December 16, 2025
Provided Image/Stack's Bowers Galleries
The U.S. Mint last week auctioned 232 three-coin sets of the last pennies produced in Philadelphia and Denver. The final set, which included the dies used to imprint the coins, sold for $800,000.
Nearly 700 of the last pennies produced in Philadelphia and Denver were sold in an auction last week for a total of $16.76 million, according to Stack's Bowers Galleries, a coin auction organizer based in Santa Mesa, California.
U.S. Mint presented the company with hundreds of sets of pennies — each containing three types of coins. The auction's overall sale total was one of the most valuable in the auctioneer's history.
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In honor of the penny's 232-year lifespan, 232 sets were sold Thursday. Each collection contained a 2025 penny struck at the mint in Philly, a 2025-D penny struck at the mint in Denver, and a 2025 penny struck with 24-karat gold at the mint in Philly. Every coin was printed with the symbol for Omega, the last letter in the Greek alphabet.
Stack's Bowers Gallery said the noon start time for the auction was slightly delayed after "unprecedented levels of collector interest" that sparked nearly four hours of competitive bidding. The final set, which also included the three sets of dies used to imprint the pennies, sold for $800,000. The auctioneer said it was the "most valuable modern U.S. numismatic item," topping the sale of space flown 24-karat gold Sacagawea dollars that sold for $550,000 in September.
"They captured the public imagination like few rare coins we've ever handled," Brian Kendrella, Stack's Bowers Galleries president, said in a statement. "Even our staff of expert numismatists, who see the world's most famous and valuable rare coins day in and day out, were excited by the chance to handle the very last pennies struck before the suspension of circulating production."
The U.S. Mint produced the final circulating penny in Philadelphia on Nov. 12 after President Donald Trump ordered the agency in February to cease production due to its inefficient costs. It cost nearly 4 cents to produce one penny.
An estimated 300 billion pennies are in circulation and will still be accepted as legal tender, officials said.
"While general production concludes today, the penny's legacy lives on," Kristie McNally, acting U.S. Mint director, said in a statement last month. "As its usage in commerce continues to evolve, its significance in America's story will endure."
