Blank coins wait to be the last pennies pressed at the U.S. Mint, in Philadelphia (AP Photo)
NEW DELHI: The final US pennies struck before the government ended production of the one-cent coin fetched a staggering $16.76 million at auction, underscoring the enduring appeal of the penny among collectors.The US Mint sold 232 special three-cent sets at an auction hosted by Stack’s Bowers Galleries last Thursday. The final set, which contained the last three pennies ever produced, sold for $800,000. The winning bidder also received the three dies used to strike those Lincoln cents.John Kraljevich, director of numismatic Americana at Stack’s Bowers, said the auction exceeded all expectations. “I’ve been going to coin auctions for 40 years, and I can tell you, I’ve never seen anything like this, because there’s never been anything like this,” he said.Stack’s Bowers president Brian Kendrella said the coins generated unusual public interest. “They captured the public imagination like few rare coins we’ve ever handled,” he said.The penny, first introduced in 1793, once held everyday purchasing power, with a single cent able to buy a biscuit or a piece of candy. Over time, most pennies ended up forgotten in jars and drawers, though for collectors they remain significant historical artefacts. Each auctioned set included 2025 pennies struck at the Philadelphia Mint and the Denver Mint, along with a 24-carat gold penny marking the end of the coin’s circulation. Each cent also carried a unique Omega symbol. The Mint released 232 sets to represent every year the penny was part of American currency.“American culture has incorporated the penny into our lexicon, into our pop culture, into all of this stuff,” Kraljevich said. “And I think for a lot of people, the ending of production of cents for circulation is an item of nostalgia.”