Other Places
Wherever there's a penny smasher, I'll be there. Wherever there are coins to be elongated, I'll be there. Wherever there's a mildly interesting tourist destination, I'll be there, too.
TEC secretary Tristan Davis gave me this one when Brady, Cori, Maureen, and I met him at a restaurant in Chandler, Arizona. We were there for Spring Training (we all have season tickets to the Giants) and I corralled them into meeting one of my "penny people". Thanks Tristan. ps. Bob Feller was probably Cleveland's best pitcher ever.
Eric and Darlene went to Florida in 2003 (that's what this says on the envelope) and they brought back this coin from the "Kennedy Space Center" I know it's hard to see, but it shows a paceman saluting the US flag. The earth is peeking over some clouds in thebackground... wait a second... clouds on the moon?
Eric spares no expense for our friendship, so when he was in Florida in 2003, he spent the big bucks to smash this quarter with the NASA logo on it.
"X Prize - St. Louis Science Center" - This one came with the TEC News issue for Winter 2005. Free pennies are just one of the great reasons to join TEC.
I bought this on Ebay, I don't know why, I guess I liked it. I do like it. It's from the Ancient Order of Foresters which was some sort of benevolent society introduced tothe US in 1832. Feel free to tell me more about the Foresters.
My (former?) co-worker Leanne Vennemeyer got this one when she went on a business trip to Washington DC back in 2003. I think. Details are sketchy and I don't think I'll ever hear from Leanne again. leanne, if you're out there, send me a message.
"In Loving Memory, Dottie Dow the Elongated Gal - June 21, 1924 - June 16, 2004" I never met her, but I did get a letter from her once when I was Secretary of The Elongated Collectors. What I do know is that she almost singlehandedly invented Elongated coin collecting as a hobby back in the mid 1960's, she was a cheerleader for the hobby, and she is missed by people around the world.
in March of 2005, Cori, Maureen, Brady, and I went to Spring Training together in Scottsdale, Arizona. For some reason we stayed way on the north side of town (ok, almost out of town) at some big resort, hotel thingy. Then we realized that the western theme town, Rawhide, was right up the road from us and everything was ok.
"Rawhide" is (or was) a western theme town north of Scottsdale Arizona. I made Brady, Cori, and Maureen go there one night for dinner when we were in town for Spring Training in 2005. Ok, I knew there was a penny machine and I lured them there, the rattlesnake on the menu had nothing to do with my decision.
We didn't see any "Showdowns or Hoedowns" I guess we did have some "Western Grill" if you consider ketchup slathered roast chicken to be western. We got to "Rawhide Western Town" outside of Scottsdale just about closing time, it was still pretty hot and dusty and, while we liked the kitschy-ness of it, I'm not sure we'd go back.
Another recycled image from the Pennymen for the 4-die machine at Rawhide in Scottsdale, Arizona. A couple days after getting these Tristan Davis told me they have a couple very nice Brazzell designs in the Arcade across the dusty theme-town road from this machine. Rawhide closed up and moved to a new location in 2005. (watch out for the cheesy music on their web site.)
"IGFA Fishing Hall of Fame" At this point, I'm pretty sure I have all the Fishing Hall of Fame pennies. I seem to have a lot of them anyway. The funny thing about them is that I've never been there and each one I've gotten has been one at a time and each one different and given to me by a different person. I guess that's pretty lucky, sort of.
"Orioles #1 Fan" I think the Orioles #1 fan, vard, sent this to me. I don't mean I think she sent it, I know I got it from her. I think she's really the #1 Orioles fan. Oh, why am I waffling? I know she is!
"Arundel Mills Maryland" No idea. I don't feel like looking it up. I do know that's a crab. If you know anything about this one, let me know.
"Spiro Agnew Resigns - Oct 10, 1973 - Nolo Contendere - 2:05pm" I got this one at the Alemany Flea Market near my house. The event seemed pretty important at the time... Also, remember that he did not admit any guilt about anything.
This one came from the flea market too. Thouh I've seen it somewhere before, I don't know who made it. I'm sure I could look it up, but why?
"Changin-Tymes Braceville, Ohio" I'm drawing a complete blank on this one. I may have gotten it from TEC, but I really don't know. If you know, let me know.
"The Alamo - 2004" My friend Art went to San Antonio and brought this one back. He didn't say anything to me about it. Okay, maybe he did, but I don't remember what it was he said. I remember that he went, but I don't remember why he went.
So sometimes, when they find out I collect these smashed pennies and the like, people give me coins that they've had lying around. That's what happened with this one. Kafclown (hey, that's what goes by) gave me this one when we went out for dinner back in June 2004. We somewhere near Boston and a whole bunch of people from The Well turned out to meet us. It was fun! Thanks for the penny, kafclown!
"Acadia National Park" In June 2004, Brady and I drove up the coast of Maine on our way to Grand Lake Stream, where we sometimes spend a week or so in the Summer. It was pretty rainy most of the way, and when we got to Acadia, there was so much fog, you really couldn't see much.
I'll be honest, I have no idea what's depicted on this penny. I can see that it says "Welcome to Acadia", but the image is, your guess is as good as mine. I can say that even though it was foggy, Acadia is a wonderful park and well worth the trip there. We're going back.
"Bar Harbor Maine" Yup we had lobster in Maine, though not in Bar Harbor. We stopped in Wiscasset to sample the reknowned Lobster Roll at Red's Eats. It's right on th the highway, you can't miss it. After having one, I think there are better, but hey, I'm from California.
"Jordan Pond" Jordan Pond is this beautiful lake in Acadia National Park, but it's also the name of the ice cream store in Bar Harbor where this penny machine was.
"Bar Harbor Maine" It's a great little town on Mount Desert Island. (that's "Deh SERT" like what you have after you ate all your vegetables). While we were there we saw our old friend Brian and Jenn and met their great kids, Christopher and Tabitha. They really treated us right after all these years.
"Bar Harbor Maine" I already discussed some of the Lobster we ate while in Maine, there was more, but I'm not going to go into it ... oh alright, I have to say something else about Red's Eats. We had heard it was so great and well, it was, but all it was was pretty much a bunch of steamed lobster on one of those Maine hot dog buns, there really didn't seem to be much skill in it. I mean, anybody could make a lobster roll like that.
Another from "Bar Harbor" I found two machines there, don't know if there were more. While there, we saw some great friends, listened to band concert in the park downtown, had the worst pastrami sandwich of my life, drank some beer in a brewpub, hiked to the top of a mountain, saw crashing waves, got fogged in, and visited the Thunder Hole Restrooms. (ok, we just drove past the Thunder Hole Restrooms. We didn't go in.)
"Museum of Transportation - St Louis, MO" Fawn brought this one back for me and left it at my house that said she got it because she's an enabler. I'm starting to think that people who donate more than a couple of these coins should start their own collections and stop hiding behind me. It's time we brough elongated coin collecting out of shadows and into the bright light of day! Be proud that you spend your vacation time in every t-shirt shop and chachki purveyor, that you go to museums just to visit the gift shop, that you drag your friends and family along despite their protestations. You Collect!
"Dallas - Ft Worth - Texas" I'm terrible. I let these pennies that people send me get so backed up that I forget who sent them to me and anything about them. That's the case here. If you want to claim responsibility, send me your name and a funny story about how you got this penny.
www.pennyatlas.com - Don't know why I have this penny, but Cheryl and David have done a great job with this online database of penny locations. If you're taking a trip somwhere and plan to smash some pennies, check out their site first. (but don't let penny smashing take over your vacation, you're not going away to see every darned t-shirt store in the country are you?)
"Wyoming Territorial Prison - Butch Cassidy" This is a first. A smashed penny from a prison. No idea who sent this one, but I do know that I've never been to prison.... county yes, but prison no. (Kidding!)
"IGFA Fishing Hall of Fame" Nope, they don't induct fish to this Hall of Fame. They induct great fisherpeople, people like Zane Grey, Ralph Bandini, and Dame Juliana Berners. For the complete list of inductees, take a look at their website.
"IGFA Fishing Hall of Fame" is in Dania Beach, Florida and IGFA stands for International Game Fishing Association. I'm sure you knew that.
"The Shepard of the Hills - Branson, MO" Somebody sent me this one, no idea who it was, don't know much about Branson, Missouri, don't know what the Shepard of the Hills is. I guess I'm just a big loser.
"Get Your Kicks on Route 66" Another mystery. I found this and two other pennies in a pink envelope in my bedroom. I know I didn't get it myself. Somebody gave this to me. One thing we can do is narrow down the location to the 3300 mile length of the old Route 66.
Hey, I know who sent this one! "Joe Cartonia" of the "Niagara Frontier Relic Hunters Association Inc" Thanks Joe!
"Frankenmuth Mich - Bronner's Christmas Wonderland" Somebody at this store wrote to me and then sent me 3 pennies. Apparently they have a penny machine there. This one has a picture of a couple of people looking at the baby Jesus.
"Frankenmuth Mich - Bronner's Christmas Wonderland" So Brady and I happened into Frankenmuth in the Fall of 1993. If you're in the area, check it out. It's a very strange Bavarian-theme town with more fudge makers than you can easily count. Oh yeah, this one's got Santa Claus. At Bronner's, they cover all the bases.
"Frankenmuth Mich - Beamer, the Bronner's Star" So, at Bronner's they've got the regular Christmas icons, Santa and Jesus; and they've got their own, Beamer. They sent me this penny, then they wrote to me again and tried to send them to me again.
"Museum of the Rockies - Bozeman, Montana" My old friend Bill Bonham sent me this one from there, I guess he took the family and spent the Summer of 2003 up there. They must have been there all Summer, because they never came to any of the Barbecues at our house. I know if they had been able to, they would have come to our place.
"Saint Louis" Somebody, I don't know who, sent me this coin which is rolled on a 1943 steel cent. It's the only one of those I have. Thanks a lot, whoever you are. Update! - It turns out Nina McDonald sent me this penny and she wrote me a letter about it! Thanks again,Nina.
"Chicago" Ok, Brady and I were in Chicago for a day and a half back in September 1993, we went to the Cubs game (Cubs 12 Cards 2 losing pitcher was Rich Bachelor), rode the El, walked around the Loop, but didn't find a penny. Alright, I wasn't looking back then. Good thing Eric brought this one back for me.
"My Lucky Ballmark - Chicago" Mark and Eric were in Chicago in the Fall of 2002, working at some convention or something, I don't what they were doing actually and I don't know which of them got me this penny and I don't know where they got it and I think it's kind of big for a ballmark, but I'm glad I have it. Thanks fellers.
"Sears Tower" Honestly the same thing goes for this penny, except I think one of them got it at the Sears Tower, but I could be wrong. (Can you tell that I'm struggling again? This is what happens when you don't keep good records.)
"Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel" You may notice that the coin only shows the Bridge and not the Tunnel. Understandably, there's a confused seagull flying around too. Another from Ken Halbe.
"Oglebay - Wheeling WV" It shows a Jack-in-the-box. What's that got to do with Oglebay? What is Oglebay? I've never been to Wheeling, so I don't know. If you know anything, let me know. Update! - Some people wrote to me about this penny!
"John F. Kennedy Assasinated - Nov 22nd 1963 - Dallas Texas - 35th President" Another flea market find. I was kind of surprised to get this one at the flea market, since it was a Ralph Jones design, kind of old, and not from a tourist attraction.
"USA lands first man on moon - July 20th 1969" I remember that day, but not very well, gee whiz I was only 6. I guess that makes up for the fact that I have no memory of the day I got this penny.
"Saint Louis - Gateway to the West" This one is actually a two-sided penny, it has "My Lucky Penny" and a horseshoe and cloverleaf on the back. Ken Halbe found this coin in a change counter where he works and sent it to me. You know, I always refer to this city as "St. Louis", do people there write "Saint Louis"?
"Cincinnati Zoo" - You know the people in Cincinnati know their animals, they don't need to beaten over the head with the names of each animal like the people at the LA Zoo and their penny with the giraffe on it. Anybody can tell that this is a picture of a peacock, you don't need it written out. Oh, I have no idea AT ALL where I got this penny.
"Keep it Flying" When I drove to Los Angeles for the penny meeting in November 2001, a lot of people gave me a lot of different pennies. This is one of them. I think I guy named Adam gave it to me. Adam, if you gave me this penny, please let me know.
"Camp Snoopy - Minnesota" I don't know what Camp Snoopy is, but Woody, Nancy, and Miranda gave me this penny after their trip to Minnesota back in the Summer of 2001. Update! - Todd wrote and told me some things about Camp Snoopy!
"Arizona Diamondbacks - Baseball" This scan isn't great (I'm sure you'll agree), but this penny shows two saguaro cactus and an outline of Arizona with the Diamondbacks logo in it. My friend Andre brought it back from his trip in Summer 2001.
"Rosson House - Phoenix, AZ" Tammy Parker, who works at the Rosson House Museum sent me this one. She'll send you one too, just click on the Rosson HOuse link for instructions. She sent mine fro free, but I can't guarantee she'll do it for you.
"Anchorage Museum" I think, I don't know for sure, that this on comes from Alaska. Vard sent it to me without any explanation, I guess she's the only one who knows.
In August 2001, Brady, Eric, and I went to Maine for vacation. We flew to Boston, then drove to Grand Lake Stream (it's about 6 hours away). On the way back I made them stop in Kennebunkport to look around and have lunch and then on the way back to the highway, tricked them into stopping at the "Seashore Trolley Museum" Ha ha!
Brady's friend Mikki sent me this one. I have no idea where she got it, but I wish I did because I really like it! Thanks Mikki! (p.s. - Mikki wrote a book, check it out!)
"Diver Mk V" I don't know what I diver mk v is but I like this penny. I got it from someone at the penny meeting we had in San Francisco in Jan 2001. If you know what one is, tell me! Update! Kacie wrote to me about this penny!
"The Penny Loafer - Gary W. Morey" Gary Morey is a smashed penny designer, he's worked a lot for Eurolink. I really enjoyed learning about the business of penny smashing. I had no idea there was so much to it.
"Farwest Gallery - Billings Montana" Sondra Daly sent me a message describing this and the next two pennies, try to sell them to me. I told her I would put them up on the site if he sent them to me for free. So here they are!
"Western Pawnbroker Billings, Montana 59101" If you want Sondra to send these to you, write to her at farwest@myavista.com or check her website at www.farwestgallery.com.
"1806 Lewis & Clark Expedition - Pompey's Pillar Montana 2006" If you know what this stuff means, write to me. If you want this penny yourself, write to Sondra.
Cabela's is a big national sporting goods chain. (I don't think there are any in California) My friend Jesse got this one at one of the stores somehwere... maybe upstate New York? Anyway, each store has a big statue out front of some kind of wildlife. This one has two Elks or something. I guess if you know where the two elk Cabela's is, you know where the penny come from. If you do, let me know. People have written to me about this penny, read about it the Letters section.
This guy Allan sent me an email telling me he would sell me a penny from the machine at his store. I told him that he could send me one for free and I'd put it on my site. If you like it you can buy one from him at www.dixboro.com.
"Good For a Hug and Kiss - Anytime... Anywhere" I've ended up redeeming this with Brady many times over. I'm still waiting to meet Kafclown, who sent it to me, so I can redeem it with him!
Hey, I'm a big baseball fan, so when I found out about these next six pennies, I just had to get them. This one of Cal Ripken commemorates Cal breaking Lou Gehrig's consecutive game streak, is from Eric Barnes of Copper Logic. I guess he rolls them himself and, even better, he'll mail them to you!
This one, also from Eric, is another Ripken, detailing his 1991 MVP season, with all his stats - HRs, RBI, AVG and the 1573 straight games he had played up to that point. Carry this one around with you for those pop baseball quizzes. Thanks Eric!
1998 was an amazing year of baseball, Ripken's streak ended, the Yankee won 114 games, and there was a remarkable homerun race in the national league. This penny, like the next three coins, comes from James Kilcoyne, and reads "Sammy Sosa 1998 66 HRs - NL Most Valuable Player" and has a really detailed image of Sammy presumably watching one of his homers.
This one is a nickel with the same design as the penny above, it's really detailed, the border is like the stitching on a baseball! Write to James and he'll send you one.
Mark McGwire hit 70 homers in 1998. What else can you say? This penny commemorates his 62nd on Sept 8th that smashed Maris' record of 61.
This one is a nickel with the same McGwire design as the penny above. I never had a nickel before this one, and to tell you the truth, I like 'em. They're a little bigger and these really show the detail well. Thanks James!
My friend, Stephen "Woody" LaBounty got this one at Busch Stadium while he was driving across the country in early September 1998. He went to the Cardinal game right after McGwire had hit number 61 and right before he hit number 62. Tough luck Woody, but thanks for the penny!
"Oklahoma - Land of the Red Man" It's December 1993, we're driving home on US 40 after 3 months away, when there on the horizon rising above El Reno, Oklahoma is the Indian Trading Post. We had to stop. I gave this one to my friend Joan Carter, it's now a part of her collection. Thanks for letting me borrow it, Joan!
According to this penny's legend, the Arizona Meteor Crater is "46000 years old" It's pretty cool, but in hindsight, I think I'd skip the Meteor Crater and go to the Petrified Forest instead. Now in the collection of Joan Carter. If you haven't noticed, this one's two sided, move your mouse over it to see the other side.
"Historic Route 66 Association of Arizona" The back traces route 66 through Arizona, highlighting the cities of Holbrook, Winslow, and Flagstaff. This one also came from the Meteor Crater as one might infer from the totally out of scale line representing the dirt road that leads to it. Now in the collection of Joan Carter. Move your mouse over it to see the other side.
Details are sketchy on this portrait of "Lyndon Johnson 36th President", but I got it in a birthday card from Brady's Mom, Karin, and her soon-to-be-husband, Rick. Thanks a lot you guys!
This penny has the text of the Lord's Prayer on it. I got at the Alemany Flea Market along with a few others. The penny is dated 1936.
Apparently because Sandy bought so many All Star sets the guys who made them, also gave her a bunch of "Tropicana Field Inaugural Season 1998" quarters too, and she sent this one (#1298 of 1998) to me! I think there's a surplus of Devil Ray commemorative stuff out in the world right now, lately at the Giants' games, they've been using Devil Ray imprinted Baseballs in batting practice, I know because I caught one a few weeks ago.
