So far we had visited quite a few places and made great time.  But it was getting close to lunch time so I decided we would head a half-dozen blocks or so down Arch Street to the Reading Terminal Market.

This place is really cool.  It’s an enclosed indoor public market that has anything you could possibly want.  There is fresh produce, butchers, fresh seafood, spice merchants, florists and artisan cheeses.

For lunch we had a wide range of food counters serving everything from cheese steaks and roast pork sandwiches to Corned Beef and Philly’s famous Bassett’s Ice Cream.

Hanna picked out some chicken strips and french fries and I headed for a cheese steak. I’m Philly and should what the locals have.  With food on our tray we walked towards the back of the market where there are lots of tables and chairs setup for patrons to enjoy their food.  After eating we went to make a pit stop and lucked out in finding the next penny machine was right outside the restrooms.

I will admit this wasn’t a great location for the machine as it was a high traffic area and lots of people were using the machine to lean on but eventually we were able to press out coins.  I always find these types of machines a little hard to use, the handle is kind of low for me and I always need to kneel down to use it.  But with Hanna’s help we managed without any serious injury.

The four designs included: A Pig, The Liberty Bell, William Penn, and the Reading Terminal Market Logo.  A large crowd was starting to form but it wasn’t to use the machine so we packed up our stuff and headed out of the very busy market.  Once outside we headed back to where we had parked as we needed to drive a little more than I was willing to walk at that point to our next destination which I was sure Hanna was really going to be exited about.

A few blocks away from the Bourse Building we made it to Independence National Historical Park.  Just to give you an idea this was a really cool place to just stand and take in the history of where we were.  The first place we could see was Independence Hall.

This is where the United States Declaration of Independence and United States Constitution were debated and adopted.  The building was completed in 1753 and became the central meeting place for the Second Continental Congress from 1775 to 1783.  It was also the site of the Constitutional Convention in 1787.

I debated actually going inside for a tour but the line was long and we did have quite a few other places to visit so with a heavy heart we headed to our next stop.  Across the street from this amazing building was the Independence Visitors Center.

Inside you can book many different tours of the city, there are a few little coffee and snack shops and also a gift shop with all your constitution and independence memorabilia.  We walked about half way through the building and came to the next two penny machines on our trip.

   

Both machines looked almost brand new and cranked out some beautiful designs.  As you can see by the pictures above they also had a change machine located in between the machines for anyone that may need to load up on quarters.

The first machine had four designs that included: Independence Hall, Fightin’ Phils, LOVE, and the Rocky Balboa classic silhouette.

The second machine also had four designs: The Liberty Bell, Washington Crossing, Benjamin Franklin, and the Reading Terminal Market.

After pressing the coins Hanna took a quick picture with Pope Francis before we headed back outside.  Sorry I couldn’t resist, these cut out posters were everywhere after the Pope’s recent trip to Philadelphia.  As you can see Hanna was more interested in her donut than meeting the Pope so it was probably a good thing it was only a poster.

Once we were back outside we had a short walk across the park to the National Constitution Center.  Now I had written about these machines back on the 4th of July as a celebration of our Independence Day and you can read about it here.  However I did want to mention that even though the designs haven’t changed the machines have.

   

The machines are right inside the building near the gift shop.  There is no admission fee so you can use these machines for just the $0.51 per penny.  As you can see the machine cabinets have gone over a very nice update from the old plain marque designs I had seen a few years ago when I first pressed these designs.  Since the designs hadn’t changed I didn’t press a new set to try to conserve my coins for the last few places we still had planned to visit.

After visiting our first two landmarks in Philly, Hanna and I stopped for a quick snack and eventually walked the short distance down Chestnut Street and then up South 5th Street to our next stop The Bourse Building.

For a little history on this building, the Philadelphia Bourse was originally a commodities exchange founded in 1891 and was modeled after the Bourse in Hamburg, Germany.  It stopped functioning as a commodities exchange in the 1960s, but continued to operate as an office building until the late 1970s. It was then sold and remodeled to include retail stores on the floors closer to street level.

On the main floor that you access upon entering from either 4th or 5th Street looks like of like a food court you would find at any shopping mall.  There were some Philly souvenir shops, a cheese steak stand (of course) and some other food counters with plenty of tables and seating towards the middle.  Towards the 4th Street side of the building was a candy store and right outside was the penny machine I had been told was located in the building.

Hanna helped me turn the handle of the machine as we pressed out newest set of pennies.  She really likes these pennymen machines, but I think it’s because of the clicking sound the gears make as you turn the handle.

The four designs pressed nicely and were Philadelphia themed:  The Betsy Ross House, An American Flag, The Liberty Bell and Benjamin Franklin.  As we turned to leave a couple asked is I could help them with the machine.  It ended up they were over visiting from the UK and had seen penny machines around the city but weren’t sure about the correct coins to use.  I helped go through their loose change until we came up with enough quarters and pennies that the were able to press the four designs.  They were very gracious and thanked us for our help.

With a good deed accomplished for the day Hanna and I grabbed a bag of cotton candy from the candy store and made out way back out to the street.  The morning had started out a little chilly but by this time it was starting to warm up nicely and made the walk to our next destination a little easier.

Continuing my day trip with Hanna to some famous landmarks in Philadelphia after leaving the Betsy Ross House we took a nice walk over to the National Liberty Museum.

Unfortunately we were a little pressed for time with so many places we were trying to visit in one afternoon so we didn’t get to spend much time in this museum.  I have visited in the past and it really is a great place to visit.  The museum is located on Chestnut Street and first opened in January 2000.  It is dedicated to preserving American’s heritage of Freedom.

The museum has some famous art work on display and one of the main pieces they have is titled “Flame of Liberty” created by American sculptor Dale Chihuly and is a 20 foot tall glass sculpture.

As I mentioned we didn’t actually go into the museum itself but rather asked the front desk if we could just head back to the gift shop which they were more than happy to allow.  There are lots of pieces of jewelry, glass art and unique gifts available in the gift shop but I’m sure you know what we were there for….pennies.

The penny machine was located in the back of the gift shop just outside the restrooms.  It was a three design Eurolink electric machine and was working perfectly when we used it (Hanna always likes pressing the buttons on these machines).

National Liberty Museum was listed across the top of each design which included: The Liberty Torch, Jelly Bean Children, and the Flame of Liberty sculpture.  I packed the pennies away and held Hanna’s hands together so she wouldn’t accidentally knock over any of the expensive glass art work available for sale in the store.  We thanked the lady at the front desk for letting us through without paying and headed back outside.  Hanna asked for a quick snack of some Cheerios and we were off to our next destination.

Who’s up for some history?  I promise there won’t be a test.

A few weekends ago I took my daughter Hanna on a special day trip into Philadelphia with the plan of spending some quality time together.  I had numerous places all mapped out that we would visit, and Hanna just seemed happy to be out of the house and on an adventure.  Oh and before I forget, yes we did use all the penny machines.

After driving into center city Philadelphia we found a place to park and headed to our first stop the Betsy Ross House.

This as you might have assumed is the home of Elizabeth “Betsy” Ross who is widely credited as having creating the first stars and strips American Flag.  Her home is located on Arch Street several blocks from Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell.

Many historians claim that this is not the actual house Betsy Ross lived in and sewed the first flag.  However that doesn’t stop visitors as this is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Philadelphia.  Below is a picture of the courtyard beside her house and at the back is the entrance to the gift shop.

In the gift shop is where you can pay for the self guided tour that will take you through the entire house.

Above is a picture of her bedroom, and there were many other rooms that you get you see and learn about.  Once our tour was over we headed back to the Gift Shop to use the penny machine.

There were four designs available on this machine: The first American Flag, Betsy Ross House exterior, Needle and Thread Spool, and the Liberty Bell.  It pressed all the pennies a little short as you can see in the below picture.  I tried to press another set to see if they came out any better but the results were the same.

With the pressed coins in my pocket and our little American Flags in hand we headed back outside and off to our next stop.  Be sure to check back and see where we headed next.

Happy 4th of July!!

My original intend of this post was to share a special 4th of July pressed penny design, but after spending all of last night reviewing my entire collection I realized I didn’t have one.  To be honest this seemed kind of unbelievable to me and now I’m on a mission to find one.  In the meantime I came across some coins that are related in the celebration of American’s independence.

As I have mentioned in the past I live in central New Jersey which is ideally located about an hour from New York City and 30 minutes from Philadelphia.  A few years ago I had gone on a pressed penny trip around downtown Philly that is full of historical sites and quite few penny machines.  One of the really nice places to check out if the new National Constitution Center.

The National Constitution Center opened its doors on July 4th, 2003.  It contains lots of interactive exhibits, and as you can image is just filled with amazing history.  If you’re even in Philly make sure you head over to “America’s Most History Square Mile” where you can visit not just the National Constitution Center, but also Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell.

By the cafeteria and gift shop on the first floor of the National Constitution Center are two penny machines.

 

The first machine has 4 designs: We The People, George Washington, John Adams, and The National Constitution Center Est. July 4th, 2003.

The second machine also has 4 designs: A Quill Pen, Benjamin Franklin, James Madison, and I Signed The Constitution.

I visited the National Constitution Center a couple of years ago and both machines were working great at that time.  Recently a friend of mine also visited with his kids on a school trip and he said the machines were still there and a couple of the students squashed some pennies so they should still be there if you’re in the area for a visit.

Have a safe and wonderful 4th of July.  Enjoy your burgers, hot dogs and my personal favorite the fireworks.  This is a great day to be with family and friends to celebrate our Independence.  But tomorrow it’s back to looking for pressed pennies!