(MENAFN- Live Mint) As the Trump administration halts production of the one-cent coins, the last set of US pennies minted this week may be worth a fortune, with experts estimating they could sell for up to $5 million, according to USA Today.

On November 12, the United States Mint officially ended production of the one-cent coin, commonly known as the penny, marking the end of a 232-year-old chapter in American currency. US Treasurer Brandon Beach struck the final coin at the Philadelphia Mint. The US government first started minting pennies in 1793, when Philadelphia was the capital of the nation.

The final five pennies were stamped with a unique omega mark and will not be circulated, as per the Treasury Department. The government intends to auction these pennies later. All auction proceeds will fund Mint operations, with any excess going to the US Treasury.

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The last pennies are expected to be highly valued, as collectors will be keenly interested in a modern rarity of the cents.

“Collectors would go nuts for a modern rarity of business-strike Lincoln cents,” John Feigenbaum, publisher of rare coin price guide Greysheet, told USA Today.

“The demand would be incredible because the item would be a required element of a truly 'complete set,'” Feigenbaum said.

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Some experts and critics say that the final batch may not be valued as high as $5 million. Mike Fuljenz, president of Universal Coin & Bullion in Beaumont, Texas, told USA Today that he thinks the final penny that was struck could bring up to $1 million.

The second and third final coins might fetch $10,000 and $20,000, he told USA Today.

Meanwhile, Philadelphia-based numismatist Richard Weaver told phillymag that when US Treasurer Brandon Beach posed for a photo with one of the last pennies, he might have accidentally damaged it.

"If you look at that photo, he is holding the penny with his fingers on the coin," Weaver was quoted as saying. "You just don't do that. Copper is very reactive to sweat and the oils of the skin, and any serious collector is going to take this photo into consideration," he added.

In February this year, US President Donald Trump announced plans to end the production of the one-cent coins.

"For far too long, the United States has minted pennies which literally cost us more than 2 cents," Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. "This is so wasteful! I have instructed my Secretary of the U.S. Treasury to stop producing new pennies."

What happens to the pennies currently in circulation?

Although production has stopped, billions of pennies are still in circulation. They continue to hold their 1-cent value and remain legal tender. While they are not being recalled or demonetised, their usage is likely to slow down over time.

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