sets of 1979 and 1981 show two mint mark styles: a filled Type 1 S and a clearer Type 2 S that is scarcer.

Philadelphia added a P mint mark to the dime in 1980. Two years later a Philadelphia die missing its P reached circulation. The 1982 no-P dime became one of the most popular modern errors. Business strike mintages stayed in the hundreds of millions per mint and passed one billion at Philadelphia in 1988. Dimes from these years turn up in change constantly. Only well-struck uncirculated pieces, proof varieties and errors draw real collector interest.

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Washington Quarter: The eagle returns before the state quarters

The eagle reverse came back in 1977. From 1977 to 1979 the West Point facility struck quarters for circulation without any mint mark, so they cannot be told apart from Philadelphia coins. A P mint mark first appeared on quarters in 1980. From then on every circulating quarter shows the mint that struck it.

Mintages of 1982 and 1983 were large, but the Mint issued no uncirculated sets in those years, so few were saved. Well-preserved examples of both years are hard to find. Silver proofs in 90 percent silver returned in 1992 alongside the clad proofs. Mintages climbed past one billion at Denver in 1995. The 1998 quarter was the last with Flanagan's eagle reverse. In 1999 the 50 State Quarters program replaced it with rotating designs.

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Kennedy Half Dollar: Eagle reverse and dwindling demand

The eagle reverse returned in 1977. Halves saw little use in commerce and mintages fell into the tens of millions, then lower. The 1982 Philadelphia issue includes a variety missing Gasparro's FG initials from the reverse. In 1987 no halves were made for circulation; the 2,890,758 coins from each mint went only into uncirculated sets.

Silver proofs in 90 percent silver returned in 1992. A 1998-S matte finish silver half, 64,141 struck, was sold in a set honoring Robert F. Kennedy and is one of the scarcest modern Kennedys. Circulation strikes of this period often show bag marks from handling in large bags. Well-preserved examples of the low mintage dates, such as 1987, are worth seeking. The 1999 Philadelphia run of 8.9 million was also small.

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Susan B. Anthony Dollar: Falling output and collector-only 1981 coins

With the 1979 dollars piling up unused, the Mint cut production sharply. Philadelphia struck 27,610,000 in 1980, Denver 41,628,708 and San Francisco 20,422,000. Many of these went straight into storage rather than into change, so uncirculated 1980 dollars are as easy to find as the 1979 coins. San Francisco also struck 3,554,806 proofs that year, all with a well-formed S. In both 1980 and 1981 Denver struck more dollars than Philadelphia, the reverse of the pattern in 1979.

By 1981 no more were needed for commerce. The 1981 dollars from Philadelphia (3,000,000), Denver (3,250,000) and San Francisco (3,492,000) were issued only in mint sets sold to collectors, so they were never released into everyday use. That makes them the lowest-mintage business strikes of the series, though nearly every one survives in uncirculated condition. Coins that have been out of their sets for years may show toning or handling marks. A fully original coin with clean surfaces is the one to look for.

The 1981-S proof, with 4,063,083 struck, also has two mint mark types. A worn punch was replaced in the autumn of 1981 with a new one that gives a sharper S with bulbous serifs. These Type 2 coins are somewhat scarcer than the 1979-S Type 2. When grading 1980 and 1981 coins, check Anthony's cheekbone and the eagle's feathers for wear, since most survivors are close to mint condition and small differences matter.

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