Throwing Marshmallows

Just got a link to this article in the Washington Post about the Squished Penny Museum closing it’s doors. They are closing because, according to Christine Henry, co-founder:

The public remains as interested as ever in squished pennies, she insisted. Christine and her husband, Pete Morelewicz, would just like their weekends back.

For the museum, you see, is — or, rather, was — in the front hallway of the couple’s LeDroit Park home.

I blogged about our homeschool field trip to the Squished Penny Museum in a post calld “What is a Squished Penny“. It really was what jump started my collecting again. Christine and Pete are wonderful folks to have shared their home and their passion for pennies with so many. But I can’t say that I blame them for wanting their weekend peace and quiet back.

The Washington Post even has a video interview with them. Check it out!

If possible, use pennies minted before 1982.

In 1982, the Treasury started making pennies with a higher zinc (and lower copper) content. According to the Penny Collector Website:

Serious collectors will use pennies minted prior to 1982 because after 1982 the mint began to use a percentage of 99.2% zinc with a 0.8% copper - coating. In pre-1982 pennies that percentage was 95% copper, 5% zinc.

This higher zinc content means that, once squished, the silver color of the zinc will sometimes bleed through and often distracts from the design. Another problem that collectors have with zinc pennies is that the zinc often tarnishes and does not polish well. I have a penny that I pressed in the 1970s (from the Empire State Building). It has aged extremely well and looks beautiful. I have another penny that I pressed in the 1990s before I knew to use pre-1982 pennies (from the Golden Gate Bridge). It has tarnished badly and does not look very nice at all.

The switch from copper to zinc pennies occured during 1982 and so some 1982 pennies are copper and some are zinc. Many collectors avoid 1982 pennies altogether. But there are several ways to tell the difference. Some collectors swear that you can hear the difference if you drop the pennies on a hard surface. My method of choice is to weigh the pennies. Copper pennies are heavier. We have a small balance and Kyle loves to help me weigh my pennies and pull out the coppers.

While I do try to press only on copper for the above reasons, I am not that much of a snob. I would rather have the design on a zincer then not have the design at all. And I am extremely thankful to friends and family who bring me pennies from their trips, no matter what kind of penny it is pressed on.

When it comes to trading however, most collectors (including myself) seem to prefer coppers. Some folks will trade zincers, but only for other zincers and it is definitely a no-no to trade a zincer for a copper unless you agree ahead of time (this might be acceptable to some traders if the penny is retired but you still need to let the other person know).

Never guessed there was so much to know about penny squishing, did ya?

~Stephanie

Always keep a small bag of pre-1982 pennies (and quarters) in your purse. You never know when you might need them.

Ok, so this is a better tip for women squishers then men. I learned the hard way about this though!

I have a large zip-lock bag where I keep all my pre-1982 pennies. Not wanting to carry it around with me all the time (that thing is heavy!) I keep it in my car, figuring that I would have it if I needed it. Well, twice now in the past month, I have not had it with me and had to scramble to find pennies.

The first was when we went to the Maryland Science Museum. There were two penny machines and I rode with Kathi, so I did not have my car (or my pennies!). Luckily between Kathi and myself we were able to come up with enough so that I could get one set from each machine and 2 extra of the crabs (for my crab collection). I did not, however, have enough to squish any pennies for traders.

The second time was at the Great Wolf Lodge. I had planned on packing my penny bag, but totally spaced and forgot. And we took Jeff’s car, so again no pennies. Of course I was wiped out of pennies since the Maryland Science Museum and my mother-in-law did not have any on her either. I ended up buying 50 pennies from the front desk at the Lodge and did find 14 pre-1982 pennies. Unfortunately when I went to squish, the machine was totally off and smashed them too hard, leaving a huge tail. So again no traders, but at least it was not because of a lack of pennies!

So what I have learned is that I now carry a small plastic bag with about 16 pennies or so in it. This ensures that I have enough to squish at 2 machines…one set for my collection and one set for trading. The bag is not too heavy and at least I will not be caught without my pennies!

For those of you who are wondering what the heck I am talking about, you can read an earlier blog post about it.

~Stephanie

Tags: elongated coins, squished pennies, collecting

I hope to post pictures soon, but just had to say that we had a blast at the free Homeschool Day at the Maryland Science Center in Baltimore. Drove up with Kathi and her kids and met up with Joanna who drove in from Ocean City and Dee Dee who came in from Frederick. The boys were bummed to not spend as much time with Jack (the got there a bit earlier then we did and we ended up on a different schedule).

We will definitely have to go back again…there was so much to do and the boys loved it. Especially the Newtonian Area and Kids Room. TONS of hands on stuff…the pictures are great.
It is late, so I won’t write too much, but I will say that I was at first bummed becuase I realized that I had left my penny bag (with my pre-1982 pennies) at home. But Kathi came to the rescue and between the two of us we were able to scrounge up enough so I could press all 8 pennies (plus two extra of the two crab designs so I could include them on my crab page). No extras for trading, but there is always next time.

~Stephanie

Some of you may have noticed that I have lincluded links for “squished pennies” and may be wondering what that is all about. Well, squished pennies are those elongated pennies that you can buy as a souvenir (usually for about 51 cents) at many locations around the US (and the world). It turns out that there are tons of these penny machines with wonderful designs all over and a large network of people who like to collect them. Go figure!

I had a few squished pennies from when I was a kid but did not realize how widespread the hobby was until we visited the Squished Penny Museum here in Washington DC on a homeschool field trip. The museum is run by a wonderful couple out of their home (call first to set up an appointment time!) They allowed the boys to press their own pennies and it was fascinating to learn so much about them (not to mention seeing the hundreds of pennies they have!). This trip rekindled my interest and I started looking into it more.

The first place I found was the wonderful Elongated Coin email list which connects collectors from all over to talk pennies and share new finds and especially to trade! I have just started trading (check out my trade list) and am finding it to be a wonderful way to “meet” other collectors as well as expand my collection. I am have decided to try to focus my collection on mostly nautical/sea related items such as crabs, sea stars (starfish), sea horses, light houses, puffins, penguins, and turtles. I also enjoy collecting pennies from Virginia, Maryland and Washington DC. It is amazing all the different designs you can find.

There is a national organization for collectors which has its own website and newsletter called The Elongated Collectors (TEC). They even send out pennies with each newsletter and organize squished penny meets.

Another great resource is the Penny Collector website. They make machines but most importantly they maintain a Penny Location database. Collectors email them with updates (and often times pictures of the pennies) about where they have found machines. I have started checking there every time we go somewhere new just in case.

Half the fun is in the hunt and the boys do join in, although I am more serious about it  then they are. It is something fun for us to do together and I will have to post more about how this relates to our homeschooling (because, like everything else we do, it is part of our learning!)

~Steph