Online distributors sell pennies for $1,500 after final – Business News
The US authorities’s official phaseout of the penny has prompted a surge of online gross sales itemizing rolls of one-cent cash for tons of and even 1000’s of {dollars} — however don’t be fooled, an skilled says.
Inflated costs popping up on websites like eBay and Etsy are “100%” the consequence of opportunists exploiting public confusion concerning the finish of the penny, John Feigenbaum, government director of the Professional Numismatists Guild and CEO of Whitman Publishing, informed The Post on Friday.
“Whenever there are stories about coins, scammers come along and take advantage of the headlines,” he mentioned.
A surge of online listings promoting containers and rolls of 2025 pennies for tons of and even 1000’s of {dollars}. REUTERS
“On Etsy, it’s not unusual to see a penny that’s not even worth a dollar being listed for $100,000. People try it on eBay, too. Nobody is policing what people charge.”
In current weeks, full containers of 2025 Lincoln cents — which value banks $25 — have been listed online for anyplace between $500 and $1,500. Some collectors have reported paying $20 for a single 50-cent roll.
Feigenbaum says these costs don’t replicate the cash’ actual worth.
“The market for pennies in the numismatic world starts with the dealer-to-dealer market, and that translates to what customers should be charged,” he mentioned.
“There should be a very direct connection between what things are worth wholesale and what they’re worth retail. When a dealer doesn’t want it, that’s a strong reflection on what collectors should pay.”
He dismissed claims that 2025 pennies from Philadelphia, the place the final one-cent cash have been made final week, carry any particular premium.
Top figures within the numismatic world, who say unsuspecting consumers are being misled into believing abnormal cash are uncommon collectibles. Getty Images
“Yeah, it’s not true,” Feigenbaum mentioned.
“We’re probably looking at a billion coins. In 2024, they made something like 3 billion. People are tying together two different stories to make it sound like these coins are valuable.”
Feigenbaum says there is just one 2025 penny product with real collector worth — the small quantity of omega-marked cash the US Mint struck to commemorate the top of the denomination.
The image above exhibits an eBay itemizing for rolls of pennies promoting for practically $1,000. eBay
“Those coins have a special mark. They’re valuable. That’s everything in this situation,” he mentioned.
“Without the omega privy mark, it’s a penny. With the omega, it’s going to be worth $10,000 or $20,000.”
The Mint produced 232 omega pennies in Philadelphia, 232 in Denver and 232 gold variations — all of which will probably be auctioned in December.
Coin specialists say that these pennies — in addition to the final handful of one-cent cash that have been minted — might fetch as a lot as $5 million.
“They made them artificially rare,” Feigenbaum mentioned. “Artificial rarity is still rarity, and these will definitely carry a significant premium.”
An eBay itemizing for 50 rolls of 2025 pennies are promoting for $1,500 on eBay. eBay
Feigenbaum in contrast the penny frenzy to the 1976 bicentennial coin craze, when Americans hoarded redesigned quarters and half-dollars by the thousands and thousands within the mistaken perception they’d turn into worthwhile collectibles.
“Everybody hoarded them,” he mentioned.
“People thought they’d be valuable. Today they’re still worth around face value. Scarcity is scarcity — if you make a billion of something, it’s not rare.”
For right this moment’s 2025 pennies, Feigenbaum says the rule is straightforward: if sellers aren’t shopping for, neither ought to common shoppers.
Some sellers on eBay need to take benefit of the federal government’s phasing out of the one-cent copper cash. eBay
“If a dealer says, ‘I don’t want your penny … I’m not paying you two cents for your one-cent penny,’ then there is no market,” he mentioned.
Feigenbaum pressured that the high-priced listings spreading online don’t replicate the numismatic market — solely vendor hype.
“The public reads some article that says, ‘The penny in your pocket could be worth a million dollars,’ and that’s where we are,” he mentioned.
“The Omega coins are special. Everything else is not special to collectors.”
The Post has sought remark from eBay and Etsy.
