2025-D 1C The Very Last Circulating Cents Omega Privy, RD (Regular Strike)

The Denver Mint began coinage operations on February 1, 1906, but its cent production did not start until 1911. The 1911-D Lincoln Cent (#2444), which features Victor David Brenner's original Wheat reverse, was struck in sufficient quantities that a few thousand likely survive in Mint State Red. Additionally, more than enough examples survive in various grades to fill an untold number of pennyboards and coin albums.

Over the course of the 114 years that followed the striking of its first cents, the Denver Mint produced over 230 billion cents- all of the Lincoln type. This represents approximately 42% of the Mint's total cent emission, with the Philadelphia Mint striking the lion's share, followed by San Francisco, and West Point.

The End of the Cent

After years of debate, the end of the cent did not come from an Act of Congress, but from a Super Bowl Sunday post on Truth Social by President Donald J. Trump.

In the early months of Trump's second administration, a highly visible effort was underway to downsize and reorganize parts of the federal beaurocracy under the acronym DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency—originally dervied from a Shiba Inu internet meme turned cryptocurrency).

On the evening of February 9, 2025, President Trump "truthed" the following message:

"For far too long the United States has minted pennis which literally cost us more than 2 cents. This is so wasteful! I have instructed my Secretary of the US Treasury to stop producing new pennies. Let's rip the waste out of our great nations (sic) budget, even if it's a penny at a time."

The Mint's suspension of one-cent coinage was not immediate, as production continued throughout much of the year. In May, the Mint placed its final order for one-cent blanks with its supplier Artazn, LLC of Greeneville, Tennessee. The year 2025 would be the final year for the cent.

The 2025-D Lincoln Cent with Omega Privy

To mark the end of an era, the United States Mint produced 232 special three-coin sets. Each features a circulation-quality copper-plated zinc cent from its Philadelphia and Denver Mint locations and a 24-karat gold version, also struck at Philadelphia. These coins were struck with a special privymark showing the Greek letter Omega (Ω), symbolizing the end of the denomination.

The 232 sets symbolize one coin for each issue in the series, starting with the 1793 Chain Cent (PCGS #1340), acknowledging the omission of the 1815 issue.

The Denver coins were struck on August 7-8, 2025. Randy Johnson, Associate Director of Manufacturing struck all 232 examples. The coins were struck in sequential order and were bundled with the matching Philadelphia copper-plated zinc and 24-karat gold cents. The final set, Set 232, is made up of the very last cents struck and were packaged along with a set of cancelled dies.

Interestingly, despite the coins being earmarked as collectibles, the Mint's handling of the coins after striking led to a range of grades. Furthermore, the packaging of the sets in sequence creates an interesting predicament for those seeking the best coins. On the bright side, the Denver issues did fare better in the PCGS Grading Room, with three examples topping out at MS67RD.

Sets Bring Record Prices at Auction

The Omega-privymarked Lincoln Cent sets were auctioned by Stack’s Bowers on December 11, 2025. To prepare the coins for sale, Stack’s Bowers selected PCGS as the exclusive grader of the final U.S. cents. PCGS received the coins in late November and certified all 696 coins (232 sets of three) with an exclusive Omega label.

The 2025 Denver Mint-struck copper-plated zinc Omega cents graded MS63RD to MS67RD, and were generally handled better than the Philly strikes. Whereas only 15 coins 2025 Cents graded MS66RD, 83 of the Denver strikes qualified with three grading finer.

Interest in the auction was so immense that a technical issue delayed the sale for several minutes. When the action resumed, bidders responded with great enthusiasm. Sets 1 through 231 sold from $48,000 to $200,000. Set 232, which was comprised of the very last cents struck (including the 24-Karat Gold Cent) plus the cancelled dies used to strike them, sold for $800,000.

In total, the Omega Cent offering realized $11,288,500.

Sets with top pop D-Mint cents sold for more: All three sets that included a top-pop 2025-D Omega Cent sold for more than $100,000. Interestingly, all the three sets included a 2025 (P) cent that graded just MS64RD. Meanwhile, the eight sets that PCGS identified as having the highest aggregate grade (2025 (P) MS66, 2025-D MS66, and 2025 (GOLD) MS69) carried a median price of $117,500.

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