First I just want to put a big disclaimer here that this post will contain the collectible medallions that are available in Disneyland out in California. These are not currently available in Florida. For all Walt Disney World 100th Anniversary Medallions visit this separate post here. I do not personally have access to Disneyland so this information is being supplied by friends and fellow collectors, and I will try to keep it all organized here for everyone’s reference. Be sure to also check out the ParkPennies.com website for more detailed information on these Disneyland Coins and more.

If you have any updates or pictures on these machines please let know in the comments. Keep on Collecting!

** Souvenir Medallion Checklist with Photos available here.

---

Starting January 27th, 2023 Disneyland out in California has begun celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the Walt Disney Company. There are plenty of new decorations, performances, special food and lots of souvenirs including a brand new set of Souvenir Medallions. I did want to mention that the price has gone up with this latest series, they now cost $6 for one coin, or $20 for the full set of four at each machine. Start saving now because this may be quite an expensive set to acquire.

The first item to appear in the parks was the above Souvenir Medallion Collection Book. This includes 10 plastic pocket pages that will hold 8 coins each for a total of 80 medallions. At this time we are not sure exactly how many 100 Years of Wonder coins will be made available so make sure to bookmark this page for all the details as we uncover all of them.

Above is an image of the reverse side of all the coins with the 100 Years of Wonder logo and does notate Disneyland specifically.

Disneyland Park

Main Street Penny Arcade

Not too far inside the park just along Main Street USA if you head inside the famous Penny Arcade you will come across the machine with coin designs of Mickey & Minnie, Donald & Daisy, Goofy & Pluto, and Chip & Dale all dressed up for the 100th Anniversary Celebration.

Space Mountain Exit

Over in Tomorrowland at the exit area of Space Mountain near where you would view your ride photos is the machine with this next set of Star Wars themed medallions. Luke & Vader, Yoda, Leia & R2-D2, and Chewie & Han.

Pieces of Eight Gift Shop (Pirate of the Caribbean)

Across the park in New Orleans Square just head inside the store for Pirates of the Caribbean known as the Pieces of Eight Gift Shop for this machine. This has a fun split of designs showing off Poochie the famous Pirates Prison Dog with Key, the Skull and Crossbones Pirates logo, and then two from the Haunted mansion featuring Madame Leota, and the guest favorite Hitchhiking Ghosts Gus, Phineas and Ezra.

Disney California Adventure Park

Kingswell Camera Shop

As you stroll down Buena Vista street take a quick trip inside Kingswell Camera Shop for this machine which currently has my favorite designs in this special collection. The coins have images of Steamboat Willie, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Classic Minnie Mouse, and the beautiful Storytellers Statue.

** Variant / Error Steamboat Willie Design **

We have been notified of an error / variant version of the Steamboat Willie coin. As you can see in the above comparison pictures take a close look at the (C) Disney along the bottom. Similar to the Stitch Error Coin below, it seems like the coin with the missing (C) Disney along the bottom was part of the initial batch of coins released. Guests that have purchased this coin more recently seem to be getting the corrected coin. Be sure to check out your own collection, you may have one of the limited error versions of this coin.

The Collector’s Warehouse (Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout)

Inside the Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout gift shop called The Collector’s Warehouse is the Marvel themed set of souvenir medallions. There are coins with Groot, Spiderman, Black Panther and Captain America available in this location.

Bing Bong’s Sweet Stuff

Back in the newly renovated Pixar Pier the next machine is located inside Bing Bong’s Sweet Stuff candy store. As I’m sure you can guess here we find some Pixar themed designs including Woody & Buzz, Joy Sadness & Bing Bong, Joe Gardner & Soul Cat, and Miguel & Dante.

Downtown Disney District

World of Disney Store

If you are visiting the Downtown Disney District there are a few machines here. Currently two are inside the huge World of Disney store. The first machine has coin designs of Anna & Elsa, Princess Jasmine & her Tiger Raja, Snow White & her Forest Friends, and Mulan & Mushu.

The second machine inside the World of Disney store has some more famous duos on the coin designs available in this machine including Mirabel & Bruno, Lilo & Stitch, Simba Timon & Pubmaa, and Peter Pan Wendy & Tinker Bell.

** Variant / Error Stitch Design **

It has been brought to our attention that there was an error / variant version of the Stitch coin. As you can see in the above comparison pictures take a close look at the (C) Disney along the bottom. It seems like many collectors that were among the first to acquire this design may have received the error version. Many collectors I have spoken to that have just recently picked up this coin seem to have received the corrected version. I’m not sure if any are still available inside the machine at this time, but I’m sure once it was noticed they were probably pulled quickly. Be sure to check out your own collection, you may have one of the limited error versions of this coin.

Star Wars Trading Post

Special thank you to Elizabeth S for information on this new set of 100th Medallions that can be found at the Star Wars Trading Post in Downtown Disney. These designs include images of Boba Fett, Grogu, Cade Bane and Bo-Katan Kryze.

Disneyland Hotel

Inside the Disneyland Hotel is another souvenir medallion machine hosting some classic coin designs of Dumbo & Timothy Mouse, Pinocchio & Jiminy Cricket, Mowgli & Baloo, and Sorcerer’s Apprentice Mickey.

Grand Californian Hotel & Spa

Over at the wonderful Grand California Hotel & Spa you can find another collectible medallion machine with coin designs of Bambi & Thumper, Sven & Olaf, Lady & the Tramp, and Lumiere & Cogsworth.

Pixar Place Hotel – Temporary Lobby

The final location is inside the Pixar Place Hotel. A special thank you to Elizabeth Borgen for helping to clarify how to access this location, she says you will need to enter from the back of the hotel near the parking garage into the temporary lobby to find the medallion machine that has some Pixar themed coins available with designs of the Luxo Jr Lamp & Luxo Ball, Wall-E & Eve, Nemo & Dory, and the Incredibles Family.

We had finished our drive to West Palm Beach Florida and checked into our hotel for the evening. The next morning bright an early we found a local diner for breakfast which we really enjoyed and then headed to our destination for that day the Manatee Lagoon.

Living in Florida we do always enjoy going out during the colder months to see the local Manatees as they migrate inland to try and stay in warmer waters. We have done this numerous times over the years in all different areas of the state, and were looking forward to see some again today at this new location.

Unfortunately just like the previous days visit to the Loggerhead Marineline Center there were no Manatees to be found. We were certainly striking out on this trip so far with local wildlife.

We were a bit disappointed, but inside this beautiful building was a very nice educational center that we would still be able to experience.

Inside were some great little exhibits giving a lot of detailed information about Manatees, their lifestyle, their migration patterns and so much more.

Of course like all good roadside attractions they had a nice gift shop with classic items like stuff animals, t-shirts, and stickers. This location however also had some really gorgeous manatee themed original artwork on display and for sale.

This very cute Manatee family was not available for sale, but it was a very popular spot for guests to take some memorable photos.

Just outside the gift shop along the wall that would lead towards the restrooms is where I found the penny press machine I had researched was at this location. Keeping with our bad luck on this trip, the penny machine was out of order. As I always just in case, I tried to use the machine but the coin slider was completed jammed up.

This was a standard four-design manual penny press machine with the full acrylic cabinet. The wrap decals that covered the machine were fabulous. I just really love Manatees so seeing their cute faces all over this machine just put a smile on my face.

Stay tuned for a future post about what I do when I encounter an out of order machine. For now I’ll just quickly say that once I got home I mailed this location a package with some quarter and pennies asking if they could press them. Then after a few weeks the set arrived in my self-addressed stamped envelope. The designs included a couple with Manatees on them, but also a design with a Dolphin and another with a Stingray.

Another fun day was in the books on our vacation. We spent the rest of our second day doing some local shopping and most importantly some family time at the hotel pool. There was still plenty more places to visit on our trip so stay tuned to find out where we go next. Keep on Pressing!

---

It wasn’t too long ago that SeaWorld Orlando released their first collectible medallion machine, and now here we are seeing the same thing happen at Busch Gardens in Tampa. I have heard that there were some previous versions of collectible coins available at Busch Gardens but since I’ve been visiting the last few years the only versions I’ve found were pressed pennies. Here we are however with the first new machine and maybe more to come.

This park is huge, and there is plenty of walking to be done. Especially for this new machine we are on the look for which I have heard it towards the back of the park.

Past Morocco, the Sesame Street area and one plenty of different animal exhibits you will eventually find yourself near one of the largest coasters in this park called SheiKra. The nearby gift shop for this area is called the Kariba Marketplace. I remember on one of my first trips to this park there used to be a pressed penny machine in this location, but it’s been gone for quite some time now.

Of course inside there is plenty of generic souvenirs and some themed around the nearby SheiKra coaster. Tucked away behind some tracks of hoodies I spotted the machine we were searching for.

The wrap design on this cabinet is great and of course matches perfectly with the park. Not being a huge coaster fan, when I visit Busch Gardens it’s primarily for the animals and coins of course.

The medallion designs available here at this machine include a Lion, Elephant, Tiger and a couple Giraffes. The designs are nice, but nothing too fancy or unique in my opinion.

The reverse side of all coins have the same image which is of Busch Gardens logo including a few animal silhouettes and does specify Tampa Bay, Florida which I really like. We found the coins recently at SeaWorld had their logo but includes the cities of all their domestic parks which made them feel a little less unique.

I almost forgot to mention that also like SeaWorld the cost of these coins has increased. The individual amount per coin is still $5, but the cost to buy all four at once is $18. Again this is really pushing the limits I think, and I’ll be curious if they are to sell as many of these at this price point. I feel like more people will be picking one coin at most instead of picking up the full set. I think it would be really popular to have a set of coins themed for all the coasters available in this park, but I guess generic animals are probably an easier sell to a wide range of guests. I’ll be interested to see if they release some more of these medallions or maybe we can get some new pressed penny designs instead. Keep on Collecting!!

---

Last year my family had quite a bit of travel plans scheduled but unfortunately due to various situations that arose we were unable to enjoy many of those plans. It had been quite awhile since the last time we took a little family vacation and were antsy to get back out on the road. Hopefully later this year some of those long distance plans will come to fruition, but to start things off we decided to head out to the Atlantic Coast for a few days just to get out of town. We have been slowly visiting many of the well known Florida beaches on both Atlantic and Gulf sides of the state, and this time we opted to check out West Palm Beach. However if you’ve been following along here for any length of time you will know that I take any opportunity along the way to stop for elongated coins.

Juno Beach was not too far from West Palm Beach and gave us a nice opportunity to stop for lunch and stretch our legs a bit. Nearby was the Loggerhead Park and Loggerhead Marinelife Center.

This place is one of Florida’s most visited non-profit scientific destinations focused on ocean and sea turtle conservation. Years ago we visited Disney’s Vero Beach Resort and just fell in love with sea turtles and the amazing job group’s like this take to help rescue and eventually release them.

Inside the main building is a large reception desk with volunteers there to explain their mission at the marinelife center. There is no admission to visit, but they do accept donations which I would highly recommend. There is also a pretty large gift shop in this building that my kids really enjoyed checking out and we were persuaded that a few new stuffed animals needed to join our family trip. Out behind this building is the main courtyard area that has quite a few large tanks scattered around but are nicely shaded by large overhead canopies.

Some of these tanks had a nice variety of fish that could easily be seen through these large acrylic viewing areas. There was some bench style seating nearby if you wanted to take a bit of a break, and some volunteers were walking around to answer any questions you may have.

Unfortunately or maybe fortunately depending on how you look at it. There were currently no sea turtles in their care. Unfortunately since we were looking forward to seeing some of them up close, but I guess fortunate to the turtles that they have been rehabbed and released back into the ocean. The volunteer at the main registration desk did let us know this before we entered and they did have quite a few signs like the one above.

In this back courtyard area near the gift shop doors is where I found the first pressed penny machine. This cabinet was beautiful, and I loved the colors of this wrap and the giant sea turtle photo at the bottom was amazing. As you can see this machine fell victim to the price increase we have seen back in central Florida at all the major theme parks.

The designs on these pennies were just as fantastic as the machine cabinet. I’ve got quite a few turtle pressed pennies in my collection but none that looked like these, and of course I always love when they include the location name in the designs. Any way to help me remember where they came from is a plus.

Running along both sides of the courtyard were long buildings that looked to be for the research teams, as well as classrooms because this seems to be a popular place for nearby school field trips. Nearby one set of classrooms was where I found the second pressed penny machine. This was one of the newer and larger versions with a similar wrap design.

Just like the first set of pennies we pressed, this second set had even more really detailed designs available that I haven’t seen before. Many times you find that aquariums and zoos all seem to recycle very similar generic animal designs in their machines but not here which I appreciated.

There was one last machine I came across but instead of pressed pennies, this machine offered collectible medallions. I was a bit worried because the number of coins displayed in the center section of the machine looked pretty sparse. Thankfully my gamble paid off and after swiping my card for payment I was able to collect one of each design. I wouldn’t be so lucky in a few of our other locations on this trip, but you’ll have to stick around to find out more about those.

These medallions were nice, but not as impressive in my mind as the pennies. I do really enjoy the one showing the Juno Beach Fishing Pier, and I’m a sucker for a good Manatee baby design.

The reverse image on all of the designs was the same image of a Loggerhead Turtle and the name of the Marinelife Center that was a wonderful design idea.

Our first stop on our trip was pretty successful, with a total of 12 new pressed pennies and 4 medallions we were off to a great start. With all our gift shop purchases made, we hopped back in the car to finish our drive to the hotel we were staying at in West Palm Beach. We would be there for a few days and had plenty of things to do, places to visit and of course pennies to press.

---

It seems like quite a while since we visited SeaWorld here in Orlando. Well I should say that I have visited a few times this past year, but unfortunately they just doing update or change out elongated coin designs very often. So not much to report on until just recently when our friend and fellow collector Joe Watts reported that SeaWorld had released their first Collectible Medallion machine. Let’s head into the park and I’ll show you where to find it.

Once inside the park if you head towards the giant Manta coaster and just past the Flamingo habitat you find a random Build-A-Bear Workshop.

This workshop has some unique hours so due to that the machine is actually located outside the building, just along the right side wall. You will pass by it if you are heading towards the Stingray Lagoon.

Here you will find a pressed penny machine which is not new, but just relocated. This machine used to be under the Stingray Lagoon canopy. Today however we are focusing on the new medallion machine.

Above is a close up of the cabinet. The wrap is nicely detailed with some sea creatures. Now something that actually took me by surprise was the new cost for these coins. If you are buying just one design it’s still $5 each just like the other machines we have found at nearby theme parks. The full set cost however is $18. Still a bit of a discount when you buy the full set. I’m crossing my fingers Disney and Universal don’t find out about this increased cost.

The designs on this set of medallions include a Great White Shark, Bottlenose Dolphins, Orca Whales a some King Penguins. They did include their common names, but also their more scientific names which I’m not even going to try and pronounce.

The reverse side of coin has the same design for all and is the SeaWorld logo, but interestingly lists all their domestic park locations Orlando, San Antonio and San Diego. Guess this means these coin designs may be showing up in those other locations.

I do enjoy collecting these medallions, however that $18 price tag for the full set is really starting to reach what I feel they are worth. If the costs go much higher I think I’ll be leaving these behind and sticking to the slightly more reasonable pressed pennies. Now if only we can convince SeaWorld to give us some new penny designs we’d be all set. Keep on Pressing!

---

** Disclaimer this post is for the 100th Anniversary Medallions available at Walt Disney World in Florida. If you are interested in the Disneyland (California) Medallions those can be found at this separate post. I’m going to do my best to keep everything separate and as organized as possible. Please just make sure you are looking at the correct post to avoid any confusion when using these as resources for your collection.

** Updated 04/14/2023: The last two medallion machines have been placed and based on information from Cast Members all Medallion Designs for the 100th Anniversary are now available totaling 69 medallions. Check out details below on each of the locations and coin designs. Good luck collectors!

Here is a Printable / Downloadable Checklist for all the 100th Anniversary Medallions. Feel free to share and repost for other collectors that may find it useful. Happy Collecting!

---

Above is the reverse design that will be on all of the 100th Anniversary Medallions. These do specify Walt Disney World along with the 100 Years of Wonder celebration logo.

Magic Kingdom

Hall of Champions

Inside the Hall of Champions store which is the back part of the Emporium closed to Casey’s Corner, the medallion machine here has new coin designs of Mickey & Minnie, Donald & Daisy, Goofy & Pluto, and Chip & Dale.

Plaza del Sol (Pirates of the Caribbean Store)

Inside the Plaza del Sol aka Pirates of the Caribbean Gift Shop there is a medallion machine here with four designs available, but only one has been changed for the 100th Anniversary with a design of Jack Skellington.

Magic Kingdom – Adventureland Breezeway (Restrooms near Swiss Family Treehouse)

** Special Thank you to Ashley for confirming this machine at the Breezeway has finally arrived

This next machine is in a bit of a unique location although you can see in the photo above there is a penny press here as well. We are calling this location the Adventureland Breezeway that connects to Liberty Square. This is also where you can find the restrooms just across from the Swiss Family Treehouse. Medallions in this machine have designs of Captain Hook, Lady & the Tramp, Jasmine & Abu, and Madame Leota from The Haunted Mansion.

Epcot

Disney Traders

In the area where you leave Future World (soon to be World Celebration) and enter the World Showcase there are two almost identical gift shops. First we will visit Disney Traders has a new set of collectible medallions featuring designs of Merida, Anna Elsa & Olaf, Chef Remi, and Nemo & Dory.

Port of Entry

On the opposite side if you were heading towards the Canada pavilion is the second store called Port of Entry. The medallion machine in this location has new 100th Anniversary designs with images of Figment, Indiana Jones, BB-8 and Rocket & Groot.

Hollywood Studios

Celebrity 5 & 10

Over at Hollywood Studios as you walk up Hollywood Boulevard towards the Chinese Theater you will pass by a store on the right side called Celebrity 5 & 10. There you will find the medallion machine with new coins featuring Buzz Lightyear, Cruela de Vil, Belle, and Mike & Sully.

Tower Hotel Gift Shop

Next head down Sunset Boulevard towards the Tower of Terror attraction. Don’t worry you don’t need to ride the attraction if you don’t want to. Continue past where the line starts into a courtyard and there will be an entrance/exit to the Tower Hotel Gift shop. Go all the way through the gift shop towards where the ride exits and you will find the machine along one of the walls. The 100th anniversary medallions available here are of Maleficent, Lumiere & Cogsworth, Kermit the Frog, and R2-D2.

Animal Kingdom

Ziwani Traders

At the Animal Kingdom theme park you will need to head back into the Harambe section and find the store called Ziwani Traders, it’s kind of in-between Tusker House and the Kilamanjaro Safari entrance. Outside the store is the medallion machine with new 100th Anniversary medallions with designs of Bambi & Thumper, Mowgli & Baloo, Simba Timon & Pumbaa, and Doug Carl & Russell.

Disney Springs

Pin Trader Store

The Pin Trader store is located in the general area of Rainforest Cafe, Earl of Sandwich and the Carousel. Inside there are quite a few penny machines, but only one Medallion machine that is pretty easy to spot as you walk around the store. The medallion designs available here include Pooh & Piglet, Woody, Black Panther and Grogu (Baby Yoda).

World of Disney Store – Machine #1

When visiting the World of Disney store if you enter through the center set of doors that would be closest to the Waterside Stage the machine is just inside along one of the walls. The medallions available in this machine feature Cinderella, Rapunzel, Dumbo & Timothy, Joy Sadness & Bing Bong.

World of Disney Store – Machine #2

** Special Thank you to Ashley for confirming this second machine has finally arrived and supplying the photos

Located in the middle sections of the store in-between rooms with the T-shirts / Home decor and the Hats / Headbands is the second medallion machine. Here you can collect medallions with Marvel themed designs including The Hulk, Captain America, Thor and Iron Man.

Resorts

All-Star Music Resort

The All-Star Music resort has received some new collectible medallions. The machine is located in the main lobby building just outside the Note’Able Games Arcade. The new coins available here are of Bo Peep, Miguel & Dante, Lightning McQueen & Mater, and Joe Gardner playing the piano with Soul Cat.

All-Star Movies Resort

All-Star Movies resort is next on our trip and the medallion machine is located in the World Premier Food Court. The new 100th Anniversary designs available here include Aurora, Mulan, Vanellope von Schweetz, and Baymax.

All-Star Sports Resort

Make sure you don’t forget to stop at the All-Star Sports Resort as well. The new medallion designs are available in the machine found just outside the Game Point Arcade in the main lobby building. The coin designs here include images of the Mad Hatter & Cheshire Cat, Raya, Mr Incredible Elastigirl & Frozone, and Edna Mode.

Contemporary Resort

Time for a relaxing trip around the Monorail loop, and our first stop will be at the Contemporary Resort. The medallion machine can be found on the 4th floor concourse just outside the arcade. This machine has coin designs featuring Peter Wendy & Tinker Bell, Snow White, Pinocchio & Jimmy Cricket, Maribel Luisa & Bruno.

Polynesian Village Resort

A few stops away on the Monorail and we find ourselves inside probably one of the most popular Disney Resorts the Polynesian Village Resort. The medallion machine is inside the main ceremonial house (lobby) up on the second floor outside the Moana Mercantile store. The new coin designs for the 100th Anniversary having images of the Orange Bird, Ariel & Founder, Moana & Maui, and Stitch.

Grand Floridian Resort & Spa

Our last Monorail stop is at the gorgeous Grand Floridian Resort and Spa. As you exit the monorail station, or if you enter the lobby from the main floor just head upstairs and outside the doors leading to the Monorail platform is the medallion machine. Here can collect a set of the new 100th Anniversary coins with images of Tiana, Mary Poppins, Wall-E, and Alice with the White Rabbit.

Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground

This location can be a bit difficult to access if you aren’t staying at the campsites or cabins. There are methods to get here either by Boat from the Magic Kingdom, or a Disney Bus from Disney Springs or one of the parks. Once there you will then need to either walk which can be quite a distance, or take the internal Orange Bus that will take you to the Meadows Trading Post. Just inside the doors you will find the medallion machine that has coins with images of Sid & Scrat (Ice Age), Judy Hopps & Nick Wilde, Red Panda Mei, and Pocahantas.

Medallion Collection Book

Just recently we got our first piece of evidence that this rumor of new coins may be on the way. Over at EPCOT (and I’m sure the other parks) I found the above eye catching 100th Anniversary Souvenir Medallion Collection Book. It seems strange to release this if special coins are on the way don’t you think?

The beautiful reflective cover wrapped all the way around. This book costs $24.99 but if you are an annual pass holder, or DVC member you can use your discount on it.

Inside there are 10 plastic pages, each will hold up to 8 medallions for a grand total of 80 coins. The other interesting thing about these booklets is I have received reports of similar versions in Disneyland California and even Hong Kong Disneyland. So there may be lots of new collectible coins on the way.

Another year and another FUN (Florida United Numismatists) Coin Show is upon us. I will admit it seems to sneak up on me every year, but this year I was experimenting with something at the show that I’ll explain a little later and will go into more details in a future post. For now let’s head on over to the Orange County Convention Center.

This show happens twice a year, first in January for the Winter version and again in July for the Summer edition. Both shows are completely free to the general public, and all you need to get in is to fill out a name tab and grab a free gift bag.

Next we headed through the coin show archway and down the escalator to the bourse floor where security will make sure you have that name tag on.

The winter edition of the FUN show is huge and even just casually walking up and down each aisle can take a few hours. Then if you see something that grabs your attention you will be here much longer. I’ve always found everyone here to be very friendly and always looking to help answer questions. I’ve mentioned in the past that other than elongated coin collecting I’m not very knowledgeable about other forms of Numismatics but when something catches my eye I’m always interested in asking for more details. You never know when you may start up a new collection.

The total number of vendors and club booths is almost unbelievable, and I could spend days writing about each of them. However the one area that I do find I spend a lot of my time during this show is among the Educational Exhibits. Here you can find various categories of Numismatics and club members have created some amazingly detailed exhibits showing off portions of their collection along with details information about the subject.

These exhibits are judged and can be awarded prizes for their own category and then also for best in show. But from what I’ve been told by many collectors it’s not really about winning, more just about being able to share their collection with visitors.

Of course I always flock to the exhibits with elongated coins on display. There is currently no elongated coin category, so most are placed in one of the other more general categories. As you can see these are fantastic and you just never know what coins you may see on display.

At the beginning of this post I mentioned that I was experimenting with something at this years show and above is what I was talking about. A few months ago I decided to enter an exhibit in the show and worked on it for quite awhile until I was happy with how it came together. I will be writing a separate post in the future going over the entire process. It was a lot of fun to work on, and my family helped quite a bit. We didn’t win our category but that’s okay, as other collectors mentioned I just had a great time putting it together and was happy to show these very special coins from my collection.

Another staple of the Winter FUN show is that our friends at TEC (The Elongated Collectors) have a table and it’s always wonderful to catch up with friends like Cindy who I look forward to seeing each year. I was happy to meet Trish as well who was helping at the table this year, and Les has been a collecting friend for quite awhile and we have communicated through Facebook over the years. He’s been wonderful with sharing tips on new machines at both Disney and Universal and I really enjoyed finally being able to chat with him in person.

The TEC table always has some classic items on display, and plenty of elongated coins for sale.

I could spend hours just grabbing a chair and going through these bins filled with all sorts of wonderful treasures. If you are an elongated collector this is a great place to find some very unique coins for your collection at a great price.

As always TEC offers a free elongated coin that was designed specifically for the FUN show. These change each year and I always make sure to ask for a special copper version for my collection. This year Cindy also was giving away a new design she had created.

The booth also does have a coin press machine loaded with the special FUN Show design and is available to anyone that wants to press their pocket change or a special coin instead of the pennies on the table. Les was so wonderful to help my daughter press her copper penny.

Here is a closer look at the FUN 2023 elongated coin design. This years show theme was Exploring Space and Cindy created this really great design which seemed very popular to visitors at the show.

Next is the additional coin that Cindy had created with a great phrase on it “In a World where you can be anything Be Kind”. I love it and was able to get a few extras to hand out along my travels just because I think this is such a great sentiment.

We were able to get one additional coin from the show which is available for all first time visitors. I have been to many of these shows in the past, but for my youngest daughter it was her first time and the hosts checking us in were excited to give her one. So I just borrowed it for the picture and she now has it security stored in her room with all her other collectibles.

The FUN show is an event I truly look forward to each and every year since I found out about it. The summer version is not quite a large and TEC isn’t able to have a table due to the a conflict with scheduling for the larger ANA World’s Fair of Money held around the same time in a different part of the country. If you are ever in the area when this show is taking place I would highly encourage you to go check it out. Here is a link to the FUN Coin Club website where you can get information about membership and future shows. In past years they have hosted this event in different locations around Florida, but the last few years and it seems the next few future events are all in Orlando at the Orange County Convention Center. Keep on Pressing!

---

For avid Disney Theme Park fans Rope dropping is a common term. This is basically when guests arrive prior to the parks opening and cast members would have a rope pulled across the entryway keeping the easy birds at bay. Then when the opening time arrives they would remove or “drop the rope” allowing guests inside. This is a technique many guests have used over the years in an attempt to get on the highly sought after attractions before the long lines can form.

In years past his was done outside the parks and here in Florida at the Magic Kingdom there was even a special ceremony to kick things off for the day. Guests out in Disneyland however had something a little simpler but seemed to be much more memorable. We fans grab onto strange Disney phrases like the monorail safety in instructions in Spanish, you know the one “!Por favor manténgase alejado de las puertas”, or just before heading out on Big Thunder Mountain “Best Remove ’em”, and there are just so many more. Disneyland’s rope drop opening announcement was a true classic “Ladies and Gentlemen, Boy and Girls whether this is your first time visiting us or your one hundredth, we welcome you to our family of more than 500 million guests. And now for your safety and the safety of those around you we ask that you walk slowly and carefully to your first destination. Have a great day!”

To commemorate this memorable announcement designer and fellow collector Don Cade has created the above elongated coin. It features a unique version of Sleeping Beauty Castle surrounded by the words Ladies & Gentlemen Boys & Girls all within a classic dotted border.

A version of this coin was commissioned by our friend and fellow collector Jim McNally for his website, and it has an exclusive backstamp advertising Jim’s online elongated coin shop that I have linked here zzzcoins.com. I have used Jim’s website numerous times in the past and it’s a fantastic place to fill in some gaps of your Walt Disney World collection, as well as sets from all over the country. Currently you can receive a free copy of this design on a pressed copper us cent with any order placed through his website. Additional copies of the penny, as well as a few full denomination sets that include a penny, nickel, dime and quarter are available for purchase but in very limited quantity.

As always Don had done a fantastic job enshrining some classic Disney history in the form of an elongated coin, and a special thank you to Jim for making this design available through his website. I always look forward to seeing what they come out with next, and you can be sure I’ll be showing them off here in future posts.

Have a fantastic rest of your day, and as always Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls … Keep on Pressing!

---