Pennies might the lowest denomination of U.S. currency, but a batch of special coins recently sold for nearly $17 million dollars. Why would people shell out money for change often left in the street when it falls out of your pocket?
Well, these pennies are the very last circulating pennies, according to Stack’s Bowers Galleries of Costa Mesa, Calif.. Included in the $16.76 million sale were 232 three-coin sets. Each featuring one each of the 2025 penny struck at the Philadelphia Mint, the 2025-D penny struck at the Denver Mint, and a historic 2025 penny struck in 24 karat gold, also at the Philadelphia Mint. That gold penny alone boosts the collection price considerably higher than the typical copper and zinc penny.
Overall, the sale still amounted to nearly 80 times the total combined gold melt value of around $210,000 at the time of the sale.
“Each of these special coins exhibits a small ‘Ω’ privy mark of the final Greek letter Omega, indicating their role as the capstone to a two-centuries long legacy that first began in 1793 with the Chain Cent,” said the auction house of the special collection.
On Nov. 12, the U.S. Mint announced that United States Treasurer Brandon Beach struck the final, circulating one-cent coin, ending the penny’s 232-year production run. It was one of the first coins ever made by the U.S.
“Economic and production factors, combined with evolving consumer behavior, have made its continued production unsustainable,” the mint explained last month. “Over the past decade, the cost of producing each penny has risen from 1.42 cents to 3.69 cents per penny.”
In a Nov. 18 press release, the U.S. Mint announced that Stack’s Bowers would auction the last circulating pennies starting December 11. Mint Acting Director Kristie McNally said the sale was an opportunity to celebrate the history of the penny.
“After a slightly delayed start due to unprecedented levels of collector interest, the sale was underway with tremendous excitement stretching across nearly four hours of competitive bidding,” said the auction house.
“Set #1, presented in the first lot of the sale, soared to an incredible price of $200,000 and established this as a landmark offering for the category’s most elite collectors.”
By the time the final lot sold, its price was up to $800,000. That lot included the very last circulating penny intended for issuance struck at Philadelphia and Denver, along with the final Omega penny in gold.
“Also included in the lot were the three sets of canceled dies used to strike this historic series,” Stack’s Bowers added. “With this $800,000 result, set #232 now ranks as the most valuable modern U.S. numismatic [that is, currency-related] item, surpassing the prior record of $550,000 also set by Stack’s Bowers Galleries in their sale of Space Flown 24 Karat Gold Sacagawea dollars in September 2025.”