Fort Myers Beach Florida

December 12, 2024December 12, 2024 / davidscointravels / 1 Comment

I’m a bit embarrassed to admit this, but I just recently was going through some old posts about pressed pennies I had acquired during some vacations and realized that some were missing. A few years ago my family took a week vacation to the Fort Myers area of Florida, and apparently I completely forgot to write about it. We visited a few different places during that trip, and I pressed quite a few pennies so I’m going to try and catch up on those coins.

On our first day after traveling to the Fort Myers area, my kids were anxious for a beach day. We got up early had a nice breakfast and then headed to the beach to setup for the day.

Thankfully we had a beautiful day to enjoy the beach. It’s a long sprawling area which was nice and we didn’t feel like we were right on top of other visitors. Eventually as we always encounter in Florida during the summer is the daily rain shower. We took that as a good opportunity to pack up our things and head back to the hotel after a nice long visit to the beach.

While my family was relaxing in the hotel, I decided to head out and try to track down a couple nearby penny machines. I always love these beach town areas, the color of the buildings is fun and bright, and thankfully during this trip there wasn’t a lot of traffic. Coming from New Jersey, parking is always an issue at the shores.

The first penny press I tracked down was located on the front porch of a store called The Cigar Hut. The machine was even placed right on the edge of the porch so I was able to access it from the sidewalk and not disturb any shoppers heading inside.

The machine had a cute cabinet with some images of the nearby beach and shopping areas. However this style of machine has never been my favorite. I find they usually don’t roll very well and it’s difficult to know if you have selected the correct design. Plus with this machine being outside and dealing with the nearby beach salty air they take quite a beating and could definitely use some oil inside to help those gears work a bit more smoothly.

Once I had finished pressing the set I was actually pretty impressed with the final results. Only one design rolled got cut off a bit on the left side. The others came out complete for the most part.

Back near the beach there was this fun little area with plenty of souvenir shots and places to grab some food. It reminded me a lot of the boardwalks back in Jersey. During my research of pressed penny machines prior to this trip I didn’t read about any in this area, but it just seemed like a place that would have one. I wondered around and went into many different stores however came up short with no unlisted penny machines.

There was still one more machine that I knew should be available somewhere. The only issue was that the address wasn’t really a physical address just more of a guideline.

The location of the machine was right on the side of the sidewalk near the entrance to a parking lot. Thankfully it was just a few streets over from where I had originally parked. The machine definitely had an interesting looking cabinet design. I’m not sure if it’s supposed to be a pirate themed machine, or just using a white barrel because of the nearby bars. In any case I think it was a unique design that had seen better days.

This machine also could have used a good dose of oil or lubricants to get it back into a more functional state. It was able to press a full set of the designs but that one with FMB (Ft. Myers Beach) I tried a few times and the one pictured above was the best I could get.

With my two new sets of pennies packed away in my pocket I headed back to our hotel for a little down time. Those beach days with all the sun, and salt water definitely take its toll and I was ready for a nap. Stay tuned for more adventures and plenty more elongated coins from our trip to Fort Myers Florida.

Keep on Pressing!

Kennedy Space Center | Cape Canaveral FL

December 5, 2024December 4, 2024 / davidscointravels / Leave a comment

I cannot believe that I somehow completely forgot to write about a visit to Kennedy Space Center that my daughter and I took quite a few years ago at this point. There were quite a few penny machines, it made for a really fun and educational visit. Below I’m going to recount trip but wanted to preface it with a note on the penny machines. The photos are going to show that the machine cost was at that point $0.50 plus my own penny to press. I have been informed that all of these machines more recently have been converted to the new $1.00 price point and the machines now supply the penny. The designs have not changed and if I ever do get an opportunity to visit again I’ll make sure to update the machine photos.

Located in Cape Canaveral Florida it took us about an hour and half drive from the Orlando area to arrive. It is kind of surreal just to think of all the history that has taken place on this very property.

As soon as you can your ticket and enter you are immediately drawn to the rocket garden, with its various rockets all standing tall like skyscrapers in a city. The closer you get to them, the reality of just how big they are is almost overwhelming.

There are so many different things to see and do here. My daughter enjoyed a space themed playground, there is a movie theater, space simulators, hall of fame, memorials and much more. We eventually found ourselves heading into the World’s Largest Space Shop.

There was definitely a lot of items inside this shop including quite a few penny machines. Near on of the entrance/exit doors we found the first few machines.

The machines were all pretty standard CTM (Pennymen) models. They were well maintained and I didn’t run into any issues pressing my pennies. The designs available were also fantastic with images of all different space themes both historical and more current.

I especially enjoyed the Space Shuttle designs. I think it may just be that the shuttle was the primary space craft used during my youth and I remember seeing and hearing about it on the news during that time. It’s such and iconic creation, and soon I’d be up close and person with one of them.

There were three penny machines on the first floor of the gift shop but I also found a collectible medallion machine near one of the checkout areas.

The coin designs had some great images on them, and I thought the above design on the reverse side of each coin was a nice though with the Kennedy Space Center logo and established date.

We headed up to the second floor to see what they had and ran into a few more penny machines.

These two machines were kind of tucked away in a back corner away from much of the other merchandise. If you head towards the elevator you will have no issue finding them.

This was the final penny machine inside the souvenir shop making for a total of five machines, 20 penny designs and also that medallion machine. Quite a nice collection for just one stop, and we still had a huge part of the property left to explore.

We headed back outside and wondered around just taking everything in, but we were eventually drawn towards the large orange boosters standing tall in from of the Space Shuttle Atlantis building. This is (other than the pennies) the reason I wanted to visit.

After we entered in the building, we walked up along some long ramps and then were guided into a dark theater. There were no seats, we just stood there as the show began. We watched a video about the Shuttle program and Atlantis specifically. Then as the video faded, the wall behind seemed to fade away and we were given an incredible view of the actual Space Shuttle Atlantis. The effect of this transition was simply incredible and even now I’m kind of at a lost for words to how to properly explain it.

The shuttle was just gorgeous, such an incredible piece of history and engineering. I loved seeing the Canada Arm extended in the back cargo bay area. There were burn marks and other signs of its trips through space and reentry into our atmosphere. I was truly in awe.

If you remember when we first entered the Atlantis building we had walked up quite a few ramps. So after seeing the shuttle we worked our way through the exhibits down to the first floor that was filled with quite a few interactive activities. Near another flight simulator I found another pressed penny machine.

Before we left the building we had to exit out through the Shuttle Express Gift shop.

Inside we were able to fine a couple more pressed penny machine. This set of pennies was one of my favorites with all the Shuttle themed designs.

On the opposite side of the gift shop we the second machine with a nice NASA logo design, and I thought the penni with the Saturn V Rocket was fantastic.

Inside this gift shop I also came across a penny booklet for Kennedy Space Center, and it even included a special pressed penny in the cover.

Our day was quickly coming to an end, but there was still one place I wanted to try and visit before we had to leave. That was the Apollo/Saturn V Center. It’s on property, however you can’t walk there and need to get into a special line to board a tour bus that will transport you over to the separate building. Along the way the driver will give you some information about the buildings and even wildlife along the route. One of the most impressive was the humongous Vehicle Assembly Building and if you are lucky you may even get to see the flat crawler vehicles that move the rockets to the launch pad.

At the Apollo / Saturn V Center you begin by watching a little video about both programs, then you enter into a viewing area of command central where they simulate a rocket launch. After that you exit out into a long room with an actual Saturn V rocket suspended from the ceiling. Being able to walk underneath each section of the rocket shows exactly how large they are. It was simply incredible.

As we have come to expect there was another gift shop called the Right Stuff we had to cut through in order to leave.

We had found the last two pressed penny machines just outside of the gift shop. The first machine had a design of the Apollo program patch, the Apollo 11 lunar module, and a Saturn 5 rocket.

The last penny machine was right next to the previous one. I didn’t notice at the time, but once I got home I thought I had pressed one of the machines twice as I had two of the exact same designs. As it turns out this last machine had the exact same designs as the very first machine we used inside the World’s Largest Space Shop.

With my pockets weight down by pressed pennies we had finished our visit to Kennedy Space Center. It was truly an unforgettable experience and I look forward to being able to visit again some time soon in the future. There was quite a bit we didn’t get to experience but what we did see will be a fond memory for a long time. Keep on Pressing!

Happy Thanksgiving 2024

November 28, 2024November 25, 2025 / davidscointravels / 1 Comment

Another year is quickly coming to a close. The holiday season is upon us and it won’t be long before we are entering into a brand new Year. Today we take some time to give Thanks for our friends, family and of course our elongated coin collecting community. I’ve been sharing my journeys for quite a few years now and I’m always humbled by the number of people that reach out to tell me about their collections, or even asking for help with coins they are tracking down. The messages have come from all over the globe and it’s amazing to think how far we can be, but still so close. Thank you to everyone that visits with me each week and I will continue to do my best sharing stories, tips and especially privately designed coins with all of you.

Today I wanted to share a brand new elongated coin from designer Alex Mruk. We have featured quite a few of his other designs here in previous posts including his Paris Olympics 2024 coin set. He always has wonderful design ideas and the details he includes are second to none.

Have a safe and Happy Thanksgiving.

Typhoon Lagoon NEW Pressed Pennies and Medallions

November 21, 2024November 20, 2024 / davidscointravels / 1 Comment

Living in Florida we have learned quite a few different methods to keep cool during the extremely hot summer months. Probably the most used is just is just staying inside to enjoy our much beloved air conditioning. Our community has a pool, or if we really want to splurge we can visit quite a few different water parks around Orlando. Our favorite has quickly become Discovery Cove but it’s a bit more on the expensive side so we save that one for special occasion. Then we have the Disney water parks that honestly we haven’t visited in quite some time and not too long ago decided we needed to fix that and headed over to Typhoon Lagoon.

Disney has two water parks however after the pandemic they have gone onto a rotating schedule where only one of them is open at a time. Usually for 5-6 months, then it will close and the other opens. For now Blizzard Beach is closed and most likely going through some annual maintenance.

Both of the parks are great and have plenty of water slides, a huge wave pool, sandy beaches, a lazy river and many other things going on to keep your entire family busy. One unique difference here at Typhoon Lagoon is in the wave pool. About every 2 minutes you hear this loud whoosh sound, followed by a huge typhoon like wave that has all the guests in the pool screaming as it nears. It can be a bit chaotic as people are deciding to either try and hop up over it, or dive down underneath it. Then it settles down, and everyone braces for the next one. It’s a lot of fun but can get very exhausting after awhile .

In case you forgot anything important for you visit to the water park, like a bathing suit or maybe just some sun screen you can visit Singapore Sal’s Souvenirs. Of course if you came fully prepared you may still want to venture inside here to check out what goodies you can take home to remember you visit.

In a previous post quite a few years ago now which you can check out here we were able to press a set of pennies. Those designs stuck around for years but have now just recently been changed. The machine is inside the souvenir store near the desk where you can rent towels.

There are three designs available in this set and include images of Mickey and Minnie Surfing, Stitch with Sunglasses and a Surfboard, and Donald riding the Crush ‘n’ Gusher water coaster attraction. These designs have a lot of really nice detail to them. I’ve noticed this more and more recently at Disney with their newer designs and I’m enjoying the look of this new style. Hopefully they continue with it.

On the opposite side of the store near the t-shirts (although locations can always change) they have also added a Collectible Medallion machine. The cabinet is a simple wood grain design that has the appearance of being kind of weather worn, like it was left outside in the elements or washed up on shore. That’s a nice simple touch that I appreciate.

The medallion designs in this set include images of Olaf Chillin’ in the Summertime, the Crush ‘n’ Gusher logo, the Typhoon Lilly icon ship of the park, and Goofy having a bit of trouble carrying all his beach equipment.

The reverse side of all the coins has the same image of Mickey relaxing in a sweet hammock, tied to a palm tree, along the water and a beautiful sun shining in the back. This design is wild and just so detailed there’s a lot to look at here. I’m a little curious about this including both the Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach logos. Does this mean we are getting more medallions at Blizzard Beach? Maybe also some new pennies. I believe Blizzard Beach isn’t scheduled to open for a another couple months so that gives me plenty of time to plan out a visit there later in the year to track now any new coins.

Keep on Pressing!

Tiana’s Bayou 2nd NEW Pressed Penny Machine

November 14, 2024November 13, 2024 / davidscointravels / Leave a comment

Every so often Disney surprises us with a new pressed penny machine. Shortly after the new Tiana’s Bayou Adventure ride opened they released a new medallion machine, then an 8-design pressed penny machine which I wrote about here. Honestly I figured that was it and we would be on the look out for new designs elsewhere in the park. But that was not the case.

I saw a post in a Disney coin Facebook group I’m a part of, about a new 4-design penny machine being released. So I headed back into the park for another ride on the Bayou and then did some investigating to find this new machine.

I did eventually find it, but what is kind of strange is that it’s been placed in the courtyard behind the attraction near some restrooms when you exit the ride. If you read the previous post about the 8-design machine it was originally located in this spot. They have removed that machine and placed it instead in the gift shop, and in it’s place out here in the courtyard is the new machine.

This version is a 4-design manual machine. It does accept cash and costs $1 per design, with the machine suppling the penny to press. Or you can pay $4 for the entire set. If you use either a debit/credit card for digital payment like ApplePay or Google Wallet you will be charged the full $4 amount and automatically get the entire set of four designs.

I was really impressed with these new penny designs. They are really detailed and just look incredible. I hope this is a sign of things to come and maybe we will see more intricate designs moving forward in other areas of the park.

When you visit the Bayou be sure to check out all three souvenir machines, one medallion machine and two pressed penny machines. Plenty of new coins for your collection! Keep on Pressing.

Top Voted Privately Designed Coin 2024

November 7, 2024November 6, 2024 / davidscointravels / 1 Comment

Privately designed elongated coins are an amazing little niche of our hobby that I have really enjoyed exploring over the last few years. To celebrate these designs and their creators we have produced our own elongated coin to give out to a few designers each year and I need your help choosing. Below are closeups of each design, the designers name and a couple links for more details on the coins that are currently available to vote for. Then you can go to this link and vote for up to three of your favorite designs.

The voting will continue through the end of this year, and conclude on December 31st, 2024. At that time the votes will be tallied and the top few designs will receive our new elongated coin as a gift. Please feel free to share this post and the voting link with your friends, family and any other collectors you know so we can help celebrate these amazing privately designed coins.

Aloha Mickey – Designer: Michael Mochizuki

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