Scarce Disneyland prototype pressed coins are, in my opinion, the most challenging and most fun elongated coins to collect in the world of Disney pressed coins. They offer both cool bits of Disney trivia and interesting behind the scenes history. Not to mention they include some of the most valuable Disney elongated coins on Earth. Recap: Cool History + Small Number + Hard To Find = FUN! :-)
There are good reasons why there is an ever growing interest in Disneyland "Prototype" pressed coins and why they have held super-star status for so long. Matter of fact, as many Advanced Collectors of Disneyana elongated coins will attest, Disney prototype pressed coins seem to be getting both more popular and scarcer day by day. All in spite of the fact that they're often not just hard to find, but, hard to even find out about. Needless to say, few of these unusual collectable are ever seen. (Other than here at ParkPennies.com. :-) So, if you are starting a collection, our advice is don't be discouraged or impatient. After all, if collecting these fun treasures was easy, it wouldn't be as much fun... or so I keep telling myself. :-) Cost? Boomer of ParkPennies acquired one of the coins shown in this guide on eBay for less than $5.00! Okay, that's just once in 30 years, but, it can happen. :-) And over the past 20+ years, we have seen some prototype coins at Disneyana shows from time to time. But, best of all is trading coins with fellow collectors; it can be a fun way to help compete two collections. :-)
Do you have an unidentifiable Disneyland elongated coin that you'd like us to attribute? It's a sneaky way we add coins to this guide.... er, ah, <smile> I mean to say... We greatly appreciate web site help from fellow collectors, Disneyana show exhibitors, and other hobby associated sources that have shared their knowledge, coins, and images with us for use in this guide since the mid 1990s or so. (Yes, Boomer really is old. :-) We also are very happy to share our knowledge with ParkPennies visitors by way of this web site and via email. We hope you will visit often and please don't be shy about contacting us if you have a question or comment. (Pictured above: The First Known Prototype Disney Pressed Coin
The DN0001, Mickey Rays)
Which pressed coins are included in this guide? To be included in this "DN", Disneyland Neverland Guide, the elongated coin die designs used to press a coin, planchet, or token must have been authorized, licensed, or otherwise ordered to be engraved for the benefit of the Disneyland Resort. However, unlike elongated coins listed in all other ParkPennies guides, DN Guide prototype / pattern pressed coins must never have been officially released or issued to the public or given to Cast Members other than as prototypes, patterns / samples. Prototype coins, known only by reported intermediate engraver's "progressive proof" or "test rolls", are included in the ParkPennies DNS Disneyland Neverland Prototype Guide Supplement. If / when a completed example of a DNS listed die is found, the qualifying coins / dies will be listed in the appropriate ParkPennies.com guide, such as the DN Disneyland Neverland Prototype Guide.
Why didn't Disney place these coins onstage? Detective work, ParkPennies visitor emails and interviews with trusted sources by Robert Hoff of ParkPennies.com support rumors that some coin dies were engraved only for use as prototypes to test a concept or design. Other coin dies were intended for the stage, that is, for pubic issue, but could not be used as intended because of minor artwork or design oversights, incompatible die / machine types, engraving that didn't translate from the original art, die failure during early testing, and on occasion because needed machine placement locations became unavailable or unsuitable. In short, these dies did not find fame onstage at Disneyland. But, they have often found fame here in the world of Disney elongated coin collecting.
Off-denomination pressed coins or "non-native" pressed coins are often scarce and usually very sought after. However, because
"coin" listings are really listings of the individual coin dies that were used to press the coins, off-denomination coin variations such as nickels, pressed dimes, pressed quarters, arcade tokens, etc. that were pressed in place of the "native" penny are only listed as prototypes unless they were pressed on prototype coin dies.
Most of the known off-denomination variations of Disney pressed coins, are not currently listed. However, we hope to add them to our collection guides in the future. Collectors needing guide numbers for "non-native" coins today, need only add a suffix of N, D, Q, T, etc. for Nickel, Dime, Quarter, Token, to the standard guide number, e.g. DN0019P for cataloging / trading purposes.
And of course, if possible, please do send a scan of any denominational variations not already listed for inclusion in future guide updates.
Coin submissions and Rumored coins are received by us sometimes anony-mousely now and then and we both appreciate and value these reports. However, we need to have a good scan or see the actual coin, attribute appropriate provenance, and in some cases, secure permission from the image / coin owner before the coins can be verified and fully listed in the guides. Some poor quality scans collected over the years from eBay auctions etc. have been used. We were unable to determine the image owner of one or two images. We hope the current coin owners will contact us so we may obtain a better image and give them proper credit. So, if you emailed us an anony-mouse report, and the coin currently has "rumored" status, it's nothing personal. We agree the coin is probably out there somewhere, it's just that need a bit more information for the coin to be fully vetted and listed correctly.
Disclaimers...
Are you are considering the acquisition of an unlisted coin believed to be a "DN" prototype? Please contact us to inquire if your coin is already known by us, if it has a reserved / rumored coin guide number or possibly help us / you to confirm the provenance of your coin for listing in this guide. (See you name in print for your find. :-)
Prototype guide numbering is not yet 100% definitive. (This is my way of saying it's a mess. :-) We're thinking a pencil might be a better choice than a pen when numbering your coin holders with the current guide numbers. After our extensive 9/2015 DN Guide re-write the completeness of the guide from the beginning of time to around 2013 is very good... maybe even definitive. But, please keep in mind prototype coins by nature, even with the help of the many generous ParkPennies.com contributors, operatives, spies and secrete agents :-) are still often reported / found in a haphazard hit and miss order. They are sometimes discovered long (like decades, not days) after they were first pressed and therefore cannot be added to the guides in as orderly a way as onstage coins are. So, to keep this very exclusive and challenging group of prototype elongated coins in conformity with our other chronologically ordered guides, we may have to add / renumber some coins within the existing DN guide in the future. If / when "reserved spaces" are inadequate, new numbers may be added between existing numbers with a . (dot) extension to maintain chronological order and avoid the inconvenience of reordering collection pages if / when more permanent numbers can be assigned, e.g. DN0001.1. Old timers will recall that this is the way the first Disneyland Guide was initially drafted in the mid 1990s.
Estimates of the number of coins known to be in the hands of collectors are based on coins known by ParkPennies.com to have been sold, traded, seen or reported by trusted sources. Readers are advised that not all coins are held by "known collectors". Also, some coins may be counted twice as they pass through the hands of different collectors and previously unreported caches of coins can surface. Die status, that is, whether or not the original unmodified die is still "open" or able to press additional coins, is always uncertain until the die is known to have been canceled.
DN0004 Double Band
MICKEY 60 YEARS prototype pressed penny. Horizontal penny image.
MICKEY 60 YEARS, lines above and below 60 Years, ("Double Band") Mickey Mouse standing, DISNEYLAND,
grip arcs over 5 dots in the dot border. Very similar to the DL0003. Believed to date back to 1988. No backstamped examples known. (No Disney elongated coins pressed before 2004 are known to have backstamps.)
In addition to the length of the gripper slot, there are other differences between this coin and the three dot version, the DL0003. No evidence has been found that this coin was ever
on-stage.
In 2008, denominational variations of this coin were sold via an internet auction. However, in total, there are few collections known to have examples of the DN0004 as of 2015. (This Disneyland pressed coin number made with The #DNP0004.0.0 obverse elongated coin die in its original "0" state / variation, paired with a blank "0" reverse coin die.) Larger prototype elongated coin image in frame or window # 123or Giant Image.
Related: Our elongated coin comparison page.
Disneyland "Penny Art" pressed nickels, an interesting, but, hard to find set. Interviews with Cast Members and related research by Robert Hoff of ParkPennies.com support the
long held belief that these "Penny Art" dies were engraved as "penny-sized" coin dies in error. A Cast Member that was close to this project at the time, in the mid 1990s, stated that when these dies arrived they were tested in a machine set up and designed, for the first time to "intensionally" press nickels. :-) However, the smaller than expected penny-sized die images which were supplied left an unacceptable blank space
at the end of the rolled coin. So, corrected, dies with larger images were ordered before the
machine was placed on-stage.
The machine when placed onstage became the first Disney coin press in world to press nickels.
Per the best information available to us to date in 2020, less than a dozen "penny art" sets are believed to be in the hands of collectors. (We have seen coins trade hands. But, to the best of our knowledge, no new coins have been offered in many years. Reports of incomplete sets persist. We do not believe an equal numbers of each coin in this set of three were made. Examples are also known
to exist on non-native or off-denomination coins such as cents.
Die status is unknown.
Related: Our scarce or rare Disneyland pressed pennies and elongated coins page.
The Mickey Mouse "Pressed Penny Art" Nickel
DN0019 Top Hat Mickey Penny Art
prototype vertical pressed nickel. Mickey, full length,
in tux with top hat & cane, "e" for Eurolink Design Corporation replaces the dot nearest the center of the gripper slot, DISNEYLAND. Penny-sized image. Similar to the DL0058, DL0058a and DN0019P. Die believed to have been engraved in early 1995.No backstamped examples known. (No Disney elongated coins pressed before 2004 are known to have backstamps.) Open prototype elongated coin image in
frame or window #123or Giant Top Hat Mickey Penny Art Pressed Nickel Comparison image, or our Top Hat Mickey Pressed Nickels comparison page. DN0019P Top Hat Mickey
Penny Art
prototype vertical pressed penny. Mickey, full length, in tux with top hat & cane, "e" for Eurolink Design Corporation replaces the dot nearest the center of the gripper slot, DISNEYLAND. Penny-sized image. No backstamped examples known. (No Disney elongated coins pressed before 2004 are known to have backstamps.)
Here is an example of a scarce off-denomination cent variation of the DN0019. It was pressed on the incorrectly sized DN0019 "penny art" nickel die. See also DN0019, DL0058 and DL0058a.
Reported by and original image courtesy of The Mark Brown Collection. (This Disneyland pressed coin number made with The #DNP0019.0.0 obverse elongated coin die in its original "0" state / variation, paired with a blank "0" reverse coin die.) Larger prototype elongated coin image in
frame or window # 123
The 40 Years of Adventure "Pressed Penny Art" Nickel
DN0021 Minnie & Purse Penny Art prototype pressed nickel. Vertical pressed coin. Minnie, full length with purse, "e" for Eurolink Design Corporation replaces the dot nearest the center of the gripper slot, DISNEYLAND. Penny-sized image. Similar to the DL0060,DL0060a and DN0021P. Die believed to have been engraved in early1995. No backstamped examples known. (No Disney elongated coins pressed before 2004 are known to have backstamps.) Open larger prototype elongated coin image in
frame or window #123 or Giant Comparison image, or our comparison page. DN0021P Minnie & Purse Penny Art prototype pressed penny. Vertical pressed coin. Minnie, full length with purse, "e" for Eurolink Design Corporation replaces the dot nearest the center of the gripper slot, DISNEYLAND. Penny-sized image. No backstamped examples known. (No Disney elongated coins pressed before 2004 are known to have backstamps.)
This is an example of a scarce off-denomination or cent variation of the DN0021. It was pressed by the incorrectly cut DN0021 penny-sized nickel die. See also DN0021, DL0060 and DL0060a.
Reported by and original image courtesy of The Mark Brown Collection. (This Disneyland pressed coin number made with The #DNP0021.0.0 obverse elongated coin die in its original "0" state / variation, paired with a blank "0" reverse coin die.) Larger prototype elongated coin image in
frame or window # 123
DN0023 Second Edition
Pressed Penny Book coin. Horizontal pressed penny image. Disneyland Castle, Disney's California Adventure Grizzly Peak, Disneyland Resort Monorail, Disneyland ® RESORT. No backstamped examples known. (No Disney elongated coins pressed before 2004 are known to have backstamps.) The coin is believed to have been engraved exclusively for the Prototype Disneyland Resort Penny Press Collection Book,
Second Edition. Coin looks somewhat like the DR0049.
Blank back. Reportedly proposed as a follow-up to the well received First Edition Penny Collector Book. Unfortunately, this extremely scarce book and coin are known only as prototypes. (The publisher stated at the time that only two penny collecting books were made and used in concept presentations.) Images courtesy of a kind anony-mouse ParkPennies.com reader. Die status is believed to be open. (This Disneyland pressed coin number made with The #DNP0023.0.0 obverse elongated coin die in its original "0" state / variation, paired with a blank "0" reverse coin die.) Larger prototype elongated coin
image in
frame or window # 123
Related:
The ParkPennies Disneyland Resort Penny Press Collection Book,
Second Edition detail page.
The UNION BANK OF CALIFORNIA,
UBOC Pressed Penny Prototypes
The Union Bank of California pressed penny prototype set of coins were all pressed on a single four image die shaft. Each has a train image that is
difficult to recognize. It did not even come close to meeting the high standards of the penny press company that was commissioned to engrave the dies and manufacture the machine. So, a replacement die roll of DL0153-DL0156 was engraved which reduced the focal image to
just the locomotive and tender while increasing the image size.
The original ring die of four images, used to press the prototype set, was reported and later confirmed destroyed by the engraver / owner as well as a trusted source.
The finished hand crank penny press machine, with the new, corrected dies held a place of honor in the UBOC Bank, Main Street, Disneyland for about two years where UBOC pennies could be pressed for free(!) Related: Our scarce or rare Disneyland pressed pennies and elongated coins page.
LEFT: Side by
side comparison of the scarce DN0024 and common DL00153. (Click the thumbnail for a larger image.) As you can see there are many small details that separate these two coin types. Easiest to for me to identify is the banner at the bottom of the design that breaks through the beaded border on the Disneyland DL variety and stops short of the border on the prototype DN variety. All UBOC elongated pennies have no examples with backstamps are known.
RIGHT: View
DL0153 - DL0156 dot placement detail. (Same as DN0024-DN0027)
The four coins vended by this four die hand crank penny press were all nearly identical, with the exception of an enlarged dot that was placed differently, sequentially, on each coin in the set. Click the image above to open a larger image with greater detail. (Yes, a small detail for some, a giant detail for ParkPennies.com. :-)
DN0045 This number is an open chronological placeholder for a possible future coin.
The Abominable Snowman
Pressed Pennies
The DN0046 Claw Prototype, The DL0236 MatterNhorn Error Coin, and The DL00250 Corrected Onstage Coin
DN0046 Matterhorn Abominable Snowman Prototype Pressed Penny. DISNEYLAND ®, Corrected spelling of MATTERHORN on banner, castle pennant below, abominable snowman or Yeti also known as "Harold", waist up, standing behind banner, (c) Disney, no border. Snowman's left hand has a "dripping claw" and other small points that differentiate this coin / die from the DL0250. Circa 7/2004. No backstamped examples known. (No Disney elongated coins pressed before 2004 are known to have backstamps.)
View very large image of the DN0046 in a new window. See also the Matterhorn pressed coin comparison page. (This Disneyland pressed coin number made with The #DNP0043.0.0 obverse elongated coin die in its original "0" state / variation, paired with a blank "0" reverse coin die.)
Larger prototype elongated penny image in
frame or window # 123or Giant Image
DN0049 The New Space Mountain 2005
Prototype Pressed Penny. Top of Space Mountain, THE NEW SPACE MOUNTAIN 2005, wire border. Engraved in-house by the Disneyland Arcade Shop. Might have passed as good quality. Not Jimmy Vargas Eurolink die quality, but, good. The Tomorrowland single die machine was taken offstage, but never returned as three die machines became the standard around this time. Not closely similar to any other elongated coin, prototype or onstage. No backstamped examples known.
Our thanks to the very generous anony-mouse ParkPennies reader that offered to share this image with fellow collectors. (This Disneyland pressed coin number made with The #DNP0046.0.0 obverse elongated coin die in its original "0" state / variation, paired with a blank "0" reverse coin die.) Larger prototype elongated coin image in
frame or window # 123
DN0050 This number is an open chronological placeholder for a possible future coin.
DN0011 This number is an open chronological placeholder for a possible future coin.
DN0023 Second Edition
Pressed Penny Book coin.
DN0025 Union Bank of California "UBOC" prototype pressed coin.
DN0031 Mickey Mouse Tower of Terror
pressed penny prototype. 
DN0032 Tower of Terror, HTH pressed penny prototype.
DN0033 Bellhop Goofy pressed penny prototype. 
