Penny Machines

We are a pressed penny collecting family too. My ds got into it during our last trip to WDW and it was cool how many older people saw him pressing pennies and stopped to ask him about his collection. Most people never really notice those machines!

Anyway, my question is this - we cannot find many pre-1982 pennies. So I've been storing the shiny new ones so I don't have to clean them. When you do clean your pennies, how long do you leave them in the vinegar? Any other pro-tips?
 
100AcreWood said:
We are a pressed penny collecting family too. My ds got into it during our last trip to WDW and it was cool how many older people saw him pressing pennies and stopped to ask him about his collection. Most people never really notice those machines!

Anyway, my question is this - we cannot find many pre-1982 pennies. So I've been storing the shiny new ones so I don't have to clean them. When you do clean your pennies, how long do you leave them in the vinegar? Any other pro-tips?
Click to expand...

Not going to profess to be a pro but here's what I did.

I had a jar of several hundred pennies and went through them. Maybe a fifth were pre-1982. I took these and set them in vinegar for a few days. Took them out. Rinsed them. Then put them in with baking soda and added vinegar (slowly). That got most of the grime off and I rubbed the worst ones a little for the rest. These probably were good enough to run through the machines.

Then I read somewhere about polishing the pennies after you have them pressed. I happen to have a tube of metal polish so I said "what the heck?" and tried it. This pretty much took all the dark material off and made them all reasonably shiny. It did take a little while to do them all though. And the rag I used turned completely black. Makes me more than a little concerned about handling loose change now.

Anyway, Ive got about 60 pre-1982 pennies that are decently shiny and ready to press. After I get back, I plan to put a better shine on them and hit them with clearcoat.

I promise, I have no intention to be obsessive about this. I just remembered it was fun when I was a kid and it's a nice little quest to do while at the park. I'll probably do a little bit of pin trading for the same reason.
 
kleph said:
Not going to profess to be a pro but here's what I did.

I had a jar of several hundred pennies and went through them. Maybe a fifth were pre-1982. I took these and set them in vinegar for a few days. Took them out. Rinsed them. Then put them in with baking soda and added vinegar (slowly). That got most of the grime off and I rubbed the worst ones a little for the rest. These probably were good enough to run through the machines.

Then I read somewhere about polishing the pennies after you have them pressed. I happen to have a tube of metal polish so I said "what the heck?" and tried it. This pretty much took all the dark material off and made them all reasonably shiny. It did take a little while to do them all though. And the rag I used turned completely black. Makes me more than a little concerned about handling loose change now.

Anyway, Ive got about 60 pre-1982 pennies that are decently shiny and ready to press. After I get back, I plan to put a better shine on them and hit them with clearcoat.

I promise, I have no intention to be obsessive about this. I just remembered it was fun when I was a kid and it's a nice little quest to do while at the park. I'll probably do a little bit of pin trading for the same reason.
Click to expand...

I didn't think about cleaning them after they were pressed. Thanks!

We love pin trading too. During our last trip two of my kids made it a mission to find all the puffle pins from Club Penguin. That show has been gone for a long time and they managed to get every color but one!
 
If you want to never eat tacos again, try using Taco Bell Fire sauce to clean your pennies. A friend showed me this YEARS ago... we sat down eat and he put a grungy penny inside a fire sauce packet. By time we were done eating,it looked brighter-than-new...I'm not sure I'd say "shiny" but very clean and bright. Makes you think about eating that stuff. I repeated the experiment more recently with my kiddos, and it still works. Diablo sauce works too, though I didn't notice whether the spicier sauce worked faster/better. (Ultimately, it's probably just the vinegar like you guys already know about, but it's a great way to freak your kids out over dinner... and a great excuse to NOT cook...)
 
Zhoen said:
If you want to never eat tacos again, try using Taco Bell Fire sauce to clean your pennies. A friend showed me this YEARS ago... we sat down eat and he put a grungy penny inside a fire sauce packet. By time we were done eating,it looked brighter-than-new...I'm not sure I'd say "shiny" but very clean and bright. Makes you think about eating that stuff. I repeated the experiment more recently with my kiddos, and it still works. Diablo sauce works too, though I didn't notice whether the spicier sauce worked faster/better. (Ultimately, it's probably just the vinegar like you guys already know about, but it's a great way to freak your kids out over dinner... and a great excuse to NOT cook...)
Click to expand...

ketchup works too
 
I just got all my kids pressed penny books,for our upcoming trip. Glad I found this thread for all the advice. Hope to learn more before we go.
 
They also have ones you use dimes or nickels (i forget which) instead of pennies.
 
WDWNY said:
They also have ones you use dimes or nickels (i forget which) instead of pennies.
Click to expand...

We've found penny, dime and quarter machines at WDW. We weren't prepared for the dime ones last time but this time we have been saving our shiny dimes.
 
Zhoen said:
If you want to never eat tacos again, try using Taco Bell Fire sauce to clean your pennies. A friend showed me this YEARS ago... we sat down eat and he put a grungy penny inside a fire sauce packet. By time we were done eating,it looked brighter-than-new...I'm not sure I'd say "shiny" but very clean and bright. Makes you think about eating that stuff. I repeated the experiment more recently with my kiddos, and it still works. Diablo sauce works too, though I didn't notice whether the spicier sauce worked faster/better. (Ultimately, it's probably just the vinegar like you guys already know about, but it's a great way to freak your kids out over dinner... and a great excuse to NOT cook...)
Click to expand...

Dashzap said:
ketchup works too
Click to expand...

Yes its because they both have a lot of vinegar in them, especially the hot sauce.

I've tried cleaning them with polish after they are pressed. By doing this way the tarnish stays in the grooves and makes it pop.
 
What I plan to do is drill a hole through the middle of each penny. You can buy chains at any store that sells jewelry making supplies (Walmart does). Just thread it through. Now I have to go look at Pinterest and see if there is anything!
 
Collecting WDW pressed pennies has been one of my favorite parts of planning trips! I have been collecting them since I was a kid, and currently have all pennies from the PARKS (and about half way through resort machines) except for the new ones that will be printed with "2017" on them. We go to WDW every year for our family vacation so hopefully I will have them soon! I am even close to having all pressed quarters- just missing a few from MK because last time I was there the machine was broken! I stopped buying the pressed penny books they sell and got a large binder with coin inserts. Also have a smaller binder for coins that become retired. It is so fun!
 
figment_jii said:
This is the one they're selling for the 60th Anniversary. As mentioned, it's available at most shops, especially those with pressed coin machines.
P1000490_zpsmmbe4dnr.jpg


Additionally, Disneyland released a pressed coin machine guide for the 60th Anniversary. It lists the locations and designs throughout the resorts. It's available (usually) at Guest Services and at random location throughout the parks. I got mine at Guest Services in DCA. You can also download a copy:
https://wdpromedia.disney.go.com/me...ines/pressed-coin-machines-location-guide.pdf
Click to expand...
This is amazing!

I had no idea that they sold these Pressed Coin Collection books! I loved doing these when I was young and can only imagine how excited my parents were that my souveniers were so inexpensive!

I can't wait to go back and start my collection all over again!
 
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