World of Disney Decades Set – Disneyland, CA

It’s that time again!

Disneyland has put the latest set of 60th Anniversary designs at the World of Disney gift shop in Downtown Disney.  This is the fourth three coin set in the “Decades” series.  The machine is located by the center set of doors.

DL - 60th DTD 05

This set is celebrating 60 years of Holiday Magic.  The designs include: a Snowy Castle, Frozen’s Olaf, and a Toy Soldier.  All three coins have the “Est. July 17, 1955 60D” backstamp just like all the other coins in this special collection.

With the rumors that a total of 60 coins would be issued for this special Diamond Celebration we are only a few sets away from the complete set.  As I collect the remaining designs I’ll keep you posted.

Disney California Adventure Holiday Nickels 2015

As a special after Christmas gift I received a small envelope in the mail today and was surprised to find the second set of Holiday nickels from California.  These pressed coins became available just a short while ago in the Disney California Adventure park, and the machine can be found in the Los Feliz Five & Dime on Buena Vista Street.

DCA - Holiday Nickels 2015

The designs on these nickels include Mickey wishing everyone a Happy Holiday’s 2015, Minnie saying Season’s Greetings, and Mickey with a top happy New Years 2016.

This should complete the holiday nickel sets for this year, unless Disney decides to surprise us with another machine which is potentially possible.  But if the last few years are any indication this should be it, just one machine (3 designs) for each of the California parks.

Now I just have the painstaking task of waiting another 365 days before I can try to get next years coins.  But I’m sure I’ll find a lot of other coins between now and then which should keep me busy.  Happy Holidays!!

Disneyland 60th Diamond Celebration – New World of Disney Pennies

For the last week or so there have been some mumbling online about the next new set of 60th Diamond Celebration Pennies.  I am glad to say the machine was finally placed in Downtown Disney at the World of Disney Gift Shop.  I’m being told that the machine is located by then center set of doors.

These new pennies are the latest addition to the Decades sets that have been previously on stage.  The designs represent the decade of 1965 – 1974 and really have some great detail.

IMG_7232

Each design does include the numbers 65 and 74 representing the above mentioned decade.  The images on each coin are as follows: The Inner Space Atom Logo, The Country Bear Jamboree, and the three famous Haunted House Hitchhiking ghosts Phones, Ezra and Gus.

As I’ve mentioned in the past there is supposed to be a total of 60 new coins for the Diamond Celebration.  With this new set we are slowly getting closer to the entire collection, but we still have a few more to go.  I’ll be sure to keep posting as the new coins become available.

Anna & Elsa Boutique – Downtown Disney California

While I have been trying to keep all the new 60th Celebration designs organized and up to date Disney released another new machine.  But this machine isn’t part of the 60th Celebration.  Instead it’s part of a new store in Downtown Disney called Anna & Elsa’s Boutique and as you can probably guess is all about the movie Frozen.

Anna Elsa Boutique

This place is supposed to be a Frozen fans wonderland, with everything you could image from the movie.  They also have a Frozen makeover similar to the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique makeovers already available.  As much as I love the Frozen movie I was honestly more interested in the new penny machine that was made available here.

DTD - Anna & Elsa Boutique

There are 3 designs: Elsa, Olaf, and Anna & Elsa surrounded by snowflakes.  I’m amazed at how they keep coming up with new Frozen themed penny designs, but I’m sure there are plenty more to come.  So if you’re in the Anaheim area and in need of a Frozen fix be sure to check out this new Boutique and don’t forget to press some pennies on the way out.

Disneyland 60th Diamond Celebration – New Downtown Disney Coins

I received word that a new set of pressed pennies went on stage as part of the special 60th Diamond Celebration going on at Disneyland in California.  The new designs are located in Downtown Disney at the World of Disney store.  These replace the previous designs that celebrated the “Opening Day” decades set which I have pictures below.

DTD - World of Disney Store 02 Pennies

The now retired designs included:  Opening Day Castle & Attractions, Opening Day Walt Disney, and Opening Day Tinker Bell & Dumbo.

DTD - World of Disney #3

Pictures above are the 3 new designs: 1955-64 Mermaid & Pirate Ship, 1955-64 Tiki Room & Skull, and 1955-64 Matterhorn & Rocket Ship.

It appears that the remaining limited 60th Celebration Designs are starting to show up but there isn’t any specific schedule I can find.  However if the trend continues with this latest set the new designs may be replacing the initially released designs.  So if you haven’t already I would recommend stopping by the parks and pressing them before they are gone.

Penny Machines on TV

Over the weekend after spending the day collecting pressed coins I decided to indulge in another guilty pleasure of mine.  There was a movie on SyFy Network a few years ago that started it all, Sharknado.  When I originally heard the title I immediately laughed out loud but than had to check out the promo trailer.  It looked incredibly stupid and yet intriguing all at the same time.  I watch the original and I just can’t explain my draw to the movie other than saying it was so dumb it was good.  I apparently wasn’t the only one as they had such a following of the first that last year (2014) they came out with a sequel that was equally as bad but still entertaining.  Well the SyFy network has done it again and just last week came out with the third installment.  Now before you go running for the hills thinking this is a review of a terrible movie I promise that isn’t the point of this post.

Sharknado 3

Each movie takes place in a different part of the United States.  First was Los Angeles, then New York and this time it started in Washington, DC but ended up in Florida and more specific in Universal Studios Orlando.

During one scene when the Sharknado is raining down all manner of sharks on the innocent tourists visiting the park something immediately caught my eye.  This must be from all the training I have whenever we are out on vacation or visiting any new attraction.  I noticed in the background there was a penny machine.

Sharknado 3 Penny Machine

I was able to grab a screen shot and as you can see above it was right in the middle of the shot.  After seeing this I quickly headed online and checked out my personal collection as I was almost positive I had visited that exact machine.  Sure enough I found a picture of the machine I took when visiting Universal Studios 2011.

US - Midway near Jaws Exit 2011

Back when I had visited the Jaws ride was still there but has recently been removed to make room for more Harry Potter attractions, but apparently this machine is still available for use.

US Jaws 01

The designs are still the same and include: Amity Island, Bruce (Jaws), Spider-Man and X-Men.  After finishing the movie I started thinking back to some other shows I had seen in the past where a penny machine made an appearance.  My wife always laughs when we would watch these shows and I would immediately pause the screen and point out the machine.  She was just amazed at how I can pick these out at a moments noticed.  What can I say it’s a gift.

It took a little time on my end but I was able to come up with two other instances.  First was from a show on the Travel Channel called Food Paradise.  They basically pick a type of food (Steaks, Burgers, Pizza, etc) and visit places all across the country that supposedly have either the best or most unusual take on that food.  One episode I saw was titled Deep Fried Paradise 2 Extra Crispy.  In it they visit Old Town in San Diego California where there is a restaurant called Cafe Coyote that services up Deep Fried Ice Cream.  They interview numerous customers and then have a shot of a mariachi band playing right beside a penny machine.

Deep Fried Paradise 2 Extra Crispy Cafe Coyote 2010

Strangely enough I had also visited this location during a trip to California back in 2008.  Unfortunately at that time I didn’t know this place had such great Deep Fried Ice Cream so we didn’t stop to eat here but I knew about the penny machine and made a special stop to collect the coin.

Cafe Coyote 01

There is only one design available and as you can see from the picture above it was pressing a little short.  The design is of Old Town itself and lists Cabrillo 1542.

I knew of one other machine I had seen on TV and it was in the newer version of Hawaii Five-O that premiered in 2010.  I stopped watching the show after the first couple season, but I remembered in Season 1 Episode 1 Steve McGarrett returns home to Oahu and is greeted by Chin Ho Kelly.  As they reminisce about their past they walk right by a young boy using a penny machine.

Hawaii Five-O S01e01

This one took me a little time to research online.  Since I have not had the pleasure of visiting Hawaii yet I have not used this machine and didn’t recognize where it was located.  Eventually I found on the pennycollector.com website that this machine appears to be at the U.S.S. Missouri Memorial.

USS Missouri Memorial

There are 4 designs available: USS Missouri, Kamikaze Apr 11 1945, Pear Harbor, and USS Missouri BB-63 Pear Harbor Hawaii.

I must say I was pretty impressed with my memory on some of these.  It took some time to go back and find the shows but was really cool to see the machines on some pretty popular shows.

Remember to keep your eyes open you never know when you’ll find a machine during your travels, or even on TV.

[UPDATE 3/31/2017]
I don’t usually watch the Fox Animated Series Bob’s Burgers on a regular basis, but sometimes it just happens to be on when I’m channel surfing and I’ll check it out.  I’m glad I did on this most recent weekend.  From Season 7 Episode 14 the children are visiting a local aquarium and they briefly mention a penny crusher (press) machine.  Later in the episode you can see the aforementioned penny crusher in the background.

I thought this was a cool little easter egg for us penny collectors and wanted to add it to this post.  I’ll keep updating as I find more penny machines appearing in TV shows.

Disneyland 60th Diamond Celebration Coins

Way back on July 17th, 1955 Disneyland in Anaheim California had its grand opening day celebration.  Who other than Walt Disney himself could have predicted the huge success and amazing accomplishments his vision would have.  Here it is 2015 and the original Disneyland is celebrating its 60th Diamond Celebration.

DL 60th Banner

The park has undergone quite the transformation to help guests celebrate, and enjoy the parks in yet another unique way.  I really wish I could make it for a visit to see everything in person but unfortunately that just wasn’t in the cards this year.  So like a lot of people I have to celebrate from a distance.  However a few months ago some rumors began popping up online about special pressed coins that would be available during the celebration.  As the weeks went on more and more information began to surface and finally it all came true.

An announcement was made that there would be 60 (yes SIXTY) new pressed coins available during the celebration, and would only be around for a limited time.  On May 21st, 2015 the first new designs began appearing in the parks.  Currently as of the  writing of this there are 13 machines each with 3 designs, totaling 39 coins available as part of this special series.  To help guests find where all these new machines are, Disneyland put together a nice handout with the locations and brief design descriptions.

DL 60th Penny Handout

As you can see from the below pictures the handout is nicely designed and really a nice collectible.  I have seen people selling just this pamphlet on eBay for quite a bit of money.

DL 60th Penny Handout Inside 1   DL 60th Penny Handout Inside 2

With all these new coins designs it would be nice to have something to store them in.  Don’t worry Disney has you covered there as well.  They also designed a special 60th Diamond Celebration coin booklet to help keep everything in one place.

DL 60th Booklet Cover

Now let’s get into the new coin designs.  It’s taken quite a bit of work but I was able to obtain all 39 current designs available and will review each below.  First I wanted to explain that each coin does have a special back stamp.

60th Penny Back   60th Quarter Back

Above the design on the left is the back stamp on each of the pennies, and the picture on the right is the back of each quarter.

Let’s start small by checking out the designs available in Downtown Disney.  There are two machines here, both located in the World of Disney store.

DTD - World of Disney Store 01 Pennies

The first machine has designs of Donald, Goofy and Pluto.  Each of the pennies includes the Downtown Disney and D60 Logo.

DTD - World of Disney Store 02 Pennies

The second machine pressed pennies as well with the following images: Opening Day Castle & Attractions, Opening Day Walt Disney, and Opening Day Tinker Bell & Dumbo.

Next lets check out the machines available in Disney’s California Adventure Park.  Currently there are 3 machines available here.  The first was is located at Kingswell Camera Shop.

DCA - Kingswell Camera Shop Pennies

The designs available at this machine are: Carthay Circle, 60D Diamond Celebration, and Red Car Trolley.  Two of these designs include the California Adventure logo (Carthay & Trolley).  The next machine is located by Humphrey’s Service and Supplies.

DCA - Humphrey's Service Pennies

These pennies have the following designs: Celebrate, Soarin’, and Grizzly River Rapids.  The only other machine available right now in California Adventure is at Sideshow Shirts by Paradise Pier.

DCA - Sideshow Shirts Pennies

Some nice designs are on these pennies.  They include: Disneyland Resort Diamond Celebration, Fun Wheel, and California Screamin’.  With this park done lets heads over to Disneyland Park.  As you walk down main street the first quarter machine is available in the Train Station.

DL - MS Train Station Quarters

I always like the pressed designs on Quarters because of the extra-large surface there seems to be more available detail.  These coins had designs of: The Penny Arcade Skyline, Walt’s Apartment, and the Disneyland Railroad.  Just a short walk away the next machine is available in the Main Street Opera House, technically by the exit when you leave the theatre.

DL - MS Opera House Pennies

This machine presses penny designs which include: Critter Country Splash Mountain, Bow Tie Mickey, and Mickey’s Toontown.  Over in Adventureland at the Bazaar is the next available machine.

DL - Adventureland Bazaar Pennies

These pennies have very cool designs of some famous attractions in the park.  Indiana Jones Adventure, The Jungle Cruise, and The Tiki Room.  Over by one of my favorite rides Pirates of the Caribbean another machine is located in the Pieces of Eight Gift Shop.

DL - Pieces of Eight Gift Shop Pennies

Being in the New Orleans square are of the park these designs fit right in:  The Haunted Mansion, New Orleans Square Lamp Post, and a Pirate holding a Sword.  Nearby in Frontierland at the Bonanza Outfitters is the next penny machine.

DL - Bonanza Outfitters Pennies

These pennies have some cute Frontierland themed designs: Cowboy Mickey & Goofy, Sailing Ship Columbia, and the Mark Twain Riverboat.  After taking a ride on Splash Mountain if you head to Pooh’s Corner you can find the next available machine.

DL - Pooh Corner Pennies

My daughter really liked these pennies as Winnie the Pooh is her favorite right now.  The designs include: Piglet & Pooh, Christopher Robin & Owl, and Tigger & Eeyore.  What trip to Disneyland would be complete without stopping by Sleeping Beauty’s Castle.  Inside you can visit the Enchanted Chamber and get the second machine pressing designs on Quarters.

DL - Enchanted Chamber Quarters

This machine seems to be rolling coins a little short.  I received two sets of these coins and both came this way.  I also saw some other sets online that looked the same way but no matter still very nice designs.  It’s a Small World, Sleeping Beauty’s Castle, and Matterhorn Mountain.  Finally over in Tomorrowland is the last machine at this time.  The machine is located in the Star Trader Gift Shop by Space Mountain.

DL - Star Trader Gift Shop Pennies

I like anything monorail related so this set was really nice to have.  The designs include: The Monorail, The People Mover, and The Submarine Voyage.

Phew that was quite a walk through.  Here’s a picture of all the coins together in one shot.

60th First 39 Designs

As I mentioned above there is supposed to be 60 coins available in total and right now only 39 are on-stage.  So we still have 21 designs that should be arriving sometime in the near future.  It may take some time to get each of these sets for your own collection but I can say once you have them it is really a nice set to have.  The cast members in charge of these really out did themselves, and I can’t wait to see what the remaining designs look like.

2015 Disneyland Nickels – Anaheim California

With my family trip to Florida earlier this year I haven’t been paying too much attention to what was getting ready to happen at Disneyland in California.  But now that my trip is over, and all my newly acquired coins have been catalogued and stored for safe keeping I was finally able to start focusing on Disneyland.  Each year for the past few years they have also released special coins designs with the current year listed which I really love.  It makes for a great sub-category collection to try to acquire.  These coins were first put on stage back in April but I only recently was able to get a set from a good friend who lives near Anaheim.

DL - Main Street Opera 2015 Nickels

There are three designs and they are actually pressed on nickels which is pretty unique.  The designs include: Mickey & Minnie sitting together, Mickey & Minnie kissing, and Mickey & Minnie hugging.  All three designs include the 2015 year.

Now as exciting as these new coins are for those of you that are living under a rock 2015 is Disneyland’s 60th anniversary which is their Diamond Celebration.  There are all sorts of great things going on at the park and most exciting for me and other pressed coin collectors is that they announced there would be 60 (yes 60!) specially designs press coins only available for a limited time.  I believe there are different stages of these designs being released and I have already been told that most of the first sets have been acquired for my collection.  Hopefully they should be arriving this week and as soon as I have them I will post all about them.  60 new coins in one year is really cool and I can’t wait to get my hands on them.