THE LAST "OMEGA" CENTS HAVE SOLD

 

The very last circulating pennies, or "cents," sold for over $16.76 million in a special auction by Stack's Bowers Galleries on Thursday, December 12 th , presented on behalf of the United States Mint. Included in the sale were 232 three-coin sets 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. Each of these special coins exhibits a small "O" 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.

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. 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. The top price of the session was realized by Set #232, which sold for $800,000 as the last lot, and 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. With this $800,000 result, set #232 now ranks as the most valuable modern U.S. numismatic 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. The overall sale total of more than $16.76 million represents an average lot value of over $72,000 for each three-coin set, amounting to nearly 80 times the total combined gold melt value of around $210,000 at the time of the sale. In total, 17 lots each sold for more than $100,000.

 

This $16.76 million sale is now the highest value auction of special coins sold on behalf of the United States Mint, more than doubling the historic $7.5 million result of the 1933 Saint Gaudens double eagle sold by Stack's Bowers Galleries in 2002 (in partnership with Sotheby's). It also ranks among the most valuable single-owner auction sessions held by the firm across their 90-year history as America's oldest rare coin auctioneer.

"It's an extraordinary honor to again be selected to partner with the United States Mint to offer exciting numismatic rarities to the collecting public," noted Stack's Bowers Galleries President Brian Kendrella. "They captured the public imagination like few rare coins we've ever handled. 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."

Remarkably, this $16.76 million Omega penny sale represents the fifth time Stack's Bowers Galleries has been selected by the United States Mint for a special auction, following their $7.5 million sale of the 1933 Saint-Gaudens $20 in July 2002, their $4.6 million sale of 35th Anniversary American Eagle coins in September 2022, their $8.2 million sale of 230th Anniversary Flowing Hair coins in December 2024 and their $3.2 million sale of the Space Flown 24 Karat Gold Sacagawea dollars in September 2025. No other auction firm in the world—specialized or generalist—boasts this repetitive selection by the United States Mint.

To read the earlier E-Sylum articles, see:
STACK'S BOWERS: THE LAST "OMEGA" CENTS (https://www.coinbooks.org/v28/esylum_v28n47a23.html)
LOT 10232: THE VERY LAST CENTS AND DIES (https://www.coinbooks.org/v28/esylum_v28n48a21.html)

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