When my family first moved to Florida one of the perks of living near the Disney theme parks was the opportunity to have little staycations at all the different reports. Over the years we have stayed at almost all of them, but one has really become our favorite and it’s probably not the one you would think of. Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground is a huge piece of property with campsites, RV hookups and our preference the Cabins. We stayed there last summer for a weekend and just had an amazing time exploring the entire resort and cruising in our golf cart. At that time I did check on the three penny machines and the designs had not changed. Now here we are months later, and that has changed. Time to head back to the great outdoors.

Unfortunately we were not staying the campsite so I had to get a little creative with how I would visit. If you aren’t staying there, visiting a guest or have dining reservation they are very strict about letting you in through security. Instead I parked over at Disney Springs and took one of the Disney internal buses over to Fort Wilderness. It lets you off near the front of the resort and then there is an internal bus system that will take you throughout the campgrounds.

This visit however wouldn’t take me too far into the resort as the machine I had come to visit was located in the Reception Outpost near the front parking lot. This would be considered the main check-in area, although now most people are checking-in online and can bypass this place completely.

This building is not very big and once you walk in you will find the penny machine over near the kids area where some chairs are placed around a TV playing some Disney cartoons. This is a 3-design electronic penny machine and all of the designs had recently been changed.

The set of pennies includes images of the Resort Logo with Chip and Dale, Mickey Mouse with a Ranger hat on, and Mater from Pixar’s Cars movie.

Even during this quick little trip into the campgrounds just to press the pennies it really made me anxious to come back for another stay in one of their cabins. With the summer just around the corner I may have to check on some availability, and who knows may the other two penny machines will get some new designs before then. Keep on Pressing!

We are getting ever so close to the new year 2026 and that means we should very soon start seeing the new 2026 dates pressed pennies at Walt Disney World. This will be our main page for the Pressed Pennies where we document their release, what they look like and where they can be found. If you are visiting WDW over the next few weeks and come across any of the new designs be sure to leave a comment here and I’ll include it in the post and you will get credit for the find.

** I received a tip that unfortunately it’s looking like there will NOT be any 2026 dated Medallions released, but if that changes we will let you know **

Happy Collecting!

The 2026 Pressed Penny booklet has been spotted inside Hollywood Studios at the Celebrity 5 & 10 store near the front of the park. It won’t be long before these start appearing in each of the other parks.

Hollywood Studios

Oscar’s Super Service

Just inside the main entrance to Hollywood Studios you will find Oscar’s Super Service on the right side. This is also where you would rent a wheelchair or stroller if those are items you need for your visit. Inside the little store is the lone penny machine with just one new design featuring the park icon Tower of Terror and 2026 along the bottom.

Animal Kingdom

Discovery Trading Co

When visiting Disney’s Animal Kingdom looking for the dated penny designs, first head towards the big Tree of Life and on the right side is the Discovery Trading Co store. The machines are not inside, but instead just outside one of the sets of doors. The machine has a 2026 penny design featuring Chip the Chipmunk.

Dawa Bar

For the second new penny design you will need to head back into the Africa section of the park. As you leave Discovery Island and cross over the bridge into Africa there will be a bar on the left side known as the Dawa Bar. This is also near the fan favorite Tusker House restaurant. This new 2026 penny features the second half of the Chipmunk duo Dale.

Disney Springs

Disney Pin Trader

When visiting Disney Springs had to the Disney Pin Trader store and there you can find two new 2026 dated designs. The first machine has a fun design featuring Minnie Mouse and an intestine looking 2026 design.

In the same store there is a second machine that has a similar design this time however featuring Mickey Mouse on top of the 2026.

EPCOT

Port of Entry Gift Shop

When you first enter the World Showcase at EPCOT from the front of the park there are two similar gift shops. The one towards the Canada Pavilion side is called Port of Entry. Inside is where we find our first 2026 pressed penny featuring Donald Duck.

Disney Traders

Walking across the plaza towards the Mexico Pavilion is the second shop known as Disney Traders. The penny machine in this location has the next 2026 penny design featuring the park icon Spaceship Earth.

Norway Pavilion

Time to walk around the World Showcase a bit and we need to stop in the Norway Pavilion towards the back is a store called The Fjording. The machine used to be just inside the door, but has now been moved into the back of the store near where you exist from the Frozen Ever After ride. This 2026 penny design features both Minnie and Mickey.

World Traveler Gift Shop

Our last stop at EPCOT is known as the back entrance to the park where you would come in from the Boardwalk Resort or Yacht & Beach Club Resorts known as the International Gateway. Right near the entrance / exit is a gift shop called the World Traveler. Here we find the 2026 penny featuring Mickey and Minnie in a slightly different pose from the previous machine.

Magic Kingdom

Tony’s Town Square Restaurant

We are almost finished with the dated coins. Our next stop is just inside the Magic Kingdom near the Main Street Theatre is Tony’s Town Square restaurant. The machine is just outside the restrooms and features a 2026 design with Minnie Mouse.

Emporium

Finally we head inside the Main Street Emporium. If you are entering the store from the front of the park the first machine will be just inside the doors. This is an 8-design machine, but only 4 feature the new 2026 designs with Mickey & Minnie, Daisy Duck, Pluto, and Donald Duck.

The second machine is a little further inside the store, if I had to guess it’s about halfway in but of course in a very busy location. This is another 8-design machine with only 4 featuring the new 2026 coins with Minnie, Mickey, Cinderella Cast, and Goofy.

The Disney parks have been releasing quite a few new medallions over the last couple years. To some of us collectors the FOMO can be a bit overwhelming and we rush to try and collect every coin available. However I’ve always wondered what happens to the extra coins. I know at Universal Studios sometimes they will show up at the annual garage sale deeply discounted, but Disney doesn’t really have anything like that. At least not until recently when I saw a post in the Disney Coin Pressers Facebook group from friend and fellow collector Kelly Buchwald who supplied all the photos below.

Just note that this is only at Disneyland in California, and nothing similar is currently available in Walt Disney World. There is a place called Company D which is the Cast Member store. Inside it has been revealed that they have setup a Mystery Medallion machine.

The marquee on the machine lists that a single medallion is $2, or you can get four medallions for $5 which honestly is great deal. In the fine print along the bottom it explains that the mystery coins include designs from the D100, Pixar Fest, D23, Tomorrowland and Mandalorian sets that were previously released.

As you can see even the buttons have question marks on them as the coins are completely random inside the machine.

Even this middle area of the machine which is usually very nice and neatly organized has quite a lot of extra inventory waiting to be purchased.

I really love this idea and kind of wish they made this available to the general public. Obviously if you are looking for one specific “retired” design this is probably not the best option. But if you are a fan of those blind bags, or mystery bags this would be right up your alley.

Kelly did mention that the machine is just inside the doors to the Company D store. If you are a cast member or know a cast member then head on check it out. If are not a cast member, you can ask very nicely and MAYBE, depending on who is at the door, they may allow you inside real quick to use the machine. But it’s not a guarantee since it is technically just for Cast Members, so if they do turn you away please be nice to the Cast Members.

What do you think of the Mystery Medallions? Would you roll the dice and pick some up. If this came to Florida I would really be tempted to give it a try. Keep on Collecting!

I’ve mentioned in the past that I’m a member of quite a few different pressed penny Facebook groups. I utilize them for various different reasons, like new machine releases, acquiring privately designed coins, collecting tips, and one of my favorites are rumors or interesting finds. In a recent post from one of our collecting friends Jim McNally who also runs the zzzcoins.com website. Now what was interesting about this post is it was about a new style of pressed penny machine he encountered at the Detroit Zoo.

Here’s a loot at the machine and at first glance seems like many other machines I’m sure you have come across on your travels. It’s created by The Penny Press Machine Company, offering four designs in a manual press machine.

As with many of machines lately it accepts both cash and credit or digital payments like Apple Pay or Google Wallet.

However when you take a closer look at the instructions on how the machine works we notice an interesting new feature. If you use your either the digital payment or pay by cash with a paper bill the machine will supply the pennies to press. OR, it does allow you to use the machine by inserting four quarters and your own penny of choice.

This seems so trivial I’m sure to many casual visitors to these machines, but ever since we have seen the newer preloaded machine, there has been quite an outcry by many collectors wishing they could still use their preferred copper pennies. It’s taken quite a few years but seems like this company has figured it out.

Since the release of this first penny machine at the Detroit Zoo they have released a second machine with new designs as well and you can read a press release about them here. Of course since word of this new style of machine was posted about, everyone seems to be on the lookout for more of them. I have not seen or heard of any in the Orlando or Central Florida areas as of yet. That may be due to these machines being created by a different vendor. But I am anxious to try and find one on my own travels so I can try it out in person. If any of you have come across this new style of machine be sure to leave a comment below. Keep on Pressing!!

Privately designed elongate coins has quickly become one of my favorite niches within our hobby. There are so many talented designers and the themes are infinite. I try to check out as many as I can to help get the designers some more exposure and this weeks coin design is one that I really think you will enjoy. It’s known as the Pig Penny, and has become an annual tradition created and released by Dwayne Padon from Lexington Kentucky.

I first came across the Pig Penny back in 2024 and immediately placed an order to acquire one for my collection. The cute pig design ridding a motorcycle had just caught my attention. As I always do, I wanted to try and learn more about the design and designer. Dwayne was amazing to reach back out and share his coin story with us.

Dwayne came up with the idea to produce a collectible souvenir to help promote his hometown of Lexington North Carolina about 15 years before he ever made one. He always had 20 projects on 20 different topic in the works at the same time. In 2006 he started doing some research on all kinds of things like having tokens, souvenir coins, plastic items and elongated coins made. After much thought he decided to proceed with creating elongated coins, mainly because after all the pieces were in his hands, he could control production through the sales on his terms.

He came up with the name Pig Penny after trying to think of a simple but memorable name. His mom Don Rea Padon had always been a great artist and he asked her to draw the first design featuring a pig. Lexington is officially the BBQ Capital of North Carolina, along with Pigs is all a big theme within Lexington. They have fiberglass pig statues on display all over the downtown area that have become big tourist attractions.

In September 2007 he completed the first three designs, and the local newspaper feature Dwayne and his Pig Pennies on the front page, creating an unexpectedly significant domino effect. The day he debut the coin locally at his mother’s store, they had at least 200 people standing in line waiting for her to open. The next few hours where a whirlwind of customers, buying anything and everything with Pig Pennies involved. He just made and packaged the coins, but his mother and others had used the coins to make all kinds of items like bracelets, jewelry, ornaments, bookmarks, earrings rings and downs of odds and end items.

Dwayne had joined a few online elongated coin collector pages like on Yahoo groups and TEC News to name just af ew. He mainly just read and learned without posting much about the coins he had in the works. His plan was to just get through the local BBQ Festival and then release the information about the coins to all the collector pages afterwards. However, when the newspaper article was released someone in California saw it somewhere online and shared it with several of the same online groups. Orders started flooding in and everything hit all at once from all over the world at the same time. Dwayne bought two maps to keep a record of the states and countries he would shop the coins to, and eventually placed those pins in all 50 states and over 50 countries around the globe. All of this from his living room operation.

Each year his mom Don Rea Padon (you may noticed her initials DRP on the coin designs) helps design each of the coins. These have become quite the collectible and I know quite a few other collectors that have been trying to complete the entire set. Since my first one in 2024 I have acquire a few of the other designs but still have quite a few to go including the new 2025 design.

Dwayne has had quite a lot of success with this Pig Penny designs and has been featured on the news, on the radio, numerous print articles and of course he gets recognized in public. “Being recognized, especially by kids, was cool though. Many times I hear a kid yell “Look, mama, it’s the Pig Penny Man.” A title he wears proudly. If you are interested in more information about the Pig Penny you can visit Dwaynes website PigPenny.app or his Facebook group linked here.

Keep on Pressing!

The elongated collectors, or more affectionally known as TECNews was first formed back on August 20th, 166. When twelve dedicated elongated coin collectors who were attending the ANA convention in Chicago, got together in a room and voted into existence what we know today as TEC. However, it did take them almost three months to formally vote on the name “The Elongated Collectors”. Dottie Dow was elected the first President and Editor of the newsletter, and the rest as they say is history.

Membership includes a quarterly newsletter in either a printed hard copy version, or a digital electronic version. Both feature informative articles, club news, reports from offers and members. Plus the added perk of receiving unique elongated coins with each issue to help build your collection.

The group gathers for its annual meeting at the American Numismatic Association’s (ANA) World’s Fair of Money convention. In addition, many members gather throughout the year at mini-meets in various parts of the country to visit with each other, compare newly acquired coins, trade, and even go on trips to press nearby coin machines.

I’ve been lucky enough to be a part of the club for quite awhile now and have had met so many other members during those years. Then of course there are all the coins I’ve accumulated from the club. Many are created by other members to share some of their own personal interests, contest winners, club awards and my personal favorite the annual member coin.

I mentioned I’ve been a member for quite awhile but honestly I think I kind of forgot exactly how long it’s been, until just recently when I received a thank you card in the mail. It came from TEC President Tyler Tyson.

The card included a very special coin celebrating my 15 years as a TEC member. Starting in 2020 the show appreciation for long term members, six elongated coins were created to mark milestone anniversaries, 5 years on a copper center, 10 years on a nickel, 15 years on a quarter, 20 years on a Susan B. Anthony dollar, 25 years on a golden dollar, and Lifetime members on a half dollar.

A big thank you to TECNews for all the wonderful years of newsletters, coins, events, friendship and just enjoyment of our hobby. As with so many things in life, I really wish I had joined the club sooner and don’t really know why I waited. So to anyone out there that is not a member but enjoys collecting elongated coins, whether you only have a few in your collection or thousands of them, I truly believe you would enjoy TEC. I have the club website linked here, and before you know it you’l be collecting your 15 year membership coin well.