My father wasn't sure if my mother got this year's proof set yet as she typically does every year for Christmas as a "stocking stuffer" gift. So I checked on eBay... cheapest one is $225. That's for the clad proof set, not the silver one. Any one cheaper has had the penny removed. There were billions of pennies minted this year, and this year isn't the last year pennies will be in uncirculated and proof sets. But everyone is convinced that 2025 pennies are, or will be, valuable. And in the short term at least, perception is reality. I'm really hoping she already bought it lol. She usually does, right when it first becomes available, typically February or March. But my dad is not sure if she already has or not, and if she has, where she put it. Guess we'll find out. Told my dad he should look for it thoroughly, because for now at least, it's quite valuable, and it would be really expensive to get one from the secondary market right now, if you can even find one. And the Mint's completely sold out of it, and won't be making any more 2025 sets at this point. P.S. For sake of reference, they minted about 319,000 of the 2024 clad proof set; not been able to find numbers for 2025.
That's a lot of coin to put out for a stocking stuffer, but I'd guess that your mom has one tucked away for him. Traditions are hard to break especially for something so obviously important to a loved one. Tell him to rest easy...moms got him covered. Bruce
Kind of a tradition at this point, which is why I don't buy the clad proof set for myself. At issue price it was like $35 not counting the shipping, so it's not that extravagant really. It's just that the penny hype is causing it to spike in the secondary market.
My 2025 unc. P + D set was $33.25 190,000 issued. The 2025 "S'' proof set was $40.25 420,002 issued and the Silver proof set was $150.00 both 10 coin sets. The 2025 limited silver$255 issued 25,008.
So basically that's 418,000 proof pennies. That... does not feel rare, and they're not the last proof pennies, since they're still minting more next year. What bugs me is all logic says they shouldn't be worth that much but there's enough people who believe otherwise that the market, at least temporarily, agrees. Really really hope my mom got that set when it came out... it would bug me to not have it, but I don't want to pay a ridiculous price to get it. I currently have every US proof set from 1958 to 2024. It would bug me to no end to miss a year. If I wasn't borderline OCD I wouldn't be in this hobby lol.
It would be a really safe bet to either sell the 2025 set(s) you do have into this spike, or pass on it entirely, and buy in a couple of years on the secondary market. That was certainly the winning strategy for 1970 mint and proof sets and 1999 silver quarters, at least.
