Penny Press

[kat08]

Hi. I have heard some of you mention penny press machines that are located in the parks. I have a couple of questions...

#1 Do you just put a penny in and it gives you a "pressed penny" or do you have to pay to have the penny pressed.

#2 Does it really press your penny or is it a false penny? It seems like actually pressing a penny would be illegal. Just wondering.

TIA!

 

[tinkspal]

It is usually 50 cents and the penny to press the penny. It does actually engrarve the penny and it is not illegal. They also have quarter press machines too.

 

[pawla68]

My two DS love collecting pressed pennies. Each machine has three (I think) designs that you can choose from. You insert a penny and two quarters. You then turn the handle and your penny is pressed with the design you choose. There are also pressed quarter machines. I think they take 4 quarters.

 

[JESW]

What Tinkspal said!

We are currently searching for SHINY pennies to take on our April trip. We have done this several times but not in years so we want to see what's out there now. We are also hoping to pick up a book to put them all in.

Jill

 

[golden&infinite]

My family was obsessed pressing pennies last year. We filled our whole book! Its fun and cheap way to commemorate your favorite rides. Pressed pennies technically cost $0.51. The 1 cent though is the penny being pressed. Pressed quarters cost $1.25. However, again, that 25 cents is the pressed quarter itself. And no, its not illegal! Its Disney, for goodness sake! Here's a link to a good website that lists all the locations:

http://www.wdisneyw.co.uk/pressed.html

 

[tinkspal]

I love the books that you can put them in!!! They are so convenient!!!!

 

[bucky1023]

Below is a link that lists all of the penny machines and what each one has. I collect a bunch with the niece and nephews when we go down.


http://www.intercot.com/infocentral/coins/default.asp

 

[golden&infinite]

Oh I thought of something else! Our family buys a few of those Mini M&Ms containers before we go. Then we eat all the M&Ms in them and put the quarters and pennies in them. Its an easy way to keep them organized and yummy too. I think we may have even ended up with PotC containers.

 

[MickeysHouse07]

You know I never got into the pressing pennies but now with small children it might be cute thing.

I'm going to try it and I learned a few tricks/tips from another board.

1. use pennies 1982 and prior
2. clean the pennies with Kaboom cleaners.
3. store pennies in the mini M&M's containers

 

[LilGMom]

This is something we do with our sons. We start saving pennies and quarters months before our trip, go through pick the shiniest pennies, and put them in ziplocs (one for the quarters and one for the pennies). My oldest ds loves seeing which ones we have and getting new ones to add to the collection.

 

[pezpam]

Newer pennies will be a problem later. As someone else posted, use pre-1982 pennies. Those are solid copper while the newer ones are zinc with a copper shell - when you press the penny, the zinc shows through in streaks and those streaks will ultimately tarnish to black......

That said, a new penny to press is better than no penny to press.

 

[floridacitrus]

My kids did the pressed penny thing in 2000 when they were 7 and 9 and they still have their books on display on their bookshelves even though they are now teenagers. (Their Mickey ears have long been relegated to Mom's keepsake box) Definitely worth the price!

 

[briar_rose_59]

IIRC, the only time pressing pennies is illegal is if it's a Canadian penny (something about defacing the image of a monarch?) or if you try to spend it as normal, unpressed money.

 

[cmwade77]

As to the OP's question about if it is illegal, please note that it is only illegal if you use to to try to commit fraud, say for example you tried to press a quarter in such a way that it looks like a dollar coin, not sure how you could do this, but that would be illegal. or if you took a pressed penny and tried to use to get free games at an arcade (again wouldn't work, but you get the idea). Just a pressed penny in book or stored in other such manner is not illegal.

 

[BamaTigger]

I have 4 of the WDW penny books full! I Love collecting these!

You pay 50 cents for the penny and if you want the quarters its 1.00 then the quarter.

Few tips...Keep your quarters and your pennies to use in a 35mm film canister. Easy access, then take your pennies you made and put them in a baggie. You can put them in your books (you buy them in the parks) later.
They are fun to organize and go thru when you get home.

Try www.parkpennies.com and search for WDW and it will give you tons of checklists.

It is a lot of fun! Another penny cleaning tip--use ketchup. I always go to the bank and ask for rolls of NEW pennies...the pre 1982 didnt work for me...too dark even after I cleaned them. Shiny is the way to go. I have some from several years ago that still look GREAT.

Have fun!!

 

[Marilou]

Thanks for the pre-1982 tip! We will have to start searching our penny piles now! I don't know why i din't think of that ketchup trick (slaps forehead) I've used kids leftover ketchup from dinner on my copper-bottom pots!

Pressed coins are lots of fun! Another good point is that it's a souvenier that will always fit in your suitcase!!!