On February 9, 2025, President Trump ordered the US Mint to discontinue manufacturing of america one-cent coin, ending 238 years of penny manufacturing. In contrast to a few of the different government orders, this one will possible undergo with out being challenged within the courts.
In response to the US Mint, producing only one penny prices over three cents. Meaning taxpayers lose simply over two cents for each penny minted. On condition that billions are produced every year, the price accumulates rapidly. Economists have been making the case towards the penny for a while, arguing that it’s out of date and infrequently utilized in immediately’s world of digital funds.
With the penny’s destiny seemingly sealed, collectors at the moment are questioning whether or not the penny might skyrocket in worth.
Historical past of the Penny
Earlier than the Revolutionary Struggle, Colonial America traded in kilos, shillings, and pence. The worth of every shifted from colony to colony. For instance, a Massachusetts pound was valued otherwise from a Pennsylvania pound. All colonial cash was price considerably lower than British cash—in 1704, Massachusetts formally declared a British shilling price a 3rd multiple of its personal shillings.
Financial confusion led to difficulties in commerce, an issue fastened after the American colonies efficiently received independence from Britain in 1783. The newly shaped United States now needed to set up a standardized foreign money system. In 1787, the primary United States cent was minted. It was named the Fugio cent and bore a design allegedly created by Benjamin Franklin. The entrance confirmed the solar (with a face) shining down on a sundial with the phrases “MIND YOUR BUSINESS” printed beneath, whereas the reverse aspect reveals a circle of linked rings with “WE ARE ONE” written within the middle. These cash stay collectible immediately and may go for tens of 1000’s of {dollars} when authenticated.
The Lincoln Cent, the design nonetheless used immediately, was launched in 1909 to mark the a hundredth anniversary of Lincoln’s delivery. Since then, it has undergone quite a few modifications in metallic composition, reverse imagery, and measurement, however the iconic picture has remained constant.
Excessive-Worth Pennies
One of the well-known collectible pennies is the 1943 copper penny. Copper was deemed too important for the conflict effort, so the Mint was requested to search for alternate options, deciding on zinc-coated metal. Nonetheless, some copper pennies had been mistakenly struck that 12 months and have turn into collectibles of extraordinary worth—some promoting for over 1,000,000 {dollars}. The Mint initially denied the existence of those cash, however phrase unfold quick regardless, and the pennies grew to become a widely-known collectible. Because of the rarity of those cash, folks have been making fakes because the Fifties, so any 1943 copper penny would require skilled authentication. They are often price tons of of 1000’s of {dollars}.
One other fascinating collectible penny is the 1955 doubled die cent. An error attributable to misaligned equipment led this coin to have a double-printed picture. It doesn’t notably have an effect on Lincoln’s face, however the lettering of “In God We Belief,” “Liberty,” and “1955” is all noticeably doubled. It’s estimated that about 40,000 of those had been minted, about half of which had been launched into circulation. These pennies are uncommon immediately and may promote for round $100,000.
One other collectible penny—and an interesting one from a historic perspective—is the 1909-S VDB cent. This penny was the primary variant of the Lincoln Cent produced, however it had the preliminary VDB on the again, after the artist of the Lincoln picture, Victor David Brenner. When it was launched on August 2, 1909, public enthusiasm was such that police needed to be deployed in New York to regulate the populace, who had been scrambling to get the brand new cash.
Brenner’s initials quickly prompted controversy, with some authorities officers contemplating it a brazen act of self-promotion. Secretary of the Treasury Franklin MacVeagh was not pleased, and shortly, the choice was made to withdraw the coin mere days after issuing it. The Washington Put up ran the headline “V.D.B. CENT DOOMED” on August 6, and collectors instantly started dashing to seize as many cash as attainable, fearing authorities workers can be despatched to get well them. Companies even began utilizing the pennies as promotional aids, promising to provide prospects a free penny together with product purchases, and opportunists started to promote the coin for as much as 25 cents.
Whereas over 27 million VDB cash had been minted in Philadelphia, lower than half 1,000,000 had been produced in San Francisco, making that variant a prized collectible.
Is It Price It?
In case you’re hoping that any outdated penny will turn into a serious collectible, the unhealthy information is that almost all one-cent cash will possible stay simply that for years to come back until they’ve notable manufacturing errors. Even pennies from previous a long time will proceed to be price their face worth.
Alan Kruml, WorthPoint’s numismatic professional, believes that the withdrawal of the penny will result in elevated curiosity from collectors, significantly in early and uncommon cash. He additionally thinks that coin “advertising” firms will promote cents and promote them at inflated costs. Nonetheless, he doubts that the resale of those cash at a premium can be sustainable in the long term.
Collectors who’re interested by uncommon and distinctive cash could wish to give attention to particular years or minting errors. If the penny is completely discontinued, the demand for rarer pennies is more likely to enhance. The examples talked about on this article signify solely a small fraction of the various intriguing uncommon variants which can be price gathering.
In fact, gathering isn’t at all times about discovering the rarest valuables—beginning a group of standard pennies from throughout the years generally is a moderately cheap strategy to protect historical past, particularly because the cent could quickly be a logo of American tradition consigned to the previous.
Matthew Doherty is a author, editor, and trainer specializing in all issues history-related. His work has been revealed within the UK Defence Journal, the Small Wars Journal, and The Collector. He holds an MSc from the College of Edinburgh and a BA from the College of Leeds. In his spare time, he additionally writes science fiction tales.
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