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How to Collect Commemorative Squished Pennies

Some call them squished, souvenir, or pressed pennies or even commemorative tokens, but the most common term for misshapen coins is "elongated coins." They're typically crafted in seconds in noisy machines by squashing a penny, quarter, or similarly-sized metal blank between two rollers, which stretches them out and imprints a design on them. People find the machines to produce these at many tourist-friendly sites around the world, although there's also a secondary market for retired coins or ones from locations where the machines or certain event no longer exists.

Things You'll Need

1 U.S. Penny
2 U.S. Quarters
(Visitors to other countries can use whatever small-denomination coins are required to activate the machines)

Instructions

- 1
  Locate a machine nearest you. PennyCollector.com, one of several sites for elongated coin collectors, includes an index to elongating machines by U.S. state or cities outside of the U.S. These can be found at popular attractions like museums, zoos or theme parks, or at some larger retailers such as Cabela's stores. In some cases, a particular machine or location will be listed but will include an asterisk saying that the business has shut down or the machine has been removed.
- 2
  Bring change, as most U.S. machines require two quarters to activate, and a separate slot either for an additional quarter or for a penny, which will be the coin that will be elongated. Some merchants may have a dish of pennies for the machine nearby, but more than likely, you'll have to supply your own change, especially if you plan on making multiple coins. If you're traveling in another country, there should be an instruction sign on the machine or coin slot telling what low-denomination coins will activate it.
- 3
  Select your design from available choices by positioning the crank to correspond with that particular image. Turn the crank in the appropriate direction until your completed coin drops into the slot at the bottom.
- 4
  Search online for retired coins or ones where the machine is removed. Sites like PressedPenny.com offer elongated pennies or quarters for sale by state or category, generally up to $5 apiece, sometimes more for a complete series. Each entry includes a bit of history of the find, such as where an item came from or its status, such as a special event where it was available. Auction sites such as eBay also have elongated coin sections and there are also forums for collectors who share tips on collecting and arranging swaps.
- 5
  Store your coins and keep your collection together. Many locations with machines also sell collector books nearby, which usually hold up to two dozen of the irregularly-shaped coins. These books may have that specific location on the cover or a generic image. Like pennies, certain books can also be found on collector sites. Coin shops also can sell sleeves or cases to preserve your coins, though they will no longer fit standard-size coin sleeves anymore.

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