It's official. The Lincoln cent is no longer being struck for circulation.
Congress ended penny production in November 2025 — citing the cost (over 3 cents to produce each one-cent coin) and the operational burden on commerce.
Collectors will still get commemorative versions, including the dual-date 1776~2026 Lincoln cent being struck in 2026 only.
But the everyday penny — the one you got as change, the one your grandfather saved in a jar, the one every coin collector started with — is gone from circulation.
What this means:
1. The Lincoln cent series is now closed. Every date from 1909 to 2025 is a finite set. That matters for type and date collectors.
2. The 2025 Lincoln cent — the last year of circulation strikes — will be collected as a last-year issue, following the precedent of coins like the 1964 silver coins.
3. The 1909-S VDB, already the most famous key date in American numismatics, just became part of an officially completed series.
We’ve definitely seen stronger demand for complete Lincoln cent sets and better key dates lately, especially from younger collectors who are starting to appreciate the history, affordability, and long-term scarcity behind the series.
The most collected coin series in American history just got its ending written. That's historic.
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Ten years changes everything.
2016: Key-date Morgan Dollars were accessible. Type coins in high grades were findable at shows. The CAC sticker was a nice-to-have, not an expectation.
2026: The same coins have tripled or more. Top-pop registry competition has pulled the finest examples permanently off the market. CACG as a full grading service has added a new authentication layer to the conversation.
What drove the shift?
First: generational wealth transfer. The Baby Boomer collections are coming to market and being absorbed by Gen X and Millennial collectors who spent a decade watching and waiting.
Second: the pandemic supercharged hard asset interest. People who'd never thought about gold or coins started paying attention after 2020.
Third: the explosion of online auction platforms made price discovery global. That $300 coin at a local show is $600 on GreatCollections because 40,000 people are watching.
Over the past decade, we’ve seen more generations enter the hobby, growing interest in key dates, and a younger, more knowledgeable collector base helping grow the brand. It’s been an amazing journey to watch.
The market is more efficient, more competitive, and harder to find value in than it was 10 years ago. That's not a complaint — it's a reality check.
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Recently went to the Fun show here in Florida.
Every show teaches you something. Here's what stood out this time:
What stood out most was how fast original, eye-appealing collector coins were selling compared to overhyped modern material, while more buyers — especially younger collectors — kept focusing on true scarcity, history, and fresh-to-market coins over manufactured rarity.
A few things I've been thinking about since:
The best coins in the collection weren’t the flashiest modern slabs, but original untouched pieces with real eye appeal, the gap between average-for-grade and premium-for-grade coins is becoming wider than ever, and it reinforced how many quiet long-term collectors were stacking key dates years before the broader market recognized their true scarcity.
The show floor is where the real coin market lives. Not the price guides. Not the auction records from 6 months ago.
What's happening in the room between dealers at 6am before the public arrives — that's the actual temperature of the market.
Are you going to any upcoming shows? What do you watch for when you walk a coin show floor?
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