A pressing penny pressing question!

[blinkangel44]

[First post after years of lurking, woot!]

I finally tracked down some Mini M&M tubes, but now I'm wondering how people organize 'em. Do you put quarters in one tube and pennies in another? Or do you do stacks of 2 quarters, 1 penny? Which is my best option?

Thanks in advance!

 

[PrincessKsMom]

[First post after years of lurking, woot!]

I finally tracked down some Mini M&M tubes, but now I'm wondering how people organize 'em. Do you put quarters in one tube and pennies in another? Or do you do stacks of 2 quarters, 1 penny? Which is my best option?

Thanks in advance!

I vote for 2 quarters, 1 penny!

 

[mom3sonstt]

When we used to do it we had a stash of pennies and a stash of quarters - there are (were?) some quarter smashing machines too and we did a few of them.

 

[blinkangel44]

Thank you very much for the responses!

But now I'm wondering... what do most people store their pressed coins in? (Not referring to the books... just what do you put them in right after they've been pressed while you're walking around the parks?) Empty M&M tube? Ziploc bags?

 

[AnitaDisneyVacation]

I've tried both ways (all pennies and all quarters in the tubes, and the 2 quarters/1 penny combo), and the 2 quarters/1 penny combo has worked best for me (and my 2 DD's).

As for storing the pressed coins, we have always purchased the books and carried them around. They really didn't take up that much space in my backpack, and it was a great way to keep them organized. If you don't want to pay the higher WDW prices, there are a few sites you can order non-Disney books from. Just google "pressed coin book".

 

[PrincessMickey]

The other day I wa at the gas station and I saw a new container for some type of breath mint. It was shaped similar to a pressed penny. I don't know if it would fit or not but looked like it might. I don't have any to try it, but maybe someone that does could check it out to see if it works.

 

[The_Princess's_Mommy]

2 quarters one penny for me!

We also bring a very small tupperware container (REALLY small...it's like a 2 inch round) that we use to store our pressed pennies.

Our daughter's name is Penny, so we take this pressed penny business seriously!!

Have fun!

 

[blinkangel44]

Wow, thank you EVERYONE! Really great advice!

Does anyone know if they sell the books at the Disney Store? I was just there last night, but didn't really look around as much as I would have liked to.

 

[mom3sonstt]

We don't have any Disney stores nearby anymore - but I think the penny books were only at the parks (and downtown Disney) As for storing them after they were smashed - my boys used to wear fanny packs and there was a little zipper compartment for coins or a key or something - they would keep their pennies in that. Not the bigger compartment that they would be in and out of frequently - but the smaller one. We kept our books in the room and they got to put their pennies in them each night (they each had their own books) When they got a little older we would just get one book and got fewer smashed coins

 

[tami82]

how many different pennies are there?

 

[mom3sonstt]

I don't know if there is an answer to that. Each machine has 3 (or 4??) different choices, and you can find them everywhere. But sometimes some of them may be out of order, or pulled for repair, or a new one pops up somewhere. I do know that not all of the countries have them. We decided to collect pennies from each country one year and there was one (or maybe two) that we looked all over and couldn't find them and finally asked and was told they didn't have any. That could have changed since then though

 

[DLW8]

how many different pennies are there?

LOTS! You will find them all over the place, we saw one in Mexico in Epcot, sometimes in the stores (DHS and MK), hotels, near Thunder Mountain, near Space Mountain....they are everywhere!

We did the 2 quarters and 1 penny stack in an M&M tube and then had another empty tube to keep the pennies until we put them in the books.

The pressed quarter machines cost more (obviously) and we stuck to just pennies.

They also have electonic ones as well as ones you can hand crank (my kids loved these). There seem to be more electronic ones than the hand crank...

I thought there was a thread before about locations, or you can google it and there may be a list of where to find the machines.


Here are some URLs to help you:

http://www.parkpennies.com/wdwwaltdisneyworld/wdwpennies.htm

http://www.presscoins.com/

We also get these on other vacation trips....Sea World, Boston Aquarium, etc. Even found one at a rest stop on the Mass Mike where we got a Red Sox pressed penny....

Once you start, you will notice them everywhere. It's a nice (relatively inexpensive) souvenir. There are also debates on what type of penny to use. Some say older ones (they are made of a different material), that you clean before you go to make them shiny. I did that and it was a PAIN, they weren't that shiny, and they didn't come out as nicely as the new shiny pennies. So, this year, I will get a roll of new shiny pennies for my M&M tubes.

Happy Pressing!

 

[akachop]

Just a quick comment. On our trip to Disney last year we went armed with new shiny pennies for the machines only to find that many were either gone or out of order. Of course, the quarter machines were still in place but they are kind of pricey (in my opinion). Kids were really disappointed because they were hoping to add new ones to their collection. Don't understand why Disney has removed them. Any thoughts from anyone else?

Also, we discovered that if you keep the pennies in a ziploc bag they rub together and the pressed design becomes dingy. The books keep them at their shiny best.

 

[BellesFavoriteBook]

did you ever make the metal detector go off with the pennies/quarters in the m&m tubes? Or will they be okay going through security? Or maybe I should put them in a ziploc bag and then transfer them when I'm on the plane?

And I hope most of the penny machines aren't gone........I am planning to get a book & make a lot of pennies. They are a great souvenir.