The Royal Canadian Mint as well as many other world mints issue their numismatic products with individual serial numbers included on the certificate of authenticity or some portion of the packaging. Particular serial numbers can carry substantial premiums, as evidenced by one recently completed eBay auction.

During 2012, the Royal Canadian Mint produced the final one cent coins for circulation following the decision to discontinue the denomination. The last one million pieces produced had been held back for inclusion within numismatic products.

About a month ago, the RCM offered specially wrapped rolls containing the last one million Canadian “pennies” ever distributed. Each roll contained 50 coins, which were placed within a custom designed wrapper authenticated to be part of the last million units distributed. A serialized holographic label was incorporated, providing each of the 20,000 rolls distributed a unique serial number.

An eBay auction which concluded on March 3, 2013 offered a 2012 Canada Special Wrap 1-Cent Coin Roll with the serial number 20,000/20,000. As the final serial number on the product containing the final Canadian Cents to be distributed, the auction apparently captured the attention of some highly motivated bidders. The auction closed with a final winning bid of $6,600.00.

Recently completed auctions for other serial numbers have realized prices of around $30 to $35 per roll. When available from the Royal Canadian Mint, this product originally cost $9.95 CAD and was limited to one per household. Of course, each roll contains coins with a face value of 50 cents.

I have not seen a great number of special serial number numismatic products auctioned or sold, but I would assume the first and last serial numbers would command premiums. Premiums may also arise for round numbers or lucky numbers, such as #10,000 or #888. Any premium would likely be magnified for particularly popular or important numismatic products, which seems to have been the case here.

Source Adapted from : How Much Is a Serial Number Worth?