2009 US Coins: Values & Mintages

US coinage in 2009

Four special reverse designs marked the bicentennial of Lincoln's birth on the cent. Quarters honored the District of Columbia and five US territories. The Native American dollar began a new reverse each year.

New this year: the Lincoln Bicentennial Cent and the D.C. and U.S. Territories Quarter.

Last year of the Lincoln Bicentennial Cent and the D.C. and U.S. Territories Quarter.

How many coins were made in 2009

Counting the circulation issues on this page, US mints struck 3,649,800,000 coins dated 2009 across 36 issues. That is 63% fewer than in 2008 (9,969,860,000). In 2010 the figure rose to 6,373,110,000.

It was the smallest year since 1962.

By mint: Denver 1,892,380,000 (52%, down from 5,274,800,000) and Philadelphia 1,757,420,000 (48%, down from 4,695,060,000).

2009 coins by denomination

Cents: 2,354,000,000 struck in 8 circulation issues of the Lincoln Bicentennial Cent, down 57% on 2008. The scarcest is the 2009 Presidency (129,600,000) and the most plentiful the 2009 Formative Years (376,000,000).

Nickels: 86,640,000 struck in 2 circulation issues of the Return to Monticello Nickel, down 86% on 2008. The scarcest is the 2009-P (39,840,000) and the most plentiful the 2009-D (46,800,000).

Dimes: 146,000,000 struck in 2 circulation issues of the Roosevelt Dime, down 86% on 2008. The scarcest is the 2009-D (49,500,000) and the most plentiful the 2009-P (96,500,000).

Quarters: 636,000,000 struck in 12 circulation issues of the D.C. and U.S. Territories Quarter, down 74% on 2008. The scarcest is the 2009-P Northern Mariana Islands Quarter (35,200,000) and the most plentiful the 2009-D District of Columbia Quarter (88,800,000).

Half Dollars: 3,800,000 struck in 2 circulation issues of the Kennedy Half Dollar, up 12% on 2008. The scarcest is the 2009-P (1,900,000) and the most plentiful the 2009-D (1,900,000).

Dollar Coins: 423,360,000 struck in 10 circulation issues of the Presidential Dollar and Sacagawea Dollar, down 9.6% on 2008. The scarcest is the 2009-D Three Sisters Native American Dollar (33,880,000) and the most plentiful the 2009-D William Henry Harrison (55,160,000).

Every 2009 circulation issue at a glance

• 2009-P Kennedy Half Dollar: 1,900,000 struck, 12th lowest of 116 in the series, similar to 2008.
• 2009-D Kennedy Half Dollar: 1,900,000 struck, 13th lowest of 116 in the series, similar to 2008.
• 2009-D Three Sisters Native American Dollar: 33,880,000 struck, more than 84% of the series' 46 issues.
• 2009-P Northern Mariana Islands Quarter: 35,200,000 struck, the lowest mintage of all 12 D.C. and U.S. Territories Quarter issues.
• 2009-D Zachary Taylor Presidential Dollar: 36,680,000 struck, more than 53% of the series' 80 issues.
• 2009-P Three Sisters Native American Dollar: 37,380,000 struck, more than 87% of the series' 46 issues.
• 2009-D Northern Mariana Islands Quarter: 37,600,000 struck, 2nd lowest of 12 in the series.
• 2009-D American Samoa Quarter: 39,600,000 struck, 3rd lowest of 12 in the series.
• 2009-P Return to Monticello Nickel: 39,840,000 struck, 2nd lowest of 40 in the series, down from 279,840,000 in 2008.
• 2009-P US Virgin Islands Quarter: 41,000,000 struck, 4th lowest of 12 in the series.
• 2009-D US Virgin Islands Quarter: 41,000,000 struck, 5th lowest of 12 in the series.
• 2009-P Zachary Taylor Presidential Dollar: 41,580,000 struck, more than 70% of the series' 80 issues.

The 24 more plentiful issues are listed in the tables below.

Lincoln Bicentennial Cent: Four reverses for the Lincoln bicentennial

In 2009 the Mint marked the 200th anniversary of Lincoln's birth and the centennial of the Lincoln cent with four reverse designs released in sequence. Birthplace shows his log cabin in Kentucky, Formative Years shows a young Lincoln reading on a log in Indiana, Professional Life shows him before the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield and Presidency shows the unfinished Capitol dome in Washington. The first design was released on February 12, Lincoln's birthday.

Circulating cents were copper-plated zinc, while collector coins in mint and proof sets were struck in the 95 percent copper alloy used for the original 1909 cent. Mintages were low compared with earlier years, especially for Presidency, at 129.6 million from Philadelphia. The Formative Years has several doubled die varieties. Coins from rolls are bright, but plating spots and wear develop quickly.

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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.

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Roosevelt Dime: Recession lows and anniversary specials

The recession of 2009 cut demand sharply. The Mint struck only about 96.5 million dimes at Philadelphia and 49.5 million at Denver, the lowest combined total since 1955. Output recovered quickly. In 2015 a March of Dimes set paired a silver proof dime from West Point with a silver reverse proof dime from Philadelphia. A 2017-S enhanced uncirculated dime followed in a set marking the Mint's 225th anniversary.

Silver proof dimes changed from 90 percent to .999 fine silver in 2019. Circulation mintages stayed above one billion per mint every year from 2013 through 2023, then dropped in 2024 to about 307 million at Philadelphia and 248 million at Denver. Output in 2025 stayed well below the earlier peaks. Low mintage West Point and San Francisco specials are the scarce coins of this era, while off-center strikes and clipped planchets are the usual finds in modern rolls.

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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.

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Presidential Dollar: The motto moves and the stockpile grows

From 2009 IN GOD WE TRUST moved off the edge and onto the obverse, while the date, mint mark and E PLURIBUS UNUM stayed on the edge. Mintages fell steadily as the coins kept piling up unused.

By 2011 the Federal Reserve held well over a billion dollar coins it could not circulate. At the end of that year the Treasury stopped making Presidential dollars for circulation, so the coins of 2011 were the last made in large numbers.

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Sacagawea Dollar: The first Native American reverses

In 2009 the reverse began changing every year to honor a Native American contribution to American history: the Three Sisters of corn, beans and squash in 2009, the Great Law of Peace in 2010, the Wampanoag treaty in 2011, trade routes in 2012, the treaty with the Delawares in 2013, Native hospitality in 2014 and the Mohawk ironworkers in 2015. Glenna Goodacre's portrait of Sacagawea stayed on the obverse.

The date and mint mark moved to the edge in 2009, lettered with E PLURIBUS UNUM, so the edge is where you check which mint made your coin. A law of 2007 required that at least a fifth of all dollar coins struck each year carry the Native American design, which kept production going even when demand was low.

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