Output at the Denver Mint fell 26 percent in 2008

Fewer purchases, fewer coins

As falls the economy, so falls the jingle of coinmaking at the U.S. Mint.

Production at the federal government's coin factory in Denver fell a sharp 26 percent in 2008 from the previous year, contributing to a national output decline of 30 percent.

Mint officials said the drop is a direct reflection of the plunging economy and the resulting fall in cash-register transactions that require merchants to provide change.

"Coin demand is definitely affected by economic activity," said Greg Hernandez, acting director of public affairs in Washington for the U.S. Mint.

"Banks are not ordering as many coins as they were," he said. "If local banks are not getting orders from local merchants, it's going to affect Mint production."

The U.S. Mint in 2008 produced 10.1 billion general-circulation coins, the fewest in at least 10 years.

Denver accounted for slightly more than half of the U.S. production, with the remainder from the Mint in Philadelphia.

Employment at the Denver Mint is about 350, a level that hasn't changed with the production dip, a spokesman said.

Part of the coin-production decline stems from diminishing consumer interest in collecting quarters issued for each of the 50 states — a phenomenon that had . . .

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