Today we are back with another really cool unique pressed penny related item. Have you ever heard of something called an impossible bottle?

Real simple this is a bottle that contains an object that does not appear to fit through the bottles mouth. There are many different objects placed inside but a common one you may recognize is a ship in a bottle.

Some other objects that have appeared inside an impossible bottle include matchboxes, Rubik’s cubes, scissors, padlocks and one of my favorites decks of playing cards. It really seems like anything can be placed in one of these bottles and that includes our lovable penny.

More commonly called a Penny in a Bottle, this popular souvenir finds a US one-cent coin sealed inside a small bottle. Some of these bottles are left blank, while others have printed text or a logo of the location the souvenir was created for. I’ve seen versions created for various bank promotions, and also theme parks like Disneyland. Now this is pretty cool but I think you and I would both agree that having one of these with a pressed penny inside would be even an even better treasure. Thankfully there are some out there that you do have to really search for, but just recently I received a very special package in the mail from our friend Boomer over at Parkpennies.com.

We have shown off the special Parkpennies.com penny in a previous post, but this is truly such a special item and I’ve been at a loss for words since I received this. I have no idea how they get these items inside, but that’s just par of the fun and mystique of this amazing souvenir.

A huge thank you to Boomer and his family over a ParkPennies.com. If you are a Disneyland elongated coin collector I’m sure you already know all about their website, but in case you are one of the few not familiar go take a look. They have compiled a massive amount of information about all the Disneyland pressed coins both past and present, plus many unique items like Cast Member only designs, one of a kind retiree sets and even a section all about Pennies in Bottles. Their site has been my go to source for my Disneyland pressed coin collection and I can’t speak highly enough about it.

Have a fantastic rest of your week, and make sure to keep your eyes open for more fun and unique penny related items. Keep on Pressing!

Earlier this year The Elongated Collectors (TEC) club opened up their annual design contest to all active members. Each year there is a theme and members can let their imaginations run wild when submitting their own designs for a chance to be picked the winning entry. Winners are awarded by having their design engraved and rolled for all members to receive, and they also will be a judge in the following years contest. For 2022 the contest theme was “My Dream Vacation”, and as soon as I read this an image popped in my head so I went to work trying to create my entry.

Try not too laugh too hard. I’ve mentioned in the past that I always wished I had at least some artistic talent, but alas I do not. To help me with my design I googled some clip art images of a large RX with trailer that I then traced and attempted to add a few extra details. My idea of a dream vacation was hoping in a big RV with my family to drive across the country with a trailer filled with pennies to press along the way. Now my wife may have something to say about this trip, but a penny collector can dream can’t he.

The following TECNews issue was released and the winners were announced which we will get to shortly, but I was shocked to see that my design actually came in Third place. I think the judges may have been taking pity on this collector.

First we have the Junior Division winner. This wonderful design was created by Jackson Hancock, it was engraved by John Gusmano and rolled by Paul Conner. This very creative design shows off the TEC owl observing the Earth and Moon from space.

Next we have the Adult Division winning design that was created by Dana Breyer, also engraved by John Gusmano and rolled by Paul Conner. This coin shows off a stunning desert scene with a Volkswagen beetle cruising along the road. The details in this coin are really beautiful and Dana did a great job. Congratulations!

Well that’s another years contest in the books, and again we came out with some really amazing designs. The members of TEC really are a wonderful group of people and are certainly talented. I’m honestly very happy with my third place showing, but one of these years I’m going to figure out the winning design. Have a wonderful week, keep tracking down those pennies and I’ll check in with you next time.

Here on the east cost in Walt Disney World we have seen quite a few collectible medallion machines released over the last few years. Initially I tried to stay away from collecting them, but the designs were just too intriguing and after picking up a few for an Epcot Festival I just had to have them all. Disneyland however out on the West Coast seemed like it was immune to getting these collectible medallions at least for awhile, but that has recently changed.

Earlier in 2022 the first collectible medallion machine was released in the Pieces of Eight gift shop. This is not the larger main gift shop for Pirates of the Caribbean but instead is a much smaller shop located in New Orleans Squares. in between the Blue Bayou restaurant and Port Royal Curios and Curiosities store.

When this news was released I immediately started inquiring around with other collectors trying to see what these new medallion designs looked like. Eventually our friends over at Parkpennies.com did release pictures and I was a little upset that they were exactly the same Pirates of the Caribbean designs that we had here in Walt Disney World. Even the reverse image on each coin was the same. I thought at least it would have the Disneyland logo instead but that was not the case. If you would like to see pictures of these medallions you can check out our WDW post on them here.

Now just a few months later we have received news that one of the designs out in Disneyland has been replaced with a new design.

The Pluto design has been removed maybe temporarily, once this anniversary design is removed. In its place is this beautiful design of the skull and crossbones with 55th across the brim. On the reverse side is the Pirates of the Caribbean logo also stating the 55th Anniversary of this fan favorite attraction.

We don’t know how long this design will be available, I would anticipate at least through the end of this year once the anniversary of the attraction would be over. But as we have seem with these medallions it seems like quantities can sometimes be limited and once gone they do not return. If you are interested in learning more about the Disneyland Collectible Medallions be sure to visit ParkPennies.com for their full guide and pictures. They are always my main source of information when it comes to Disney coins.

Have you fallen prey to collecting these medallions? Or are you still on the fence about starting? Let me know down in the comments below.

Have a fantastic week, and as always Keep on Pressing and Collecting!

It is no secret that I appreciate all that the amazing Disney Cast Members do for us guests during our visits to the parks, resorts and every place in-between. There are more than a few Cast Members that I have run into numerous times during my trips that I would consider friends now and my family seek them out each time we are there. Disney has put in place a few different ways that guests can recognize an outstanding Cast Member with a Cast Compliment and I would highly recommend you do so as it really does go a long away. It’s easy for people to make a fuss then there is a problem, but not many go out of their way when they have a fantastic experience. What is also nice to see if that Disney as a company puts on special events just for their Cast Members as a special thank you. I’m sure there are many other things they can do better, but this is a nice gesture by putting on what they call EARidescent Evenings.

I have a neighbor that works for Walt Disney World and was nice enough to share with us some of the things that went on. There are free snacks, short lines for attractions, and plenty of characters to meet and take pictures with. But a big part of these events is just celebrating each other, and they all seem to be having the time of their lives.

At this most recent EARidescent Evenings which took place in the Magic Kingdom as Cast Members were leaving they were gifted a special 50th Anniversary Medallion.

The coin is sealed in a plastic capsule and attached to a card stating “WE are the MAGIC”. The front of the medallion has Mickey and Minnie in front of Cinderella Castle with fireworks in the sky. The reverse side of this coin is the same as all the others we have reviewed above with Mickey stating “The World’s Most Magical Celebration”.

The back of the card just has the Cast Member EARidescent Evenings logo with a few hash tags to be used when posting all their wonderful photos on social media.

There are a few more of these special Cast Member events through the summer (2022) but it is unknown whether these coins will continue to be gifted out. There are some currently available on eBay but due to their rarity the costs are pretty high so just be aware of that. Hopefully you may know a Cast Member that has an extra they don’t want so you can add this special medallion to your collection.

Now I just need to try and convince my neighbor to let me keep this beautiful coin. He certainly has earned it so it’s probably better off in his possession. Thanks for visiting and as always Keep on Collecting!