A while back, Tracy, of Artsy Science fame blogged about how on the back of a penny, you can see Lincoln’s statue in the Lincoln Memorial. His Penny Wise post gathered quite a few comments.
Over here in NZ, we don’t have 1c denominations and when I visited the States last year, those little copper coloured coins drove me nuts. I kept being called back by over zealous store people because I was leaving without my “change” of two or three pennies.
Needless to say, I was delighted to discover that places like the Smithsonian Museums and Disney Land obviously share my disdain for the penny, as they actively encourage one to squash them.
I would have squashed more pennies if they had not charged an extra 50c (US) for the privilege. Below, are my three squashed penny souvenirs. The one on the top right is from EPCOT center, sadly it is not as clear as the ones from the Natural History Museum and “Air and Space”.
Click on the photo to enlarge it, use your back button to return to this blog.
I love it! It reminds me of placing coins on the train tracks as a child and waiting for the train to come by and “squash” the coins. Unknown to most people is that this is actually quite legal.
Your smooshed pennies are very cool, and I have a greater respect for these institutions knowing that they provide this service. This is the first time I have ever seen these “mints.”
Now you can truly say that you made something out of nothing!