From March 14, 2020 to April 30, 2021 the Disneyland Resort was closed due to "COVID-19 restrictions". As Disneyland Resort Fans know all too well, there were no new coins to be found anywhere in the DLR over the length of the closure even though parts of Disney California Adventure and Downtown Disney were open from time to time. As the guides will attest, the last new coin designs in Disneyland were placed onstage back on December 11, 2019 and the last new coin designs in Disney California Adventure were placed onstage January 31, 2020. Needless to say, many collectors were looking forward to the park's reopening with the hope that they would be greeted by several long overdue new coin press machines and designs. But, that was not the case. The Annual Pass program was ended, Passholders were given refunds. A new "standby" Magic Key program wasn't offered until August 25, 2021 which required a reservation drawn from a limited AP allocation. Disneyland Resort Fans that braved the pandemic and paid the increased admission prices found there were no new machines waiting for them. No traditional 2020 Disneyland or Disney California Adventure Holiday Pressed Nickel sets and no annual nickel pressed coin sets either. Not to mention there were no other new pressed coin designs of any kind to be found. (Sorry for the necessary rant. :-) What did happen shortly after the Disneyland Resort reopened was the conversion of existing "press your own penny" 50 cent machines to $1.00 pressed coin vending machines that furnished the penny to be pressed. Some of the coin presses were already missing on reopening day. Within a few months, most all of souvenir penny presses had been converted. With the converted machines, you no longer can "press your own penny" and the price has been doubled to $1.00. (These new machines accept only $1 and $5 dollar bills for payment, no change or optionally a credit card payment of $3.00 for a full set of three coins from a three-play machine or a discounted payment of $5.00 for a full set of eight coins from eight-play machines.)
Then, just in time for the September 3, 2021 Haunted Mansion Holiday and Oogie Boogie Bash event openings, a set of new vended pressed coins was placed onstage. The Haunted Mansion / Nightmare Before Christmas quarter press, a machine that had been conspicuous in its absence, returned. Now converted, the old three-play quarter press offered eight different, very nice and new (for Disneyland) pressed penny designs! The cost was $1.00 each or all eight for a discounted $5.00. With this machine offering original, non-carryover vended designs, a new era has begun and with it this new page in the ParkPennies Guides. For collectors wishing to collect these new "vended" cents, we hope to provide continuing guide information. Given the recent changes in Disneyland Resort admission / reservations policy and the discontinuance of coin press support by on-site Cast Members, future machine / coin listings may have to substitute "first reported date" in place of "first onstage date". For those Disney pressed coin collectors who wish to focus on the traditional "press your own coin" pre-COVID-19 / pre-Vended Disney elongated coins, our pre-covid guides precede this page. If you have not yet completed your "Pre-COVID" collection, I would not delay as availability and price may make now the "Good ol' Days". :-)
On November 12, 2025, the United States Mint ended the manufacture of "pennies". A 2025 USA Today article explored the implications for souvenir penny presses / elongated coin machines. Then in early 2026, the Disneyland Resort machines that just a few years ago were downgraded to vending machines as you could no longer "press your own coin" were dealt another blow. By January 2026, most all Disneyland Resort "coin presses" were no longer pressing coins. They began pressing custom blank planchets (often referred to as "slugs" or tokens). I don't blame the decision makers, they recognize it's the end of the US cent in the midst of a diminishing role of cash in everyday transactions. I think they are just trying to survive and evolve. But, sadly I think this
represents the end of an era.
Looking forward: When it was no longer possible to "press your own coin", we continued the guide sections as "Vended Pressed Coins". Now with the loss of coins in coin press machines, future guide sections will continue as "Vended Pressed Souvenirs". We are here for collectors that wish to collect "Classic Pressed Coins" 1987-2021 or "Vended Pressed Coins" 2021-2025 or "Vended Pressed Souvenirs" 2026+ or all three.
Happy collecting, Boomer.
Please note: Some "Retired" post-COVID coins and medallions have been reissued, returned or placed back onstage. Also some souvenirs have been rotated back and forth from one location to another, even from one "gate" or park to another. This is a significant change from the pre-COVID policies that were in place and observed by the Disneyland Electro Mechanical Team Cast Members from 1987 to 2020. Going forward, collectors are advised to keep this new policy in mind when acquiring "retired" coins which were originally issued post-COVID, e.g. from machines no longer supported "in house" by Disneyland Cast Members.
The first eight choice coin press at the Disneyland Resort! The iconic, classic February 6, 2005 Haunted Mansion coin press has found a new life... or came back from the dead? Shortly after the April 30, 2021 resort reopening, the aging DL0708-710 Haunted Mansion 50th quarter press disappeared, like vanished, visited another world? Then returned from the "other side" on September 3, 2021, changed. Converted from a three-play quarter press to an eight-play penny vending mechanism. Although reviews were mixed (see below), many people loved the excellent designs and selection of coins. They also found the credit card option welcome. Having both Haunted Mansion and Nightmare Before Christmas coins in the same machine at the same time, genius! Reverses too! Now for the shocker... A significant percentage of ParkPennies readers are generally "okay" with the price increase! (Cost increased from 50 cents to $1.00 for a single coin. Payment options changed from accepting only quarters to accepting only $1 and $5 dollar bills -no change or optionally a significantly discounted cost of $5.00 by bill or credit card for a full set of eight coins.)
The dark side: Disneyland guests have posted on social media and also asked us to mention some concerns: #1. Poor souvenir quality The vended collectibles are often off-center, missing part of the design or streaked by exposed underlying zinc. #2. The change from large, heavy, "quality" quarter dollar coins to small, light, undesirable copper-plated zinc (albeit new and shiny) pennies. #3. You can't "press your own penny". With converted machines, a significant part of the "Show" is missing, especially for kids. #4. The poor reliability of the converted machines. The fear of finding a "destination coin press" out of service. Especially after one has persevered the preparations, payments, and passage to the promised penny press. Note: Adjustment issues and repair delays could be temporary.
DL0719-721r PIXAR FEST DISNEYLAND® with a stared yo yo or Luxo ball and small stars in the background. This set of pressed coins can be easily identified and attributed to the Disneyland Resort, Anaheim because of this unique descriptive reverse. This particular stampback, stampback, or reverse was first reported onstage September 4, 2021 with the second Pixar Fest pressed coin set, the DL0719, DL0720, and DL0721. Similar to the DL0684, DL0685, DL0686, DL0687, DL0688, and DL0689 reverse. The image shown is a representative image of all reverses or stampbacks of this type. However, each coin type in this set will have a slightly different reverse image as each coin type has a separate and slightly unique reverse engraving. (Compare the 2018 and 2021 Pixar Fest coin sets side by side.) Larger pressed penny image in frame or window # 123
As of January 2026, this machine was reported as converted to pressing planchets and NO LONGER PRESSING PENNIES. As advanced collectors will remember, Post-COVID, Circa 2021, The Disneyland Resort converted "press your own" penny machines to press and vend pennies from internal hoppers, ending the hands-on "press your own coin" experience. In January of 2026, the hopper supplied U.S. cents in this machine and most all others at DLR were replaced with blank planchets (slugs). (Given the loss of the US cent and the design of these machines, it was probably unavoidable.) As a result, signage for most machines was ironically updated from "Collectible Pennies" etc. to "Pressed Coins" etc. possibly to notify consumers of the change. Because of these changes, "souvenirs" vended over time could have been pressed on copper or zinc cents (pre-2022) zinc cents (pre-2026) or planchets (2026+).
DL0722-729r Toy Story Logo Reverse. This reverse was used on the DL0722 - DL0729 pressed pennies first reported on January 9, 2022. The image shown is representative of all reverses or stampbacks that use this reverse design. However, each coin type will have a slightly different reverse image as each coin type has a separate and slightly unique reverse engraving.
Larger pressed penny image in
frame or window # 123
Pirates of the Caribbean Pressed Coin Set DL0730-732
This set is an update / redone version of the DL0639-641 pressed coins.
Guide listings and scans to follow.
As of January 2026, this machine was reported as converted to pressing planchets and NO LONGER PRESSING PENNIES. As advanced collectors will remember, Post-COVID, Circa 2021, The Disneyland Resort converted "press your own" penny machines to press and vend pennies from internal hoppers, ending the hands-on "press your own coin" experience. In January of 2026, the hopper supplied U.S. cents in this machine and most all others at DLR were replaced with blank planchets (slugs). (Given the loss of the US cent and the design of these machines, it was probably unavoidable.) As a result, signage for most machines was ironically updated from "Collectible Pennies" etc. to "Pressed Coins" etc. possibly to notify consumers of the change. Because of these changes, "souvenirs" vended over time could have been pressed on copper or zinc cents (pre-2022) zinc cents (pre-2026) or planchets (2026+).
DL0733-740r Star Wars Logo Reverse. This reverse was used on the DL0733 - DL0740 pressed coins. It is a reverse design common to other Star Wars pressed coins as well. The image shown is representative of all reverses or stampbacks that use this design. However, each coin type will have a slightly different reverse image as each coin type has a separate and slightly unique reverse engraving.
Larger pressed penny image in
frame or window # 123
DL0741-743r DISNEYLAND PARK (No ®). The horizontal image shown is a representative image of all reverses or stampbacks of this type. However, each coin type in this set will have a slightly different reverse image as each coin type has a separate and slightly unique reverse engraving. Larger pressed penny reverse image in frame or window # 123
Please note: Some "Retired" post-COVID coins and medallions have been returned, reissued or placed back onstage. This is a significant change from the pre-COVID policies that were in place and observed by the Disneyland Electro Mechanical Team Cast Members since 1987. Going forward, collectors are advised to keep this new policy in mind when acquiring "retired" coins which were originally issued post-COVID.
