The Mickey Rays Elongated Coin First On-Stage Disney Elongated Coin, Circa 1987 Early coin-operated machine-vended elongated coins or pennies often had flat images, with limited relief, as shown in the example above from 1987. But, for vended elongated coins, they were state of the art at the time and collectors loved them. You could watch your own coin being pressed into a neat souvenir of your Disneyland visit. A fun, "Disney Quality" collectable souvenir, a memento made to last for a lifetime and for just 51 cents! Over the first twenty years, both advancements in machine design and engraving skills were evidenced by the elongated coins and souvenir medals shown below. Elongated Coin From The Disneyland Resort, USA In the 1990's Eurolink began engraving dies for Disney penny press machines that featured very nice high-relief "3-D" engraving. The sharper, highly detailed, more realistic images made elongated coins from these machines among the highest quality known, including many of the very popular Magical Milestones series coins. Magical Coin from Hong Kong Disneyland When Hong Kong Disneyland opened in 2005, they offered elongated souvenirs called Magical Coins, pressed on planchets. Of course, the Magical Coins featured state of the art, 3-D hand engraving from the start. Although they have only a small following of elongated coin collectors in the USA today, interest is growing. (Local regulations did not permit pressing coins in China. ( Current laws in the United States permit penny pressing machines.) Medal from The Tokyo Disneyland Resort In recent years, Tokyo Disneyland has quickly moved to the forefront of Medal Souvenirs. These High quality engravings starting in 1996, are pressed on planchets and vended as elongated coins are. As you may know, they are extremely popular with Japanese collectors as well as may elongated coin collectors here in the United States. Tokyo Disneyland also introduced the Coins of the Month series and has introduced more new coins in 2007 than any other Disney Resort!

New or Vintage Disney Elongated Coins?
Both Can Be Fun to Collect!

Disney elongated coins, pennies, pressed coins or pressed penny souvenirs as they are casually called, can be a great deal of fun to collect. Pictured and linked above are just a few examples of the "Disney Quality" elongated coins that have earned complements from collectors and guests alike over the past decades. Although there has been some contraversy over recent quality changes, both vintage and newer Disney elongated coins make for fun souvenir collecting. They are generally vended from small electric or occasionally hand-cranked penny pressers that often charge just 50-75 cents plus a coin to be mercilessly smashed into a nearly indestructible squished coin souvenir. And it's done right before your own eyes!

The penny smashing machines are commonly located in the amusement park's arcades or points of interest that draw tourists, sightseers, shoppers or penny collectors. Pennies or US cents are the most common canvas for these miniature works of art. However, machines commonly press nickels, dimes or quarters in the United States. In foreign countries, Disney Resorts often use planchets or slugs as substitutes for real coins. No matter if you choose to collect new or vintage elongated coins or elongated souvenirs pressed on planchets, chances are you'll find the hobby lots of fun.

Collecting elongated coins reminds many park guests of the fun days they have spent at Disney amusement parks. They also encourage the advanced collector to visit parks they may not have visited if not for the promise of a waiting penny press machine. Personally, we started collecting California points of interest elongated coins in about 1978. However, in a short time, we narrowed our collection down to Disneyland Park. Soon, Disneyland Park was joined by Tokyo Disneyland, then Disneyland Park became Disneyland Resort with the addition of Disney's California Adventure. Before long Tokyo DisneySea, Hong Kong Disneyland, Disneyland Paris all were offering elongated souvenirs too! Needless to say, today our collection isn't as narrow as we thought it would be. But, it keeps us visiting Disneyland and trading with new elongated coin friends around the world. FUN!

Collecting elongated coins can be a wonderful hobby. If you are not already collecting, why not press a penny next time you visit a vacation spot, aquarium, family run amusement park, Sea World, zoo, Walt Disney World, Six Flags or state fair? After all, pressing a penny: 51 cents; lifetime keepsake of your day: priceless!

Early Disney coins from 10 or 20 years ago are often costly nowadays. But, some of the same machines that vended elongated coins years ago are waiting to press a 51 cent coin for you today. A coin which pressed today will eventually be 10 or 20 years old too. Interested in seeing more? Do visit our Disneyland Elongated Coin Collections page for an overview and links.

Happy Collecting, Boomer

Note: When collectors talk about Disney elongated coins, they most always complement both the design and execution of the design in the finished product. Disney has for two decades now, kept a keen eye on providing superior pressed coin souvenirs, advancing the quality of the souvenirs when possible, as shown at the top of this page. However, in contrast to the excellent, state of the art hand engraving examples shown here, a few recent elongated coins have "parted from the path of improvement". So, I've added, per your requests, a few recent examples of what are alleged to be "CNC" or computer engraved dies. We trust that these lesser quality coins will not become the standard for the park. If you'd like to read about them please see our article about Changes in Disneyland Elongated Coin Design and Quality.

Related:
Disneyland Park Elongated Coins
Tokyo Disneyland Elongated Souvenir Medals
Hong Kong Disneyland Elongated Souvenir Magical Coins
Disneyland Paris Elongated Coins
Disneyland Elongated Coin Collections

From the ParkPennies.com Disneyland Park DL Collection Guide
	P E N N Y	R E T I R E D	Pressed Penny Guide No. DL0001			(Horizontal pressed penny or elongated coin image) DISNEYLAND®, Mickey Mouse head with rays, ©DISNEY, large image. Very similar coins: DN0001, DL0005 and DL0007- DL0007a	Acknowledged as the first Disneyland "on-stage" elongated coin. Die and machine by Centek. First on-stage June 1987. Off stage October 1987. The die was soft and easily damaged. Design is similar to DN0001, DL0005 and DL0007 - DL0007a . Note: This coin is larger in size and the "ray" that touches the bottom of the "D" in Disneyland is complete from border to ear. Standard grip image . An early Centek roll with a progressive gripper modification was reported by well-known collector Alan S. in 2007. Detail comparison early and on-stage DL0001's.
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From the ParkPennies.com Disneyland Resort DR Collection Guide
	P E N N Y	R E T I R E D	Pressed Penny Guide No. DR0050			(Vertical elongated coin or pressed penny image) Mickey Mouse full length, standing, facing front, hands on hips, "e" for Eurolink replaces the dot nearest the center of the gripper slot, DISNEYLAND® RESORT ©DISNEY	First on-stage February 1, 2002 in the World Of Disney, Downtown Disney, button "B".
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From the ParkPennies.com Hong Kong Disneyland Park HKDL Collection Guide
	C O P P E R	M A G I C A L C O I N	Pressed Penny Guide No. HKDA0001			(Vertical Magical Coin or elongated pressed "penny" image) Floral vine embellishment, HONG KONG DISNEYLAND, Mickey standing, floral vine embellishment, ©DISNEY.
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From the ParkPennies.com Tokyo Disneyland Park TDL Collection Guide
	C O P P E R	S O U V E N I R	Pressed Penny Guide No. TDL0311			(Vertical souvenir medal image) 2003; Mickey, full length, TOKYO DISNEYLAND® ©DISNEY.
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