7 Penny Portrait Business Success Stories [2024]

Pat Walls

•

Updated: November 19th, 2023

Start A Penny Portrait Business

Have you ever marveled at art made from unconventional items? A penny portrait business is a unique venture where your creativity can shine. In simple terms, you meticulously arrange pennies by year, tininess, and patina to create striking portraits and pieces of art.

As an owner of a penny portrait business, you interact with art enthusiasts who appreciate the exquisite detail and time it takes to create such pieces. The process of creating a penny portrait is demanding, requiring careful planning and precision, lending each piece a unique and timeless appeal. The distinctive twist on portraiture and the appeal of upcycled artistry means there’s always a market ready to indulge in your creativity.

Whether you choose to open an online storefront or cater to local art exhibits and events, a penny portrait business presents a captivating way to transform common loose change into meaningful works of art. It’s a chance to craft an imaginative venture tailored to your artistic passion and attention to detail.

Here are some real life success stories of starting a penny portrait business:

1. Penny Portrait ($15K/year)

Maury McCoy came up with the idea for the Penny Portrait Kit after seeing a story about a father and son who created a giant portrait of Abraham Lincoln out of pennies. As a graphic designer/animator, McCoy quickly created a proof of concept in Photoshop and after several iterations, developed a version that he was happy with. The Penny Portrait Kit has since sold over 6,800 kits and is on display at prominent institutions like the U.S. Mint and Lincoln's Presidential Library.

How much they make: $15K/year
How much did it cost to start: $2K
Current team size: 1

Starting A Business Selling Portraits Made of Pennies

This case study is about a graphic designer who created a fun and unique product called Penny Portrait Kit that allows customers to create a portrait of Abraham Lincoln out of 846 pennies, which has sold over 6,800 kits and brought in approximately $10K of profit per year.

About

Maury started Penny Portrait about 16 years ago

Revenue

Maury grew the business to $1.25K/month

Costs

It cost Maury $2000 to start the business

Read this case study

Read by 7,641 founders

Part of

Starting A Penny Portrait Business: Everything You Need To Know

‹

›

So... can you actually make money with a penny portrait business?

Of course. There are millions to be made in this industry.

But how?

Research real, profitable businesses and see exactly how much money they make.
Study exactly what works, and what doesn’t.
Take action, because now you have the roadmap.

Join Starter Story and build your next big thing:

Start Now

4. MCA Denver

5. National Portrait Gallery

National Portrait Gallery

Website traffic: 90K/month

So... can you actually make money with a penny portrait business?

Of course. There are millions to be made in this industry.

But how?

Research real, profitable businesses and see exactly how much money they make.
Study exactly what works, and what doesn’t.
Take action, because now you have the roadmap.

Join Starter Story and build your next big thing:

Start Now

7. Connie Mintz- Vancouver WA Photographer

Portland and Vancouver portrait photographer specializing in family, children and personal branding

Where they're located: Portland, Oregon, USA