US EditionA pretty penny: Last US cents sell for $16.7 million
The auction of 232 final penny sets, including gold versions, raised $16.76 million as the government ended penny production to save $56 million annually.
- On December 11, Stack's Bowers Galleries in California sold final pennies from the U.S. Mint for over $16.76 million, setting a record for the last circulating pennies.
- The Treasury's order to halt minting followed concerns about the coin's cost and relevance, as President Donald Trump instructed Scott Bessent, Secretary of the Treasury, to stop producing one-cent coins.
- The auction featured 232 specially paired three-coin sets combining 2025 Philadelphia, 2025-D Denver, and 24-karat gold Omega pennies, each embossed with a small omega symbol, with average lot values over $72,000 and 17 sets selling for more than $100,000.
- The sale's result made it the highest-value auction handled for the U.S. Mint, with the set now ranking as the most valuable modern U.S. numismatic item, while existing pennies remain legal tender.
- Stack's Bowers Galleries staff and expert numismatists said handling the last pennies excited them, with Set #1 fetching $200,000 and another set selling for $180,000.
12 Articles
12 Articles
The final batch of pennies sold for $16.7 million
The last US penny was minted on November 12 and will be auctioned off.Matthew Hatcher/Getty ImagesThe final sets of pennies ever minted sold for nearly $17 million.Stack's Bowers Galleries worked with the US Mint to sell the small pieces of history.In November, the final pennies were minted after President Donald Trump ordered the coin's discontinuation.Collectors paid a pretty penny to get their hands to get the very last minted pennies.Stack's…
A pretty penny: Last one-cent coins ever minted fetches $16.7 million at auction
History was hammered into copper one last time, as America’s final circulating pennies shattered auction records. Stack’s Bowers Galleries, a California auction house, announced that the 232 sets of three coins that were sold on behalf of the United States Mint garnered $16.76-million. Each set featured a 2025 penny from the Philadelphia Mint, a 2025-D penny from the Denver Mint, and a special 2025 penny struck in 24-karat gold at the Philadelph…
The Columbian
Final U.S. pennies sell for millions at auction after mint ends production
PHILADELPHIA — The last minted pennies sure cost a pretty penny. Read more...
Making cents stops making sense
The U.S. Mint manufactured its last penny on Nov. 12, forcing retailers across the country to round cash transactions — a shift already creating logistical concerns and unexpected violations of federal regulations. Although the transition has sparked nationwide confusion, American Numismatic Association Money Museum curator Doug Mudd, said the U.S. has a long history of phasing out low-value coins. “In 1857, they got rid of the half-cent becaus…
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