2025 Pennies Are Reselling (Again)

Trump announced earlier this year that the penny was officially kaput, and the final coin was struck earlier this week. The result is a secondary market that’s quietly minting money for resellers willing to put in minimal effort. 2025 pennies are flipping for 20 cents to a dollar each on eBay. When you’re buying at face value and selling in bulk rolls of 50, the math gets ridiculous fast.

Back in February, Trump confirmed that 2025 would be the last year of the penny. We covered it at the time, noting that the production for the coin would be ceasing very soon. Estimates suggest anywhere from 400 million to 1 billion 2025-dated pennies made it into circulation before the shutdown.

That sounds like a lot until you consider there are roughly 250 billion pennies total in circulation right now. 2025 pennies represent less than half a percent of all pennies currently out there, and that percentage will only decrease as they get spent, lost, or hoarded by collectors.

Coin collectors have been conditioned for decades to seek out first-year and last-year mintages. The 2025 penny is both the last Lincoln Shield penny ever made for circulation and the final year of penny production entirely. That double significance is driving demand beyond typical numismatic interest.

eBay sold listings show the range clearly. Single 2025 pennies are moving for 20 to 50 cents each when sold individually. But the real volume is in rolls.

Sealed bank rolls of 50 pennies (face value $0.50) are consistently selling for $25 to $50. That’s 50x to 100x face value for uncirculated examples. Even circulated 2025 pennies in good condition are fetching $15 to $25 per roll.

Full boxes of 2,500 pennies (50 rolls, face value $25) are listing between $400 and $600 on eBay, with multiple sold listings in the $500 range. That’s a $475 profit on a $25 investment before eBay fees.

The profit margins tighten once you factor in platform fees. eBay takes 13% including payment processing. Shipping 50-coin rolls costs around $5 via First Class Mail with tracking. On a $50 sale, you’re paying $6.50 in eBay fees plus $5 shipping, netting you $38.50 against a $0.50 cost. That’s still a 7,600% return.

Banks remain your best bet, but this isn’t as simple as walking in and asking for pennies anymore. Here’s what actually works:

Visit multiple banks. Most banks will only give you what they have on hand, which might be one or two rolls. Having an account helps but isn’t strictly necessary for coin exchanges. Credit unions tend to be more accommodating than major chains.

Request orders from the Federal Reserve. Some banks will put in orders on your behalf, though this takes 1-2 weeks and many branches have stopped due to penny shortages. Ask specifically for 2025 pennies if they’re willing to order. Success rate varies wildly by location and bank relationship.

Check coin roll hunting communities. Other coin enthusiasts are your competition but also potential sources. Some hunters don’t care about modern dates and will sell 2025 pennies at face value or slight premiums to avoid dealing with resale themselves.

Time your visits strategically. Banks receive armored car deliveries on specific days. Ask tellers when shipments arrive and visit that afternoon. Fresh rolls from the Federal Reserve are more likely to contain 2025 dates than picked-over supplies.

The Federal Reserve has already stopped fulfilling penny orders at some coin distribution locations. Once existing inventory depletes, sourcing will become significantly harder. That scarcity will drive prices up, but it also means the window for easy acquisition is closing.

Don’t open sealed rolls. Bank-wrapped rolls command premium prices because buyers trust they haven’t been searched. A sealed 2025-P or 2025-D roll sells for more than 50 loose pennies even if the coins are identical.

Focus on uncirculated examples. Crisp, straight-from-the-mint pennies fetch the highest prices. If you’re buying loose pennies or breaking rolls, prioritize coins without scratches, discoloration, or wear. The difference between circulated and uncirculated can double your selling price.

List in multiple formats. Sell some individual coins for collectors wanting singles, some in rolls for volume buyers, and some in full boxes for serious investors. Different formats attract different price points and buyer types.

Consider grading. This is overkill for common 2025 pennies, but if you find a pristine 2025-S proof from someone’s broken-up proof set, professional grading could 10x the value. PCGS and NGC both have economy services around $20 per coin. A PR69 or PR70 2025-S penny could sell for $100+.

Hold some back. Not all of your inventory needs to flip immediately. Prices will likely increase over the next 6-12 months as supply tightens and casual sellers exit the market. The real collector premium develops years out, not weeks.

This is about as low-risk as reselling gets. If the market collapses tomorrow, you’re holding legal tender worth exactly what you paid. Take them back to the bank, deposit them, or spend them. You lose nothing except time.

The bigger risk is opportunity cost. If you’re tying up hundreds or thousands of dollars in pennies, that’s capital not available for other flips. A $500 box of pennies needs to sell for $5,000+ to match what you might make on a single profitable sneaker flip or trading card hit.

Platform fees and shipping eat into margins more than most flips because the profit per unit is so small. A 13% eBay fee on a $50 sale is $6.50. On a sneaker selling for $300, it’s $39. Both take the same amount of packaging and shipping effort, but one nets you $38 while the other might net you $100+ after costs.

Pennies are bulky and heavy. Shipping 50 rolls (2,500 pennies) costs $20-30 via Priority Mail due to weight. That eats directly into profit margins on full box sales. Factor shipping costs into your pricing or you’ll get crushed on larger volume sales.

The final penny was minted Wednesday. Collectors are paying 50x to 100x face value right now for 2025-dated examples. Banks still have them at face value if you’re willing to visit multiple branches.

This won’t make you rich unless you’re moving serious volume, but it’s legitimate profit for minimal risk and effort. Buy 10 rolls for $5, sell them for $250, net $150 after fees and shipping. Scale that to 100 rolls and you’re looking at $1,500 profit on a $50 investment.

The window is open but closing. Once bank supplies deplete and the Federal Reserve stops distributing pennies entirely, sourcing becomes impossible without paying premiums to other collectors. If you’re doing this, do it now while acquisition at face value is still possible.

Just remember: pennies are heavy, fees are real, and shipping costs add up. This works best for local sales through Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist where you can avoid shipping entirely and keep full margins. But even with eBay’s fees, the math still pencils out to some of the most absurd profit percentages you’ll see on a completely legal, zero-risk flip.