Just as the title asks, what's with the 2009 cents I keep hearing about in the threads? I have found a lot of them, most in really good shape and all that. Are they worth a significant premium?
About 2.3 trillion 2009 cents of all sorts were minted. Compared with 5-10 trillion cents for each of the previous ten years and 4-6 trillion cents for each of the following years, they are comparatively less common. When you break down 2009 by mint and reverse, you're left with a few hundred million of each - certainly not rare, but again, uncommon when compared with other years. They seem to go for a slight premium on ebay for what that's worth. (What's that worth? Slightly more than a penny. Jeez, I crack myself up.)
Do I set them aside when I see them? Yes. Do I look for them? No.
If you collect them for many years you can turn them in for cash later at your local bank. One guy in the news collected $5,000 worth over many years....
"About 2.3 trillion 2009 cents of all sorts were minted."
Um, that would be billion, not trillion. There are less than 376 million of each one, which is a pretty small amount compared to any other modern penny. Still, they aren't exactly rare or anything.