The Cent May Be Down, But It’s Not Out
The U.S. Mint may have stopped striking cents, but the denomination isn’t dead yet. A legal pause, public speculation, and renewed collector interest keep Lincoln in the spotlight.
The public appears to have lost its “cents,” or is it sense? We can’t predict the long-term impact of shutting down the coining presses stamping out our 1-cent coins, but to quote Mark Twain, “the reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.” The cent is down for the count, but it isn’t out legally. Congress has not passed any legislation that ends the manufacture of the denomination permanently.
Technically, the mint has paused production. You can argue it hasn’t even been paused, since it appears the cent will continue to be offered in Mint and Proof sets into the future. Should some cheaper metal be introduced, the cent could realistically once again be made for circulation. As an important sidebar, the public is suddenly taking an interest in the denomination, pulling them out of cluttered desk drawers and piggy banks in hopes of finding some rare date coin worth a fortune.
Many of these people don’t understand they are speculating. If they aren’t rare already, these coins aren’t going to become rare later. The sale of the 2025 Omega cents is attracting public attention as well as seasoned collectors willing to pay serious money for them. Unfortunately, it is likely only a matter of time until some enterprising charlatan gold-plates and countermarks some 2025 cents, then hawks them as being the rare, limited edition pieces meant to mark the end of the series.
Regardless of whether the denomination joins the half-, 2-, 3-, and 20-cent coins, its legacy may be a larger market of collectors seeking coins than there were when the annoying cent was taken for granted. One thing is certain—our fiat money just became even more fiat.
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