Maybe I’m just high

They let the dies deteriorate even more to get more "useful" production out of them. Not "coin collector" quality level production, but manufacturing production to produce coins for commerce to further reduce total per coin cost.

They've also have been simplifying the designs (less design time) and using shallower designs which require less pressure and comparatively extend the life of the dies.

 

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None of that matters very much if the cost of raw materials is 2 cents per coin, which it has hovered around for a long time.

 

The requirement for recoupling costs goes against the two programs - circulation and numismatic - separately.

For circulating coins, the mint is required to produce the coins ordered by the Fed. Whether there is a profit or loss is equally dependent on how they figure the overhead costs AND what is ordered.

Within numismatic coins, each commemorative program has a separate account so the mint can determine if the costs have been recouped to free up the surcharge. The mint has to cover costs both for the individual programs AND for numismatic as a whole.

The details are buried in the annual statements.