1776-2026 Pennies

@Goob said:
interesting we already have potential mintage figures - seeing the prices for other special mint stuff (proof strikes, special releases), I'd say probably like $4-5 raw and maybe like $15-20 in MS70, but I think it's impossible to accurately predict any of this.

Maybe if they command enough demand, they'll go for more but a lot of coins the mint issued recently dropped substantially in value, so maybe these will too..!

ungraded pre-sales are going for hundreds per pair p+d

190,000 is not a small number, and they will all be within MS68-70 range from mint sets.

Speculators will hoard 80% of the mintages. Slick Rick will peddle these on TV. I’m hoping to get one for my Whitman

@Goob said:
interesting we already have potential mintage figures - seeing the prices for other special mint stuff (proof strikes, special releases), I'd say probably like $4-5 raw and maybe like $15-20 in MS70, but I think it's impossible to accurately predict any of this.

Maybe if they command enough demand, they'll go for more but a lot of coins the mint issued recently dropped substantially in value, so maybe these will too..!

I think you need to look at mintages for ongoing series not commemoratives. I think $50 raw fire the UNCs is the floor.

Circulation strikes don't come MS 70 in most cases unless handled specially. Proof and EU sets spawn 70s, Mint sets don't usually. Although since the cents aren't for circulation, maybe they will get special handling.

@ernie11 said:

@nurmaler said:
Based on current mintage numbers (though they're all from the subscription tabs and definitely may change)...
It looks like we'll have...

190,000 Uncirculated Philadelphia - no Mint Mark
190,000 Uncirculated Denver-D
571,522 Proof San Francisco - S (420,002 from the Proof Set and 151,520 from the Silver Proof Set)

If this holds, is there anyway that these aren't a home run?

What would you estimate they'll sell for - raw-ungraded/graded?

Maybe it's a winner, but it's not a done deal. The 2017-S Enhanced Uncirculated set had a mintage of 210,419 and it is the only way of obtaining the 2017-S Enhanced Uncirculated Lincoln cent. This set originally sold for $29.95. I've seen dealers even today selling this set for at or under issue price.

Special finishes are not the same as circulation strikes. And I loved the EU sets and sold hundreds of them. But a circulation strike Lincoln of under 200,000 has no reasonable comp.

less made than the 1909-s vdb

@oih82w8 said:

@olympicsos said:
less made than the 1909-s vdb

The S-VDB circulated, these 2026 cents are not intended for circulation.

Which doesn't change the fact that it is the lowest mintage circulation strike.

The 09SVDB has, what, 20,000 survivors in unc? The 1776-2026 will have a few less than 190,000 survivors in unc. Really can’t predict much of anything based on populations. However, based on the way the OMEGA cents turned out, my guess is that very high-end examples of circulation strikes might be worth putting aside, at least in the short term.

more than crumbs but less than 190,000

@ambro51 said:
It’s another fine line with the 2019 W uncirculated cent. It’s a normal circulation finish, with good handling. Let Whitman punch a hole for them and prices triple •••••••••• That EU is the ugliest Lincoln cent ever.

I like the EU Lincoln.

Mintage on the 2019W was almost double the 2026, but it is probably the closest comp.

@mach19 said:

@jmlanzaf said:

@nurmaler said:

@jmlanzaf said:

@oih82w8 said:

@olympicsos said:
less made than the 1909-s vdb

The S-VDB circulated, these 2026 cents are not intended for circulation.

Which doesn't change the fact that it is the lowest mintage circulation strike.

So you think the two in the unc sets are winners but the proof strike not so much?

Yes. Especially at the cost of entry. The proof cent mintage isn't unusually low for a proof, thigh it is a one year type. But these aren't $30 proof sets anymore.

There are two cents per Mint set and you still need a price of $50+ to break even. There's only one in the Mint set so you have to be $100. That's possible in the short term due to the 1 year type and the Lincoln mania going on. It's harder to see long term.

Thus is where I think the EU sets are instructive. They have less than half the mintage of the 2026 proof sets and a unique finish though not a one year type. It's still only a $20 coin. Will the 2026 be $100 coin? Are there any midern $100 Lincoln proofs? [I'm talking raw, mostly.]

Forgive me for being ignorant brother ...... What is EU ?

Enhanced Uncirculated

instant sell out

Even the SemiQ products with household limits of 1 or 2 have sold out in minutes.

I think the silver proof set shows a household limit of 10 right now, the others show no household limit? All the sets will sell out and be gone in minutes, especially if no lower limits are put on by then.

After paying a price of $124.50 for the Mint set, very few if any buyers will be breaking up that set and selling the cents for $50 or less any time in at least the next several years.

It would have been so cool if they did something like Omegas with a 10-40k run and just randomly distributed them Willy Wonka style.

Would have been such an easy way to celebrate the new design and get a ton of free publicity.

@jmlanzaf said:

@scotty1419 said:
It would have been so cool if they did something like Omegas with a 10-40k run and just randomly distributed them Willy Wonka style.

Would have been such an easy way to celebrate the new design and get a ton of free publicity.

The only way it would work is if they spent a lot of money on publicity. Otherwise, who but is would even know to look? And they already have our attention.

If they just mix them in circulation and throw a press release out, the media would cover the rest. No need for advertising.

They could even just throw a page up on the Mint site: "We're releasing 10,000 of these ULTRA rare pennies around the country. Here's what they look like. RAREST CENT EVER MINTED! If they added a forum for reporting finds etc, it'd even draw up further interest. Some basic website work...

Some extra logistics for distribution would be all required. And if they went more low key with announcements, it would probably even drive up the curiosity.

@scotty1419 said:

@jmlanzaf said:

@scotty1419 said:
It would have been so cool if they did something like Omegas with a 10-40k run and just randomly distributed them Willy Wonka style.

Would have been such an easy way to celebrate the new design and get a ton of free publicity.

The only way it would work is if they spent a lot of money on publicity. Otherwise, who but is would even know to look? And they already have our attention.

If they just mix them in circulation and throw a press release out, the media would cover the rest. No need for advertising.

They could even just throw a page up on the Mint site: "We're releasing 10,000 of these ULTRA rare pennies around the country. Here's what they look like. RAREST CENT EVER MINTED! If they added a forum for reporting finds etc, it'd even draw up further interest. Some basic website work...

Some extra logistics for distribution would be all required. And if they went more low key with announcements, it would probably even drive up the curiosity.

They aren't making cents, what are they mixing them with?

And the post office did this with the inverted Jenny maybe 10 years ago. It was a disaster. No one but us stamp geeks when knew they were at the post office despite the fact that they were a 5 figure find.

@scotty1419 said:

@jmlanzaf said:

@scotty1419 said:

@jmlanzaf said:

@scotty1419 said:
It would have been so cool if they did something like Omegas with a 10-40k run and just randomly distributed them Willy Wonka style.

Would have been such an easy way to celebrate the new design and get a ton of free publicity.

The only way it would work is if they spent a lot of money on publicity. Otherwise, who but is would even know to look? And they already have our attention.

If they just mix them in circulation and throw a press release out, the media would cover the rest. No need for advertising.

They could even just throw a page up on the Mint site: "We're releasing 10,000 of these ULTRA rare pennies around the country. Here's what they look like. RAREST CENT EVER MINTED! If they added a forum for reporting finds etc, it'd even draw up further interest. Some basic website work...

Some extra logistics for distribution would be all required. And if they went more low key with announcements, it would probably even drive up the curiosity.

They aren't making cents, what are they mixing them with?

And the post office did this with the inverted Jenny maybe 10 years ago. It was a disaster. No one but us stamp geeks when knew they were at the post office despite the fact that they were a 5 figure find.

What you describe on the stamp side is a communications failure. Again, some strategic press and marketing for very low cost could alleviate that. Government is not known for saavy communications though...

We're talking a hypothetical 'wouldn't it be nice if' scenario.

Debating this is like watching a ghost movie and arguing how the ghosts can't eat food (instead of the existence of ghosts altogether).

Sure. But my point is/was that is not as simple as just dumping them into circulation.

@D808LF said:

@MrBear said:

@mach19 said:
Will this be a quick sellout ?

Subscriptions have been "sold out" for many weeks.

Not a fan of this program.

The subscriptions or the mint sets?

@mach19 said:
I'm still on the fence , Should I cancel my order of 25 unc. set's. $124.50 is a huge price to pay for clad ! Some say they will be dogs.... others say they will sell out in an instant ???

That's a personal decision. There is some risk. But there are no sure things. Unless they change mintages, I'm holding my 52 subscriptions.

You can always flip the 25 to me and break even.