CDL Die and Canceled Coin Guide

This Canceled Elongated Coin and Die Guide currently covers only a small number of elongated coins / dies. However, chances are that it will grow. Advanced collectors will tell us that elongated coins are collected based on the die that pressed them, so canceled coins and dies are the focus here. These are not just retired or taken off-stage coin dies. These "pressed penny" dies have not only been taken off-stage, they have been modified, engraved or even mutilated in such a way as to prevent the possibility of pressing of any additional "original" coins. Some coin dies have had etched devices added to the original engravings to forever change the appearance of coins pressed by the dies. In some cases, backstamps that read "retired" were added to memorialize "proof" canceled coins as per the example to the left of this digressive prose. :-) After cancellation, the long time custom of "Rollers" or elongated coin makers, has been to press some coins on the canceled die to "prove" its cancellation, then sometimes modify the die in such a way that it can no longer roll any coins. We currently believe that to be the practice at Disneyland given the milling of the Mulan coin dies and the welding / plating of the Jack Steiner die.

Avid collectors know that thousands of elongated coin dies have been made for / by the various Disney Resorts and then taken offstage over the past twenty-plus years. A good number of Disneyana collectors have also had an interest in what happened to these dies. And we all know Disneyland elongated coin collectors who have hoped "retired" Disney dies would be canceled for years. Then around 2005, we started seeing evidence that the dies were really being "permanently retired" via cancellation. This is great news for collectors who have made an extra effort to press elongated coins at the park and collectors that have acquired "retired" coins from other collectors at a premium price. Of course, canceled dies / coins rolled by canceled dies are the best evidence that the dies can no longer press original coins or return to the Disneyland stage.

What Happened to the Retired "Pressed Penny"
Dies and Obsolete Penny Machine Marquee Signs
Not (Yet) Listed at ParkPennies?

Based on our "Indiana Jones" adventure over the past twenty-plus years or so... Disney elongated coin dies and marquees / penny press machine signs may have been subject to a variety of fates. As far as we can find, the total number of dies and machine signs disposed of by Disney is unknown. However, our wildly incoherent speculations of what may have happened to them follow.

Most retired Disneyland coin dies were likely canceled by Disney. We have welcomed some anony-mouse visitor reports to ParkPennies.com stating that many retired dies, held by Disneyland, have been appropriately canceled in a manner like the Jack Steiner or Mulan dies and can never be used again to press additional, original coins. Based on reports from multiple sources, elongated coin dies were and are usually canceled via a small Disney image which was added to the field of the elongated coin die's image. (The Mulan set has a Tinker Bell image, other dies reportedly have a Mickey image and / or the word "Retired". If these reports made over the years from 2004 to 2011 are correct, most all retired Disneyland penny press dies ever onstage have been canceled in this way. (That said, as of 2011, only a few of these canceled dies or cancellation proof coins are known to have been released to the public e.g. Mulan.)

Some Disneyland penny press machines, marquees, and dies were auctioned or sold by Disney. As advanced collectors are well aware, Disney has auctioned and sold some neat penny machine dies over the years. Sometimes as event souvenirs like the Villains dies or as Disneyana collectibles like the Mulan dies. We have also been told by trusted sources that in the last century, early to mid 1990's, the old Disneyland warehouse north of Ball Road in Anaheim may have auctioned off pallets of used arcade equipment before it was closed. Sometimes [blind] pallets were sold by an auction company in Anaheim which included old penny press machines and / or related parts (dies, cases, marquees) in the lot. Others have reported that Disneyland Property Control / Cast Connections (The small area now behind the gates inside The Company D Cast Member Store, not accessible by Cast Member's guests) offered some elongated coin related items via bids as well. As an example, in late 2011, several penny press machine cases, some including buttons and or marquees, were sold at the Anaheim Company D Property Control. Over the years many of these auctioned Disney elongated coin items have scattered across the country. Some items eventually found a home with with a lucky Disneyana collector. Other items may still await rediscovery. If you have purchased elongated coin related items via these outlets or others, we would appreciate the addition of your recollections / pictures etc. to this achieve.
Recollections of past sale / purchases of Disneyland arcade machines are common place at meetings of the Antique Coin Machine Collectors Association. (Member collections include arcade games, vending, entertainment, and novelty machines that are often very rare and valued as high as hundreds of thousands of dollars each.) Collaborative comments by multiple trusted ACMCA meeting attendees described past sales of arcade machines by Disneyland. One representative discussion attended by unquestionably knowledgeable people described the sale / purchase of a particularly large group of ~100 Disneyland arcade machines of various types. Two people familiar with the sales said Disney's motivation for sales were liquidation of older, less profitable or obsolete machines and most importantly to clear valuable storage space. Accordingly, this group of "retired" arcade machines was offered at a very low price per machine. However, the buyer was required to purchase and remove all machines in the group. The buyer found a partner and split this particular purchase ~20/80. One partner kept only the smaller fraction of the machines, but, the best of them. The other partner kept the balance of the lot. Sadly many of the less desirable machines were ultimately exposed to weather, abandoned, and / or discarded. The loss of these machines was seen as unfortunate at the time by some. However, given the value and rarity of these irreplaceable often historic Disneyland arcade machines, today it seems more than tragic to most. Fortunately, the better machines of this group were saved. On occasion they have been reported to ParkPennies.com and traded or sold over the years. However, many of them have found very good homes with avid collectors across the country.

Some penny press machine dies and marquees were given as awards or gifts to Disneyland Cast Members. Some special event penny press machine dies and or marquees were awarded to Cast Members. Reportedly, the Pirates of the Caribbean Rehab, Ron Dominguez, Bill Hogarth, and Jack Steiner elongated coin dies were respectively awarded. (As examples please see our Jack Steiner retirement gifts page .) Other dies and marquees, once obsolete, were given away as gifts, paper weights, or souvenirs to interested Cast Members in lieu of discarding them. Needless to say, dies and penny press machine marquee signs given as gifts or awards are often difficult to track down or confirm because little is known of what, when, where, or who. If you have one, please send a picture and share its history. )

Some Disneyland penny press dies were exchanged / modified. Recollections by trusted sources have asserted that some production and / or prototype dies may have been returned to the die manufacturer for replacement / disposal. Sometimes these dies returned to stage after modification as a new penny press die image. Example: The DL0021 Donald Duck elongated coin which had " © DISNEY" added to it and became the "new die" DL0061.

Some Disneyland penny press machine dies failed in service. Park visitors have reported to us that some dies have failed in their presence via cracks or other use-related damage. One die was claimed to have broken into several pieces, some of which followed the path intended for the pressed coin.

Lastly, some Disneyland penny press dies and marquees may have been just plain old lost! This is something I understand more and more as I get older. :-)

As time passes, we feel Cast Members as well as collectors and other people in the industry will continue to share their knowledge with fellow collectors via this forum. As dies and marquees are discovered / reported we are slowly divining the fate of "lost" items. Eventually, confirmed dispositions of Disney penny press machine dies will be added to the ParkPennies.com coin guides as an enhancement to the existing "Current" and "Retired" notations. New notations will include "Canceled" for coin dies that are no longer capable of pressing original or unaltered coins again, "Assigned" for sold, auctioned, gifted or awarded coin dies that can still press original coins, and "Lost" for dies that still have an uncertain status. Last but not least, in time, we hope to add proof of canceled dies via canceled die coin images to this Disneyland pressed penny dies and canceled coins guide.

Please contact ParkPennies by email or anony-mousely if you have an addition, correction or comment to share as this information has been shared with you.

(Vertical image) MULAN in ceremonial dress, full length, standing, full face, © DISNEY DISNEYLAND ® .This die was canceled and then sold by Disney in 2005.
The three dies in this set were each canceled by a Tinker Bell image which was etched in the field of each die. A "RETIRED" backstamp was also used by Disney when they pressed these canceled coins. (See also CDL0121-123 type 2 coins.)

First on-stage late July 1998 in The Main Street Penny Arcade, button "A". This die was canceled and sold by Disney Auctions in 5/05.

(Horizontal image) KHAN, full body, side pose, walking, facing left, © DISNEY, "e" for Eurolink Design Corporation replaces the dot nearest the center of the gripper slot, DISNEYLAND ® .This die was canceled and then sold by Disney in 2005.
The three dies in this set were each canceled by a Tinker Bell image which was etched in the field of each die. A "RETIRED" backstamp was also used by Disney when they pressed these canceled coins. (See also CDL0121-123 type 2 coins.)

Same notes as for DL0121, button "B". This die was canceled and sold by Disney Auctions in 5/05.

(Vertical image) MUSHU, full length, holding gong in right hand, striker in left, © DISNEY DISNEYLAND ® . This die was canceled and then sold by Disney in 2005.
The three dies in this set were each canceled by a Tinker Bell image which was etched in the field of each die. A "RETIRED" backstamp was also used by Disney when they pressed these canceled coins. (See also CDL0121-123 type 2 coins.)

Same notes as for DL0121, button "C". This die was canceled and sold by Disney Auctions in 5/05.

This is a close up of the Tinker Bell stamp used to cancel the DL0121, DL0122 and DL0123 Mulan pressed penny set. For clarification we have added an outline of a similar Tinker Bell image to the left of the canceling mark. (The name "Tinkerbell" is not used by Disney.)
This is a representative image of the Tinker Bell canceling mark used on this set of coins. However, each coin type in this set may have a slightly different canceling mark as each coin type has a separate and slightly unique engraving or etching. (See also CDL0121-123 type 2 coins.)

(Horizontal image) RETIRED. This stamp featured on the DL0121, DL0122 and DL0123 Mulan set pressed penny set. This Mulan set is the first set of canceled dies or canceled coins offered by Disney. 188 sets were pressed for sale by Disney Auctionears. About six sets were known sold via these auctions as of mid 2005 at the time the three canceled dies were also auctioned. (See also CDL0121-123 type 2 coins.) Image courtesy of the Lou Smith Collection.
This is a representative image of this style reverse or backstamp. However, each coin type in this set may have a slightly different reverse image as each coin type has a separate and slightly unique backstamp engraving.

(Vertical image) MULAN in ceremonial dress, full length, standing, full face, © DISNEY DISNEYLAND ® .This die was canceled and then sold by Disney in 2005.
The three dies in this set were each canceled by a Tinker Bell image which was etched in the field of each die. A "RETIRED" backstamp was also used by Disney when they pressed these canceled coins.
The Mulan dies were then etched with the word "Retired" over the gripper and sold by Disney Auctionears. The new owner pressed ten cents, nickels and dimes with this added mark. None have backstamps. A vertical coin ridge on the CDL0122 type 2 coins is evidence of a crack.

First on-stage late July 1998 in The Main Street Penny Arcade, button "A". This die was canceled and sold by Disney Auctions in 5/05.

(Horizontal image) KHAN, full body, side pose, walking, facing left, © DISNEY, "e" for Eurolink Design Corporation replaces the dot nearest the center of the gripper slot, DISNEYLAND ® .This die was canceled and then sold by Disney in 2005.
The three dies in this set were each canceled by a Tinker Bell image which was etched in the field of each die. A "RETIRED" backstamp was also used by Disney when they pressed these canceled coins.
The Mulan dies were then etched with the word "Retired" over the gripper and sold by Disney Auctionears. The new owner pressed ten cents, nickels and dimes with this added mark. None have backstamps. A vertical coin ridge on the CDL0122 type 2 coins is evidence of a crack.

Same notes as for DL0121, button "B". This die was canceled and sold by Disney Auctions in 5/05.

(Vertical image) MUSHU, full length, holding gong in right hand, striker in left, © DISNEY DISNEYLAND ® . This die was canceled and then sold by Disney in 2005.
The three dies in this set were each canceled by a Tinker Bell image which was etched in the field of each die. A "RETIRED" backstamp was also used by Disney when they pressed these canceled coins.
The Mulan dies were then etched with the word "Retired" over the gripper and sold by Disney Auctionears. The new owner pressed ten cents, nickels and dimes with this added mark. None have backstamps. A vertical coin ridge on the CDL0122 type 2 coins is evidence of a crack.

Same notes as for DL0121, button "C". This die was canceled and sold by Disney Auctions in 5/05.

This is a close up of the small bit of "RETIRED" as seen on a "standard" roll coin. It was added to the DL0121, DL0122 and DL0123 Mulan pressed penny set after the first coins were pressed. This mark and a blank back are the defining differences between the first and second Mulan canceled coin types. Click on the image to see a large close up of this coin showing both the "RETIRED" and Tinker Bell etchings used to cancel this die set.

Here is a close up of the "RETIRED" on specially rolled planchets to show the full etching. It was added to the DL0121, DL0122 and DL0123 Mulan pressed penny set after the first coins were pressed. This mark and a blank back are the defining differences between the first and second Mulan canceled coin types. Click on the image to see a large close up of this coin showing both the "RETIRED" and Tinker Bell etchings used to cancel this die set.
Images courtesy of the C. Neal Collection.