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A 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.
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Associated Press News+54 Reposted by 54 other sources
Last US cents sold at auction for a sum of $16.76 million were worth a pretty penny
Auction bidders spent top dollar for some of the final pennies to be circulated in the U.S. before the government ended the cent’s production. The U.S.
·United States
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Total News Sources88
Leaning Left17Leaning Right7Center46Last UpdatedBias Distribution66% Center
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66% Center
L 24%
C 66%
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