Pressed Penny ?????s

[!HereWeCome!]

I've read that alot of you bring quarters & pennies in an M&M Mini's tube. When you get the pressed pennies, do they still fit into the tube? Or are they like the other ones I've seen where there are all stretched out into a long oval shape? I guess they'd still fit in even if they were, but I'm just wondering. Maybe I should bring another empty one for the pressed out ones? Thanks for any help you can provide!

 

[all4fun]

They sell little pressed penny books there that have clear "sleeves" in them to put the pressed pennies it. It's really nice because you can just unfold the book and look at your collection. My ds loves his pressed penny book.

Btw thanks for the reminder because I forgot put it in his bag for our trip starting on Saturday.

 

[!HereWeCome!]

Very cool! Any idea how much they are? Thanks for the info. And how excited are you to be on vacation in 2 days????!!!

 

[zoemurr]

They are more like a folder than a book. We kept the coins in the M&M tube, but after they were pressed just put them in a change purse I had in my fanny pack. Then they transferred them to the book at night.

They loved it. Between that and the pin trading they didn't ask for any other souveniers.

 

[BlakeNJ]

We also do this with our son. We use the M&M tubes and it works great. We put them in our coin book back at the resort. Here is a checklist to get you started!

http://www.presscoins.com/Listings/WDWMaster.pdf

 

[mom2001scrapper]

I've read that there are pressed quarters besides the pressed pennies. I've never heard of these...can anyone fill me in?

 

[zoemurr]

only they cost more, and don't fit in the penny book. There are lots and lots of penny machines.. our kids didn't mind bypassing the quarter ones.

HTH

 

[Dancemom03]

If you have an older pressed penny book they had spaces for quarters.
I like the design on the new book better but didn't realize they'd eliminated spaces for quarters until we'd pressed several and found nowhere to put them.
Guess we'll pass by the quarters from now on also.

I've always thought that owning a fleet of penny machines could be the perfect way to make a living without really working - where else could you get so many people to pay you for smashing their own perfectly good pennies? My new dream job...

 

[DBarber600]

The books were only like $6. My kids love the pennies but lately I've been thinking that I spend .50 to get a penny for a souveneir?!

Luckily, they don't want every single penny - just the ones with characters they like.

I like looking at the book, too. As a matter of fact we got ours out this morning to look at it.

 

[Kies99]

The Disney books were $6.50.

 

[devalsam]

We did this on our last trip and the girls LOVED it!! While I will admit, I was not exactly thrilled with the idea that I was paying 51 cents for a penny, they still love pulling out their book and looking at it so I guess it was all worth it. Plus, it's still probably the cheapest souvenier you can get down there!!

 

[LilGMom]

We started this when our now six year old was around three and we have a nice collection going. He loves putting the coins in, making his selection and watching the machine squish the penny. We take ziploc bags filled with coins just for the machines. One bag for pennies (shiny ones), one bag for quarters and one bag for finished pennies and at night we lay them out on the bed and put them in the book. I'd rather pay 51 cents for a souvenir than $15 for one that will break by the time we get it home and it becomes somewhat of a treasure hunt finding the machines with pennies that we don't have.

 

[ballle_98]

My kids loved doing the pressed penny machines. We just took $10 in quarters and make sure you take the older pennies. Apparently the new pennies will have a silver streak but the older pennies do not.
We used old pennies.
I think doing the pressed penny machines was our favorite souvenir besides the autograph books.

 

[LauraAnn630]

We love them! We have also made pressed pennies in Niagra Falls, Cleveland Staduim, Tower City Center, Ogle Bay, WV., Zoos and Geauga Lake.

 

[Perditamarie]

My daughter liked to carry her "minnie money" in her Lumpy pocketbook and just yesterday I fished out several from her piggie bank! I've read on the boards to use pennies prior to 1986 so the pressed penny keeps its shine -- something to do with the metal content of pennies made after 1986.

 

[Reagan&Co.]

If you look on allearsnet.com, it gives you some tips and also has a list of locations. The big one is to use pennies made BEFORE 1982- when they changed the ingredients. The older ones will be streak-free when pressed.

Also, to clean pennies before your trip, use hot sauce from Taco Bell. Or I use chili sauce, ketchup, whatever. Just pour some into a small bowl, swish some pennies around, and wait 5 min. or so. Flip if needed, then rinse. Aren't they pretty now????!!!!

We had a blast collecting. The kids loved it, and I guess us parents got into it, too!!

Oh, one other thing....the people at the resort guest shop said there was only one style of penny book, so I bought two and tried to keep them straight. At one of the parks, I found another style, and quickly exchanged one so the kids wouldn't mix theirs.

 

[!HereWeCome!]

Thanks so much, all! I'll definately do some combing through the change jar. Had NO idea about the date on the penny! Knew I'd find great info from you all!

 

[DBarber600]

I agree with using the older pennies (before early 1980s). After this time period, pennies are zinc middles covered with a copper shell. If you use these pennies the zinc comes through the copper when it's pressed and the impression isn't as clear due to a two-color effect on the surface of the penny.

Likewise, I found that using a dull penny gives you a clearer impression. I don't use pennies with "copper rust" (green stuff) on them or yucky junk stuck to it. Just a nicely aged penny. I don't clean them because it "un-dulls" them.

I tried using shiny pennies and dull pennies and liked the dull pennies better. IMO, the shiny-ness of the penny makes it difficult to see the impresesion. Try both and see which you like better. It's a matter of personal preference.

 

[crazee4disney]

The pressed penny book my DD has is one of her favorite memories of WDW. We took a ton of pennies and quarters with us and made them everywhere we went. Not only was it a great souvenir (and not too expensive!!), it was fun to hunt for different machines and it was exciting to find out what designs different ones made.

Now every time we see one in other places my DD thinks of WDW and makes them everywhere she goes. She just adds them to her pressed penny book at home.

 

[Zoom]

If you look on allearsnet.com, it gives you some tips and also has a list of locations. The big one is to use pennies made BEFORE 1982- when they changed the ingredients. The older ones will be streak-free when pressed.

Also, to clean pennies before your trip, use hot sauce from Taco Bell. Or I use chili sauce, ketchup, whatever. Just pour some into a small bowl, swish some pennies around, and wait 5 min. or so. Flip if needed, then rinse. Aren't they pretty now????!!!!

We had a blast collecting. The kids loved it, and I guess us parents got into it, too!!

Oh, one other thing....the people at the resort guest shop said there was only one style of penny book, so I bought two and tried to keep them straight. At one of the parks, I found another style, and quickly exchanged one so the kids wouldn't mix theirs.

Thanks for the tip! We just started collecting when we were there a week ago (also the pin trading thing which is soooo expensive) DS is addicted now
I have to start saving old pennies now for our upcoming Oct. trip.