The First Disneyland Penny Press Machine Marquees

We are very happy to be able to share these pictures of the very first Disneyland penny press machine marquees with you. Matter of fact, because Disneyland was the first Disney Resort to have any penny presses and these were the first two, they are also pictures of the very first two Disney pressed penny marquees!

Although the first two machines and marquees were not on-stage very long, they made history. Many would say that the coins these machines offered started the hobby of collecting Disney elongated coins and their marquees represent the first ever on-stage Disney penny press marquee art. Today the coins from these two machines are highly sought after by Disney elongated coin collectors. To see images of the first two on-stage elongated coins, just click on these catalog number links DL0001 and DL0002 or open the first section of the Disneyland Park pressed penny collection guide for images and descriptions.

ParkPennies.com visitors sometimes comment that over the years, there have been many penny press machines at the Disneyland Resort and all featured marquees. So, why don't we see a marquee offered for sale or auction more often? We are told that some years ago, "changeable" marquees replaced the early hand painted permanent marquees. Therefore marquees like those pictured above were only made for a short time and in most cases, only for earlier machines / coins. Marquees made later, for newer machines / coins were often reused. Additionally, if rumors are correct, some of the early marquees might have been saved as framed art for Disney offices, keepsakes for lucky Cast Members, gifts to retirees, even discarded. Not to mention penny machine art that may be in storage or forgotten. (We understand the marquees pictured above were saved because they are on display in a backstage (employees only) location at the Disneyland Resort.)

Over the years, we have kept records of a few marquees that have been offered to the public by Disney. To date, we know of two Villains Event quarter press machine marquees which were auctioned by Disney's AuctionEars. The first marquee was offered in 2001 and described as "Disneyland Divas Event Quarter Press Sign". The second sign from the Villains Event two marquee machine was offered via Disney AuctionEars in 2002, described as "Disneyland Artifact Divas Souvenir Sign". Prices realized at that time were about $202.00 and $305.00 respectively. Additionally in 2003, a matching Villains marquee was auctioned by Disney AuctionEars for $272.00. Occasionally we are told of older marquees that have been seen at Disneyana shows or resold on eBay. But, these all are rare finds and are often quickly greeted by very enthusiastic Disneyland pressed penny collectors.

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Want to know more about the first Disneyland / Disney pressed pennies? View this ParkPennies.com article about Vance Fowler's first unattended penny press machine or visit our graphical display of all Disneyland elongated coin or "pressed penny" collections.