Month: December 2014

Happy Holidays – New Disneyland Holiday Nickels

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Happy Holidays!!

I hope that everyone is having a great holiday season this year and that you are able to spend time with your family and friends.

Initially I was going to take the holiday off for some much deserved rest, but on Christmas Eve I received a small little package in the mail, and figured today was the perfect day to write about it.

A friend of mine from high school moved to California for college and has been living there ever since.  We don’t get to talk much but he knows about my pressed coin obsession and is himself an avid Disneyland fanatic.  Each time he visits the parks in Anaheim he always sends me a quick email asking if there are any new coins I need for my collection.  I am certainly a very lucky collector to have such dedicated friends.

Now this package that arrives yesterday had his familiar return address with a small Mickey Mouse silhouette by his name, but I hadn’t been anticipating any new coins because Disneyland has been on a bit of a slump for new coins these last few months.  Figuring the envelope just contains a holiday greeting card I tore it open and to my surprise out slid a small zip bag with three shiny pressed nickels.  I had to look this up but wanted to pass the information along for any collectors reading this.  This temporary machine was located by the Exit to the Main Street Opera.  The designs are: Santa Mickey, Happy New Year 2015 Chip and Dale, and Happy Holidays Olaf from Frozen.

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There was a nice little note inside as well that wished my family a happy holidays and hoped that I hadn’t already received these coins (I hadn’t even know these were out yet).  He did mention that he was trying to surprise me and had been visiting a website I usually check out for new Disneyland coins.  They listed these coins one day a week or so ago and he immediately ran over to the park to press them for me.  He also said that there are rumors of two additional holiday sets being released and that he would press those for me a well one they are available.

As soon as the additional coins arrive I will be sure to post them so you can see them.  These Disneyland Holiday coins have been an annual tradition for the last few years.  I think I saw the first ones were issued in 1995.  I have only recently started collecting these but they are really cool and in very short supply since they are only available during the holiday season before being retired.  I’ve only collected the last couple years but am slowly working on trying to get as many as I can.

Have a safe holiday season, and a happy New Year.  2015 will hopefully be another big pressed coin year!!  Can’t wait to see what we can find.

New Epcot Japan Penny Designs

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A few weeks ago I posted about a friend of mine from work taking a trip to Walt Disney World in Florida.  He was nice enough to acquire quite a few new pennies that I hadn’t be able to collect at that time.  However there were two new machines that he was unable to obtain during their trip.

Knowing there are new pennies out there and not in my collection is like an itch I can’t scratch.  I try not to think about it, but my subconscious remembers and brings it up every so often.  When it does come to mind I would reach out to some of my fellow collectors that live in Florida to see if they were able to get them for me, but unfortunately this is a busy time of year and visiting a theme park is not always top on the priority list and I can’t hold that against them at all.

Then just a few days ago the itch was back.  With all my other options exhausted I decided to try good old eBay.  The only problem with eBay and trying to find pressed pennies is that you really need to work on the search description.  If you aren’t specific enough you get all sorts of crazy listings that have nothing to do with what you’re actually looking for.

First I checked out the listings of my usual sellers that almost always come through for me, but this time nothing.  I tried my luck at the old fashion search and it did take a few tries but I did manage to find what I was looking for.  I placed my bid, won the auction and immediately paid so I could get the new pennies as soon as possible.

A few days later I came home from work and found a magical brown envelope in my mail with an eBay postage sticker and I knew it was them.  The designs were really great.

The first new machine was at the Japanese Pavilion in Epcot’s World Showcase.  It is located at the bottom of the stairs that lead up to the Katsura Grill (great place to eat by the way, if you haven’t tried it do so on your next trip).  The designs include a Traveling Mickey, Minnie, Duffy, and one of Mickey and Minnie kissing.

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The second machine was also located in the Japanese Pavilion and is near the entrance to the Mitsukoshi Department Store.  The designs are Kimono Minnie, Kimono Mickey, Mickey, and Daisy.

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 I immediately included these new pennies into my collection and couldn’t wait to post about them online.  I’m sure these will become more available as time go on.  It is the holiday season and it seems like most people visiting Disney this time of year may not be spending too much time in Epcot.  For now the itch it gone and my collection is complete again.  Thankfully it never lasts too long.

Happy collecting.