"To further recognize the significance of these historic pieces, all coins will be certified by leading grading service PCGS and encapsulated with bespoke labels designed exclusively for this auction event. They will be added to the popular PCGS Set Registry, which allows collectors to better document and showcase their collections, as well as compete with other collectors. These Omega pennies will also be reviewed by Certified Acceptance Corporation (CAC) to confirm their superior quality and eye appeal."
--SBG
@keyman64 said:
Edit: I guess environmental damage will not be designated by PCGS for the fingerprints clearly shown in early press. I wonder how many will slowly (or quickly) turn in holder to RB due to the oils in people's skin getting on the coins. How difficult is it to have someone at the mint with minimal numismatic knowledge anyway? Ugh
.
I expect that these would be "conserved" prior to placement in holders.
I certainly would, because that will mitigate future finger-print toning.
.
And I will actually be shocked if those coins that were manhandled in Philly in front of the cameras last week are part of this 232, given that they are now offering Ps, Ds and gold, while all they made last week were a handful of Ps. The 232 were all likely made separately, months ago, and handled with the care something that is going to auctioned for mucho bucks deserves.
If I'm right, while everything at auction will be 69 and 70 with no conservation, as someone paying up for those sets would expect, it will also mean none of them are actually the last coins made in that ceremony for the cameras last week, regardless of any official certification to the contrary.
"Conserved" just means a dip before slabbing. That is a service SOME TPGs provide
There I fixed it.
PCGS and NGC both do. Don't know about ANACS or CACG
All comments reflect the opinion of the author, even when irrefutably accurate.
@HalfDime said:
We can only guess, but it was not just a photo op done to get press for the mint, it was done to bring in more money for the casino they run. The mint seems to have a clever employee now that is coming up with ways to monetize coins for them, and this is one of them. Why let such an opportunity pass us by?
If these are the only gold lincoln cents to be struck, they will be historically low as a type coin. They would end up number three in the history of the mint for mint state coins. If later gold lincolns are struck, they might diminish the value of these, although I doubt the mint won't consider it as a way for easy money.
Is a gold Lincoln a "type coin" or a novelty?
All comments reflect the opinion of the author, even when irrefutably accurate.
@ambro51 said:
No one needs profit from this. It’s pure commercialized BS. Put 50 in direct circulation somewhere one in each state. Let the people just find them.
And then those 50 people profit from it...
All comments reflect the opinion of the author, even when irrefutably accurate.
@oldabeintx said:
The press release says that PCGS will “certify” these coins. But will they be graded? No need really.
Since the coins are supposedly going to be reviewed by CAC, they would need to be graded first.
For sure Mark? This may be a one off sticker or something ensuring “superior quality” of the whole set. Note all the comments re mixed grades in the sets and mixed stickers. May be pretty confusing, eh?
@oldabeintx said:
The press release says that PCGS will “certify” these coins. But will they be graded? No need really.
Since the coins are supposedly going to be reviewed by CAC, they would need to be graded first.
For sure Mark? This may be a one off sticker or something ensuring “superior quality” of the whole set. Note all the comments re mixed grades in the sets and mixed stickers. May be pretty confusing, eh?
I can’t be “sure”, as I’m relying on a published statement, not something that I’ve seen completed.
Mark Feld* of Heritage Auctions*Unless otherwise noted, my posts here represent my personal opinions.
@oldabeintx said:
The press release says that PCGS will “certify” these coins. But will they be graded? No need really.
Since the coins are supposedly going to be reviewed by CAC, they would need to be graded first.
For sure Mark? This may be a one off sticker or something ensuring “superior quality” of the whole set. Note all the comments re mixed grades in the sets and mixed stickers. May be pretty confusing, eh?
Agreed. This is a special, bespoke, very limited production run. Absolutely no reason each and every coin shouldn't sticker. Although I am pretty sure they will be the usual green stickers. No reason to create a special sticker that people might not value.
They are doing this because they know collectors value CAC stickers, and they will goose prices that much higher. Same reason they are slabbing them, since they clearly don't need attribution via a label. Not because some 70s out of the 232 will be special as compared to the others. Same for the 69s.
The Mint is simply grabbing all the additional value for itself, rather than allowing buyers to have them graded and CAC'd, and then receiving whatever value the market attributes to the grades and stickers.
If the Dawn and Dusk auction is any guide, there will indeed be a mix of 69s and 70s sprinkled among the sets. With straight 70s, as well as the certificate numbers closest to 1 and then 232 attaining the highest prices, and the middle numbers with all 69s selling for the lowest.
All prices will be Moon Money for what is really nothing more than a modern artificial rarity. That said, if the public is willing to pay, it would be malpractice for the US Treasury to not want to monetize the demand.
If my math is correct, the mint screwed up on how many years they have been making cents. The press release says "Only 232 three-coin sets are available for collectors—celebrating the number of years pennies were produced beginning in 1793—and they will be offered exclusively in the Stack’s Bowers Galleries sale on Thursday, December 11, 2025."
So if we go with one year for each one from 1793 until 2025, we get:
2025 − 1793 = 232 years
Since were counting each year inclusively, we add 1:
@HalfDime said:
If my math is correct, the mint screwed up on how many years they have been making cents. The press release says "Only 232 three-coin sets are available for collectors—celebrating the number of years pennies were produced beginning in 1793—and they will be offered exclusively in the Stack’s Bowers Galleries sale on Thursday, December 11, 2025."
So if we go with one year for each one from 1793 until 2025, we get:
2025 − 1793 = 232 years
Since were counting each year inclusively, we add 1:
@ambro51
No one needs profit from this. It’s pure commercialized BS. Put 50 in direct circulation somewhere one in each state. Let the people just find them.
I love this idea! (It will never happen tho…) Let the “Everyman” discover the last cents and actually profit from the discovery as opposed to well heeled collector/investors….can you imagine the collector frenzy and the boost t the numismatic hobby?
I can’t be “sure”, as I’m relying on a published statement, not something that I’ve seen completed.
Well I would bet along the lines you suggest (graded and stickered individually, more-or-less the usual PCGS/CAC product). But give me odds and I’ll go with something out of the ordinary. Maybe wishful thinking on my part, but the published statements leave room for speculation. We’ll soon see.
@Rc5280 said:
"To further recognize the significance of these historic pieces, all coins will be certified by leading grading service PCGS and encapsulated with bespoke labels designed exclusively for this auction event. They will be added to the popular PCGS Set Registry, which allows collectors to better document and showcase their collections, as well as compete with other collectors. These Omega pennies will also be reviewed by Certified Acceptance Corporation (CAC) to confirm their superior quality and eye appeal."
--SBG
Well, as statistically there will be some "C" coins, it would be interesting to see how many of them qualify for CAC stickers. Or will JA cave to "commercial pressure" and sticker them all regardless?
@MrEureka said:
Seems like 50-60K per set should be about right. Figuring any Lincoln with a mintage of 232 pieces has to be cheap at 10K, and the gold piece has to be worth at least double what the red ones will bring. I’m not playing because it seems like we’re going to be getting more and more of these fabricated rarities, and I don’t think that will help the market for the earlier issues. But at the right discount to my numbers, well, I suppose I’d have to jump in.
The more the mint gets involved with these “fabricated rarities,” the less respect I have for its policies. We have gone back to the 19th century when the mint was restricking Gobrecht and 1804 Dollars and other coins for collectors. Sometimes unscrupulous mint employees were making them at off hours and fencing them through local dealers.
While the three pieces set shown earlier looks neat and is actually “cat nip” for me as a collector, my practical side says stay away especially if the prices are very high, which they will undoubtedly be. While the end of cent production as a circulating coin is a historic event, the manufactured coins with planned rarity, sold at high prices by a government agency, which is supposed to serve the people is not. For me it’s a firm pass.
Retired dealer and avid collector of U.S. type coins, 19th century presidential campaign medalets and selected medals. In recent years I have been working on a set of British coins - at least one coin from each king or queen who issued pieces that are collectible. I am also collecting at least one coin for each Roman emperor from Julius Caesar to ... ?
Read the Stacks article and they & the US Mint took marketing hyperbole to the max. 2,000x scarcer then the 1909 -S & the 1793, really. 1.3B 2025 pennies were minted, still more then any year prior to 1940, and they make these seem so special. I get it, the last 232, if really the last, but they are not like the only 2025 pennies. Yeah the omega privy makes them unique but whoop-de-do. We have gone privy mad. With the expected success of this auction, now the Jefferson nickel will be next. The Mint is just salivating. My .02 for these over-marketed gadgets. Agree should have just distributed to the public.
For whatever it's worth, when I ranked all US series using the Heritage archives in 2022, the Lincoln wheat cent ranked 43rd with 39 sales between $50K and $100K. It ranked 22nd with 799 sales between $10K and $50K. (Most in the second group were in the lower part of the range.) It ranked 30th with 29 sales above $100K. The memorial cent is far lower, and these omega cents aren't wheat cents, at least from the image in the Stack's announcement.
I know it's not an exact comparison and this sale will presumably generate a higher level of excitement. Still, seems like a stretch to me that this sale will result in higher prices than the FH gold medal even though the FH is a medal. I'd expect it will take a good number of buyers who don't collect wheat cents as a series to really want it, maybe most of the buyers.
Also at these prices, the number of coins within the range of 232 where each sell for these prices (divided by three here) is quite low. I attempted to compile a list maybe 10 years ago of those with 150 each valued $15,000+ and that list was rather short, with the overwhelming majority other US coins.
In my judgment, the preference (not "popularity") for the Lincoln cent isn't as high as most collectors seem to believe. 232 isn't really a low number either for a manufactured rarity. These coins are more comparable to patterns and 232 isn't low mintage for a pattern.
@TallahasseeCoinClub said:
"Only 232 three-coin sets are available for collectors—celebrating the number of years pennies were produced"
I would have thought it was actually produced for only 231 years, though.
Producing only 232 three coin sets is disgusting. These things should be available to all who want to order them. Since one of the pieces is gold, the price would be high enough to keep the poor out of the potential pool of customers.
I am glad that I have a 232 coin date set of cents. That is far more interesting.
Reopened to add, car companies have made "Medallion Editions" (usually) luxury models they are discontinuing. Car collectors will tell you that those models are usually flops when it comes to investment. Maybe this thing will suffer the same fate, but I doubt it.
Retired dealer and avid collector of U.S. type coins, 19th century presidential campaign medalets and selected medals. In recent years I have been working on a set of British coins - at least one coin from each king or queen who issued pieces that are collectible. I am also collecting at least one coin for each Roman emperor from Julius Caesar to ... ?
@WCC said:
I'm reading estimates that seem too high.
For whatever it's worth, when I ranked all US series using the Heritage archives in 2022, the Lincoln wheat cent ranked 43rd with 39 sales between $50K and $100K. It ranked 22nd with 799 sales between $10K and $50K. (Most in the second group were in the lower part of the range.) It ranked 30th with 29 sales above $100K. The memorial cent is far lower, and these omega cents aren't wheat cents, at least from the image in the Stack's announcement.
I know it's not an exact comparison and this sale will presumably generate a higher level of excitement. Still, seems like a stretch to me that this sale will result in higher prices than the FH gold medal even though the FH is a medal. I'd expect it will take a good number of buyers who don't collect wheat cents as a series to really want it, maybe most of the buyers.
Also at these prices, the number of coins within the range of 232 where each sell for these prices (divided by three here) is quite low. I attempted to compile a list maybe 10 years ago of those with 150 each valued $15,000+ and that list was rather short, with the overwhelming majority other US coins.
In my judgment, the preference (not "popularity") for the Lincoln cent isn't as high as most collectors seem to believe. 232 isn't really a low number either for a manufactured rarity. These coins are more comparable to patterns and 232 isn't low mintage for a pattern.
Gross sales revenue does not reflect the popularity of the Lincoln Cent. For many years, the Linocln cent was the most popular collector coin, and the Morgan Dollar was the most popular coin among those who spend significant money on coins. There are many Lincoln Cent collectors who spend small sums of money, or who simply roll hunt.
Since the State Quarter program, which started in 1999, the quarter many have surpassed the cent in popularity. I don't know that for sure.
Retired dealer and avid collector of U.S. type coins, 19th century presidential campaign medalets and selected medals. In recent years I have been working on a set of British coins - at least one coin from each king or queen who issued pieces that are collectible. I am also collecting at least one coin for each Roman emperor from Julius Caesar to ... ?
The mint is going to start alienating many of their loyal customers when they make a product that only those with deep pockets will ever be able to afford. It’s no longer collectors getting a rare coin, but eBay hawkers that grab them and can’t wait to post them for massive markups and profits. Kind of a real turnoff in my opinion….
Comments
The press release says that PCGS will “certify” these coins. But will they be graded? No need really.
"To further recognize the significance of these historic pieces, all coins will be certified by leading grading service PCGS and encapsulated with bespoke labels designed exclusively for this auction event. They will be added to the popular PCGS Set Registry, which allows collectors to better document and showcase their collections, as well as compete with other collectors. These Omega pennies will also be reviewed by Certified Acceptance Corporation (CAC) to confirm their superior quality and eye appeal."
--SBG
Since the coins are supposedly going to be reviewed by CAC, they would need to be graded first.
Mark Feld* of Heritage Auctions*Unless otherwise noted, my posts here represent my personal opinions.
PCGS and NGC both do. Don't know about ANACS or CACG
All comments reflect the opinion of the author, even when irrefutably accurate.
Is a gold Lincoln a "type coin" or a novelty?
All comments reflect the opinion of the author, even when irrefutably accurate.
No one needs profit from this. It’s pure commercialized BS. Put 50 in direct circulation somewhere one in each state. Let the people just find them.
And then those 50 people profit from it...
All comments reflect the opinion of the author, even when irrefutably accurate.
For sure Mark? This may be a one off sticker or something ensuring “superior quality” of the whole set. Note all the comments re mixed grades in the sets and mixed stickers. May be pretty confusing, eh?
I can’t be “sure”, as I’m relying on a published statement, not something that I’ve seen completed.
Mark Feld* of Heritage Auctions*Unless otherwise noted, my posts here represent my personal opinions.
Agreed. This is a special, bespoke, very limited production run. Absolutely no reason each and every coin shouldn't sticker. Although I am pretty sure they will be the usual green stickers. No reason to create a special sticker that people might not value.
They are doing this because they know collectors value CAC stickers, and they will goose prices that much higher. Same reason they are slabbing them, since they clearly don't need attribution via a label. Not because some 70s out of the 232 will be special as compared to the others. Same for the 69s.
The Mint is simply grabbing all the additional value for itself, rather than allowing buyers to have them graded and CAC'd, and then receiving whatever value the market attributes to the grades and stickers.
If the Dawn and Dusk auction is any guide, there will indeed be a mix of 69s and 70s sprinkled among the sets. With straight 70s, as well as the certificate numbers closest to 1 and then 232 attaining the highest prices, and the middle numbers with all 69s selling for the lowest.
All prices will be Moon Money for what is really nothing more than a modern artificial rarity. That said, if the public is willing to pay, it would be malpractice for the US Treasury to not want to monetize the demand.
If my math is correct, the mint screwed up on how many years they have been making cents. The press release says "Only 232 three-coin sets are available for collectors—celebrating the number of years pennies were produced beginning in 1793—and they will be offered exclusively in the Stack’s Bowers Galleries sale on Thursday, December 11, 2025."
So if we go with one year for each one from 1793 until 2025, we get:
2025 − 1793 = 232 years
Since were counting each year inclusively, we add 1:
232 + 1 = 233 years
So there should be 233 sets, not 232.
The mint forgot to account for the first year.
No cents were minted dated 1815.
Yes, but cents were produced in 1815, they just don't have the 1815 date.
How many Cents by date were minted from 1793 to 2025?
@ambro51
No one needs profit from this. It’s pure commercialized BS. Put 50 in direct circulation somewhere one in each state. Let the people just find them.
I love this idea! (It will never happen tho…) Let the “Everyman” discover the last cents and actually profit from the discovery as opposed to well heeled collector/investors….can you imagine the collector frenzy and the boost t the numismatic hobby?
Well I would bet along the lines you suggest (graded and stickered individually, more-or-less the usual PCGS/CAC product). But give me odds and I’ll go with something out of the ordinary. Maybe wishful thinking on my part, but the published statements leave room for speculation. We’ll soon see.
Would have preferred to see 10,000 cents with a special mark distributed more naturally.
Authenticated Coins was founded in 2020 and has proudly served over 3,000 customers. See our full inventory at AuthenticatedCoins.com.
Well, as statistically there will be some "C" coins, it would be interesting to see how many of them qualify for CAC stickers. Or will JA cave to "commercial pressure" and sticker them all regardless?
http://ProofCollection.Net
The more the mint gets involved with these “fabricated rarities,” the less respect I have for its policies. We have gone back to the 19th century when the mint was restricking Gobrecht and 1804 Dollars and other coins for collectors. Sometimes unscrupulous mint employees were making them at off hours and fencing them through local dealers.
While the three pieces set shown earlier looks neat and is actually “cat nip” for me as a collector, my practical side says stay away especially if the prices are very high, which they will undoubtedly be. While the end of cent production as a circulating coin is a historic event, the manufactured coins with planned rarity, sold at high prices by a government agency, which is supposed to serve the people is not. For me it’s a firm pass.
Read the Stacks article and they & the US Mint took marketing hyperbole to the max. 2,000x scarcer then the 1909 -S & the 1793, really. 1.3B 2025 pennies were minted, still more then any year prior to 1940, and they make these seem so special. I get it, the last 232, if really the last, but they are not like the only 2025 pennies. Yeah the omega privy makes them unique but whoop-de-do. We have gone privy mad. With the expected success of this auction, now the Jefferson nickel will be next. The Mint is just salivating. My .02 for these over-marketed gadgets. Agree should have just distributed to the public.
I'm reading estimates that seem too high.
For whatever it's worth, when I ranked all US series using the Heritage archives in 2022, the Lincoln wheat cent ranked 43rd with 39 sales between $50K and $100K. It ranked 22nd with 799 sales between $10K and $50K. (Most in the second group were in the lower part of the range.) It ranked 30th with 29 sales above $100K. The memorial cent is far lower, and these omega cents aren't wheat cents, at least from the image in the Stack's announcement.
I know it's not an exact comparison and this sale will presumably generate a higher level of excitement. Still, seems like a stretch to me that this sale will result in higher prices than the FH gold medal even though the FH is a medal. I'd expect it will take a good number of buyers who don't collect wheat cents as a series to really want it, maybe most of the buyers.
Also at these prices, the number of coins within the range of 232 where each sell for these prices (divided by three here) is quite low. I attempted to compile a list maybe 10 years ago of those with 150 each valued $15,000+ and that list was rather short, with the overwhelming majority other US coins.
In my judgment, the preference (not "popularity") for the Lincoln cent isn't as high as most collectors seem to believe. 232 isn't really a low number either for a manufactured rarity. These coins are more comparable to patterns and 232 isn't low mintage for a pattern.
"Only 232 three-coin sets are available for collectors—celebrating the number of years pennies were produced"
I would have thought it was actually produced for only 231 years, though.
Official PCGS account of:
www.TallahasseeCoinClub.com
i want the 69, 69, 69 set all in gold cac lol
I wonder at what point the U.S. Mint decided to start calling them Pennies instead of Cents. This year?
Producing only 232 three coin sets is disgusting. These things should be available to all who want to order them. Since one of the pieces is gold, the price would be high enough to keep the poor out of the potential pool of customers.
I am glad that I have a 232 coin date set of cents. That is far more interesting.
Reopened to add, car companies have made "Medallion Editions" (usually) luxury models they are discontinuing. Car collectors will tell you that those models are usually flops when it comes to investment. Maybe this thing will suffer the same fate, but I doubt it.
No. Been that way for a decade or more on their website.
All comments reflect the opinion of the author, even when irrefutably accurate.
Gross sales revenue does not reflect the popularity of the Lincoln Cent. For many years, the Linocln cent was the most popular collector coin, and the Morgan Dollar was the most popular coin among those who spend significant money on coins. There are many Lincoln Cent collectors who spend small sums of money, or who simply roll hunt.
Since the State Quarter program, which started in 1999, the quarter many have surpassed the cent in popularity. I don't know that for sure.
They should have struck some lincoln half cents.
The mint is going to start alienating many of their loyal customers when they make a product that only those with deep pockets will ever be able to afford. It’s no longer collectors getting a rare coin, but eBay hawkers that grab them and can’t wait to post them for massive markups and profits. Kind of a real turnoff in my opinion….