Want a 1,000-pound hunk of junk? MTA auctioning off MetroCard machine with a $1,500 starting bid

Memorabilia collectors can put the city’s junk in their trunks. Like the legendary Pizza Rat, dancing performers seeking spare change and pesky turnstile fare-jumpers stealing free rides, MetroCard machines are indelible fixtures of the New York City subway system. Now, those clunky contraptions, some weighing over 1,000 pounds, can be an indelible fixture in your living room as the New York City Transit is auctioning off decommissioned MetroCard Vending Machines (MVM) and MetroCard Express Machines (MEM) to the highest bidders through August 19. The auction marks the first time everyday individuals will be able to own the steel dispensers, which sold prepaid fare cards to commuters for nearly three decades.It’s a worthwhile, potentially effortful task as those now-defunct MetroCards — flimsy pieces of plastic — have been hawked online for $3,500. “First installed in 1999, the colorful metal MVM and MEM are familiar to the millions of riders who take the subway each day,” the MTA said in a statement.

“There are a limited number of machines available through this auction, so we encourage anyone interested in owning a piece of transit history to…submit a bid soon.”While some Gothamites are giddy to get their hands on the historic hardware — relics rendered obsolete since the MTA retired the MetroCard in 2025 and introduced OMNY as its replacement — a certain faction of cynics views the sale as nothing more than a blatant money-grab, accusing the authority of “scamming” nostalgic New Yorkers. With minimum offers set at $1,500 per unit, Big Apple buffs are invited to propose the best and final prices they’re willing to pay for one or more of the machines, each being sold “as-is” and “where-is” in non-operational condition, per the officials. The MVM, which debuted on January 25, 1999, allowed riders to purchase or reload MetroCards using cash, credit, and debit cards.The structure stands at 80 inches long, 42 inches wi...