Stack’s Bowers Galleries says the very last circulating U.S. cents realized more than US$16.76 million (about C$23.1 million) at auction during a special sale held Thursday, Dec. 12, conducted on behalf of the United States Mint.
The nearly four-hour session drew what the firm described as unprecedented collector interest, including a slightly delayed start as bidding activity ramped up. All prices are listed in USD.
The sale offered 232 three-coin sets, each containing a 2025 cent struck at the Philadelphia Mint, a 2025-D cent struck at the Denver Mint and a 2025 cent struck in 24-karat gold at Philadelphia. Each coin carries a small “Ω” privy mark — the final Greek letter, Omega — intended to signal the capstone of a two-century legacy that began in 1793 with the Chain Cent.
Early bidding set the tone. Set No. 1, the first lot of the sale, realized $200,000. The top price went to Set No. 232, which sold for $800,000 as the final lot and included what Stack’s Bowers described as the very last circulating cents intended for issuance from Philadelphia and Denver, along with the final Omega cent struck in gold.
The $800,000 result, Stack’s Bowers said, makes Set No. 232 the most valuable modern U.S. numismatic item, surpassing the previous record of $550,000 established by the firm in September 2025 for Space Flown 24 Karat Gold Sacagawea dollars. The last-lot package also included three sets of cancelled dies used to strike the series.
Stack’s Bowers described the overall total as a standout even by modern Mint-auction standards. The firm said the sale averaged more than $72,000 per set, with 17 lots exceeding US$100,000, and noted the final total was nearly 80 times the combined gold melt value — about $210,000 — at the time of the auction. The company also said the $16.76 million result is the highest-value auction of special coins sold on behalf of the United States Mint, more than doubling the $7.5 million 2002 sale of the 1933 Saint-Gaudens $20 (conducted in partnership with Sotheby’s).
“It’s an extraordinary honor to again be selected to partner with the United States Mint,” Stack’s Bowers president Brian Kendrella said in the release, adding the coins “captured the public imagination like few rare coins we’ve ever handled.” The firm noted this is the fifth time it has been selected by the Mint for a special auction, citing prior Mint-related sales in 2002, 2022, 2024 and 2025.