2006 US Coins: Values & Mintages

US coinage in 2006

The Jefferson nickel received a new forward-facing portrait of Jefferson and the original Monticello reverse returned.

New this year: the Return to Monticello Nickel.

How many coins were made in 2006

Counting the circulation issues on this page, US mints struck 15,505,300,000 coins dated 2006 across 20 issues. That is close to the 2005 total of 15,302,690,500. In 2007 the figure fell to 14,354,210,000.

It was the biggest year since 2001.

By mint: Philadelphia 7,792,020,000 (50%, up from 7,638,120,000) and Denver 7,713,280,000 (50%, up from 7,664,570,500).

2006 coins by denomination

Cents: 8,234,000,000 struck in 2 circulation issues of the Lincoln Memorial Cent, up 6.9% on 2005. The scarcest is the 2006-D (3,944,000,000) and the most plentiful the 2006 (4,290,000,000).

Nickels: 1,502,400,000 struck in 2 circulation issues of the Return to Monticello Nickel, down 14% on 2005. The scarcest is the 2006-P (693,120,000) and the most plentiful the 2006-D (809,280,000).

Dimes: 2,828,000,000 struck in 2 circulation issues of the Roosevelt Dime, down 0.26% on 2005. The scarcest is the 2006-P (1,381,000,000) and the most plentiful the 2006-D (1,447,000,000).

Quarters: 2,928,800,000 struck in 10 circulation issues of the 50 State Quarter, down 2.8% on 2005. The scarcest is the 2006-P South Dakota Quarter (245,000,000) and the most plentiful the 2006-D North Dakota Quarter (359,000,000).

Half Dollars: 4,400,000 struck in 2 circulation issues of the Kennedy Half Dollar, down 40% on 2005. The scarcest is the 2006-D (2,000,000) and the most plentiful the 2006-P (2,400,000).

Dollar Coins: 7,700,000 struck in 2 circulation issues of the Sacagawea Dollar, up 53% on 2005. The scarcest is the 2006-D (2,800,000) and the most plentiful the 2006-P (4,900,000).

Every 2006 circulation issue at a glance

• 2006-D Kennedy Half Dollar: 2,000,000 struck, 14th lowest of 116 in the series, down from 3,500,000 in 2005.
• 2006-P Kennedy Half Dollar: 2,400,000 struck, 22nd lowest of 116 in the series, down from 3,800,000 in 2005.
• 2006-D Sacagawea Dollar: 2,800,000 struck, 22nd lowest of 46 in the series, similar to 2005.
• 2006-P Sacagawea Dollar: 4,900,000 struck, more than 76% of the series' 46 issues, up from 2,520,000 in 2005.
• 2006-P South Dakota Quarter: 245,000,000 struck, 26th lowest of 100 in the series.
• 2006-D South Dakota Quarter: 265,800,000 struck, 43rd lowest of 100 in the series.
• 2006-P Colorado Quarter: 274,800,000 struck, 44th lowest of 100 in the series.
• 2006-D Nebraska Quarter: 276,400,000 struck, 45th lowest of 100 in the series.
• 2006-P Nevada Quarter: 277,000,000 struck, 46th lowest of 100 in the series.
• 2006-D Colorado Quarter: 294,200,000 struck, more than 53% of the series' 100 issues.
• 2006-P North Dakota Quarter: 305,800,000 struck, more than 57% of the series' 100 issues.
• 2006-D Nevada Quarter: 312,800,000 struck, more than 58% of the series' 100 issues.

The 8 more plentiful issues are listed in the tables below.

Lincoln Memorial Cent: Rising metal costs and the last Memorial cents

Cent production fell from the 2000 peak, settling between about 2.5 and 4.3 billion a year at each mint from 2002. By 2006 rising zinc and copper prices meant the cent cost more than face value to make. In December 2006 the Mint issued rules restricting the melting and export of cents and nickels, since older bronze cents contained more than a cent of metal.

Beginning in 2005, the Mint's uncirculated sets included cents with a satin finish, giving these years a distinct collector version. Proof cents from San Francisco show deep mirror fields with frosted designs. The 2008 marked the last year of the Memorial reverse before the 2009 Bicentennial designs. Circulated coins from this period often show plating wear or zinc rot, while many collectors still save rolls of uncirculated cents.

See every Lincoln Memorial Cent →

Return to Monticello Nickel: Forward-facing Jefferson and the 2009 drop

In 2006 the Return to Monticello nickel brought back Felix Schlag's Monticello, re-engraved with sharper detail, paired with a new obverse by Jamie Franki showing Jefferson facing forward. The portrait is based on an 1800 painting by Rembrandt Peale. Liberty appears in Jefferson's handwriting. Satin finish coins were included in mint sets. Output in 2006 passed 1.5 billion combined.

Rising metal prices pushed the cost of making a nickel above face value by 2006. The Mint restricted melting of nickels at the end of that year. The Great Recession then cut demand sharply. Output in 2009 fell to 39.8 million at Philadelphia and 46.8 million at Denver, the lowest since the 1950s. As a result 2009 nickels turn up in change far less often than other modern dates.

See every Return to Monticello Nickel →

Roosevelt Dime: Silver proofs and the 1996-W

Silver proof sets returned in 1992, so collectors could once more buy proof dimes struck in 90 percent silver at San Francisco alongside the clad proofs. In 1996 the Mint marked the dime's 50th anniversary by placing a West Point dime with a W mint mark in each uncirculated set. About 1.46 million were made, the lowest mintage dime of the 1990s apart from the proofs.

Circulation demand peaked in 1999, when Philadelphia alone struck more than 2.1 billion dimes. From 2005 the dimes in uncirculated sets carried a satin finish that sets them apart from business strikes, a detail worth checking when sorting coins removed from sets. Dimes of this era found in pocket change are usually lightly worn clad pieces with their outer layers intact. Proof dimes from both the clad and silver sets of these years survive in large numbers.

See every Roosevelt Dime →

Kennedy Half Dollar: Collector-only production

From 2002 the Mint stopped releasing halves into circulation and struck them only for collectors, sold in rolls, bags and sets. Mintages stayed between about 1.7 and 3.8 million per mint through 2012. In 2014 the Mint marked the 50th anniversary with a 1964-2014 dual-dated gold proof from West Point, 73,772 struck, along with silver versions from all four mints.

Silver proofs switched to .999 fine silver in 2019. Output for collectors rose again after 2020, with Philadelphia striking 30.2 million in 2023. Business strikes of these years are rarely found in change, so most surviving coins are uncirculated, often still in original Mint rolls or packaging. Silver proofs of the 2020s were made in smaller numbers than those of earlier decades.

See every Kennedy Half Dollar →

Sacagawea Dollar: The golden dollar and the soaring eagle

The Sacagawea dollar launched in 2000 with a large publicity push, including dollars handed out through a cereal promotion and at a national retail chain. Philadelphia and Denver struck well over a billion coins that first year. People liked the gold color but kept spending paper dollars and the coins piled up in bank vaults.

From 2002 the Mint stopped shipping Sacagawea dollars for general circulation and sold them to collectors in rolls, bags and sets instead. That is why mintages drop from hundreds of millions in 2000 and tens of millions in 2001 to a few million a year after that and why later dates from these years are rarely found in change. Uncirculated coins with bright, untoned color are the ones collectors want.

See every Sacagawea Dollar →