Lincoln Shield Cents Omega Privy Mark Set, Circulation Strikes (2025)

The very last circulating pennies, or “cents,” will be auctioned in a special sale this December by Stack’s Bowers Galleries, the firm selected by the United States Mint for this historic offering. Each of these coins bears a small “Ω” privy mark of the final Greek letter, indicating their role as the capstone of a two-century-long legacy that began in 1793.

These Omega privy-mark Lincoln Cents will be offered in three-coin sets featuring one each of the 2025 penny (struck at the Philadelphia Mint), the 2025-D penny (struck at the Denver Mint), and a historic 2025 penny struck in 24-karat gold (produced at the Philadelphia Mint). The 24-karat gold penny is a true modern rarity, representing the first cent officially struck in gold and one of the rarest non-Proof gold coins to ever emerge from the United States Mint.

Only 232 three-coin sets are available for collectors, celebrating the number of years pennies were produced beginning in 1793, and they will be offered exclusively in the Stack’s Bowers Galleries sale on Thursday, December 11, 2025. Each set will be accompanied by a serialized Certificate of Authenticity and set #232 will also include the three sets of canceled original dies used to strike these coins. United States Treasurer Brandon Beach and United States Mint Acting Director Kristie McNally also personally operated the presses to strike the final few Omega coins, in recognition of their historic significance.

These coins boast the lowest mintages in the Lincoln penny series and are some of the rarest coins of the entire penny denomination that spans back to the “Alpha” of 1793. This mintage is more than 2,000 times lower than that of the famous 1909-S V.D.B. Lincoln penny and only a fraction of the production quantity for the original 1793 Chain reverse pennies that started it all. Though many thousands of collectors are actively assembling sets of Lincoln pennies at any given time, only 232 will have the opportunity for true completion via the Stack’s Bowers Galleries sale this December. To further recognize the significance of these historic pieces, all coins will be certified by leading grading service PCGS and encapsulated with bespoke labels designed exclusively for this auction event.

Live bidding for these three-coin Omega privy mark sets, each of which includes a 24-karat gold penny, will begin on Thursday, December 11, 2025, at 12 pm EST (9 am PST). The auction will be hosted on the Stack’s Bowers Galleries website www.StacksBowers.com and broadcast from Griffin Studios in the firm’s Costa Mesa, California, headquarters.