No.... not the Connie Francis song of 1959.... no tears or broken hearts...
Living in an RV leaves very little space for big souvenirs. Several years ago.. actually long before we started traveling full time, I started collecting smashed (or pressed) pennies.
You know... those elongated pennies...
Made this way by ... what else? A pressed penny machine!
You put in your 2 quarters on one side, your nice, shiny penny in the slot on the other side.. then you line up the design you want (most machines have 4 designs) and slide your money into the slot. Then, depending on whether the machine is manual or electric, you press the button or crank the handle...
Voila! The machine spits out your penny, which is now flattened and embossed with a design.
Actually, using old pennies (before 1970) is recommended... something about the amount of copper... but these days, those old pennies are hard to find.
We were walking past a row of souvenir shops along Calle Colon the other day, and what to my wondering (or for me, wandering) eyes should appear?
You guessed it!
Yeah... that's me... standing by my latest find...
Only this took euros... AND... instead of the USA $1.01 souvenir, each of those flattened pennies above cost me about $1.35 (American). I didn't care... I got one of each ;-)
There are little "books" you can keep your pennies in (much like those books that I used to have as a kid that were for coin collections)... I think I have 7 books filled with smashed pennies... from over 30 states, several Canadian provinces, a few from Mexico, and various other vacation spots.
AND.. get this!
Back in the days when Geocaching had "locationless" caches (those who are cachers know what I'm talking about), there was one where you entered (on the website) a photograph of yourself beside a penny machine along with the coordinates. You better believe I participated in that cache!
You'd think I found a pot of gold the way I carry on when I find another machine...
Guess it doesn't take much to keep me entertained.
That's All For Today!
P.S. There's a website that gives the locations of all the penny machines in the USA and various other countries.... just Google "smashed penny" and you'll find it.
You say that living in an RV doesn't give you much room for souviners. How did you get your RV over to Spain? Shipped by sea, no doubt. Just kidding, I don't believe you took it with you.
ReplyDeleteDD... We left our RV in Glen Rose, TX (50 miles SW of Ft Worth) at our daughter's place. They took us to the DFW airport and will pick us up April 3rd. We know of folks who rent RVs in Europe, but we're not interested in doing that... just don't want the stress of driving here. We've spent several winters in Mexico in our rig, but again... if we go further south we wouldn't drive. Driving into Guatemala or other Central Am. countries just doesn't appeal to us....
ReplyDeleteI understand. Like I said, I was just kidding. We used to live in Justin, just north of Ft. Worth. Now we live in Cut & Shoot, just north of Houston. Enjoy your blogs and I travel with you, knowing that I will never leave the USA, (by choice)
ReplyDeleteI knew you were joking... but you know what? We did put our rig on the train in Mexico and travel through the Copper Canyon (back when you could still do that). Way back when I was young (and that WAS way back) my dream was to be a cook on a sea-going ship (not a cruise ship, but maybe a cargo ship... one of those down and dirty kind) and just travel the oceans. I didn't know back then that I got sea sick. Also, if we ever get back to Houston (Bill's aunt who lived there passed away so we don't get there very often) I'm gonna look you up and say howdy!
ReplyDeleteI remember those machines at tourist spots in the '50's. Niagara Falls, Watkins Glen, many places going west. My brothers were free with their vacation money, but I couldn't bear to put in the dime and only get a squashed penny back. I could buy a Coca-Cola at the next gas station with that dime.
ReplyDeleteJoanne... I have one from Watkins Glen.... I think that was when we were still taking vacations in our pickup truck... with an air mattress in the bed of the truck (it did have a cap over the bed)... and our water froze during the night. BUT... I got my penny! So.. what did you spend YOUR vacation money on?
ReplyDeleteI remember my kids getting those at the Como Park zoo when they were little. What a neat hobby/souvenir that turned out to be for you. Good going to find one in Seville!
ReplyDeleteHm, so I'm guessing that, since this hobby goes back a few years (no mention of just how many) you have maybe just a "few" of these squished pennies by now?? At least they don't take up too much room.
ReplyDeleteI remember doing that too at Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry, and other places. All of those squashed pennies are lost now. :(
ReplyDeleteIf you are not from the US, do you have to procure a US penny from somewhere or do they have a similar coin in Spain?
ReplyDeleteI have never heard of a smashed penny before!
ReplyDeleteThat's a good souvenir! We used to get mugs, then we downsized to shot glasses, then magnets, maybe we'll start doing the pennies. How fun! We still have a stix and brix but even at that, the keepsakes tend to take over after a while.
ReplyDeleteCool! This is something I've never heard of. I guess I've been under a toadstool all my life!
ReplyDeleteThat is a good idea:) We decided on the pins from natl parks and other sites.
ReplyDeleteHmmmm....I've never heard of this before. Kind of a fun idea.
ReplyDelete¿Siguen ustedes con las clases de español? se ve muy bonita la ciudad donde estan! Me gusta la foto del señor que esta flotando en el aire!
ReplyDeleteWe used to put pennies on railroad tracks and let the trains smash them. Nothing flattens a penny better than a diesel train engine!
ReplyDelete