The Ultimate Guide To Disney World Pressed Pennies
/What Are Disney Pressed Pennies?
Disney Pressed Pennies, or ‘elongated coins’, first emerged in Walt Disney World in 1994, over 100 years since they were first sold as souvenirs at the 1893 World’s Colombian Exposition (Chicago, USA). Disney pressed pennies (and quarters) are just like other ones you find at major tourist attractions but, as with everything Disney, they’ve gone all out. You’ll find Coin Presses all over Walt Disney World. In the parks, resorts, around Disney Springs and more.
Since each press offers multiple designs, you’ll be able to collect hundreds of unique coins displaying various characters, attractions and events.
Pressed coins are fun, reasonably priced souvenirs that you can collect throughout your Disney trip and display when you get home.
There are two basic types of Coin Press in Disney. There are the now-rare hand-cranked presses, where you pay with coins and provide the penny yourself. Then there are the newer and vastly more common digital presses where you pay with dollar bills, a card or your smartphone. With these machines, Disney provide a nice shiny penny for you. This ultimate guide will teach you everything you need to know about pressed pennies at Walt Disney World.
Related: The Ultimate Guide To Disney Dollars
How Much Are Pressed Pennies At Walt Disney World
You’ll pay different amounts depending on the type of coin pressed and the type of machine that you use (old/new) throughout Disney.
(Common) Digital Coin Press Machine - $1 Per Penny or $3-$10 For 3-12 Pennies (Cash or Card)
(Common) Digital Coin Press Machine - $1 Per Penny (Cash Only) or $3 For 3 Pennies (Card Only)
(Rare) Hand-Cranked Penny Press Machine - $0.51 Each (2 Quarters To Pay + Penny To Press)
(Very Rare) Old & Very Rare Hand-Cranked Quarter Press Machine - $1.25 (4 Quarters To Pay + Quarter To Press)
There are 2 types of the more common digital machines. Some machines give you the option to buy 1 or all of the pennies by cash or card. Other machines need a $1 Bill if you want 1 Penny and a card payment for all the pennies. You’ll usually get a discount for buying multiple (eg. 8 for $5) but that’s not always the case. These digital machines do charge more than the older, hand-cranked machines, which charged you $0.51 per press.
Most of the digital machines accept VISA, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, Apply Pay, Samsung Pay and Google Pay.
How Do I Find Coin Presses At Walt Disney World?
Whilst it’s sometimes fun just to wander around the parks and happen upon machines, it’s sometimes better to know their exact locations, especially if you’re building a collection. Here, I have a few suggestions:
Get a Disney World Coin Press Checklist - Includes Coin Press locations not listed on the app. Mark them off as you go. Search locations using the My Disney Experience app if you’re not sure where they are.
Search ‘Coin Press’ on the My Disney Experience App (Below) - Not every machine is listed and some of the locations aren’t up to date but you’ll find a lot of them that way.
Ask a cast member - Disney World cast members are usually very adept at pointing you towards the nearest machine.
2024 Walt Disney World Coin Press Souvenir Checklist
Looking for a checklist of Coin Press Machines across the parks and resorts at Walt Disney World? Get this handy, ready made printable PDF.
The regularly updated checklist shows Coin Press locations across the 4 parks, Water Parks, Disney Springs, Disney Resorts, Disney Spring Parter Hotels and the ESPN Wide World of Sport. Includes Coin Press locations not marked on the My Disney Experience app.
How To Shine Your Pressed Pennies
In my experience, most of the machines use new, shiny pennies and since Disney provide the penny for you (in most cases), you won’t really have to worry about taking shiny pennies with you. That said, once you’ve got your pressed penny, you’ll want to retain its shine.
For a quick clean, I’d recommend using an eraser, ketchup, cola or baking soda. For a deeper clean, use a softer kids toothbrush and Wright’s Copper Cream.
If you’re using a hand-cranked machine, do it slowly to give yourself the best chance of pressing a clean and crisp penny.
If you want to carry some pennies with you (in case you come across older machines), I’d use pre-1982 coins if you can find them. Before 1982, pennies had a high Copper percentage. Pennies from 1982 onwards are made by Copper-plating Zinc. Pressing these newer coins can cause ‘stress marks’ to show. You’re basically seeing the Zinc underneath shine through, which can make for an odd looking press.
Pre-clean these coins to make sure any grime isn’t pressed into the penny and store them in an M&Ms Mini Candy tube. If you’re already in Disney World, try asking a cashier cast member if they can give you some shiny change.
How To Flatten Disney Pressed Pennies
Whilst some of your pressed pennies will come out flat enough to bend them into shape by hand, some will have a much more pronounced bend to them. In order to prevent damage to the pennies design, I’d suggest bracelet bending pliers. These pliers have a curved head and they’re soft enough to avoid damaging the penny’s design.
Where Can I Buy 2nd Hand Disney Pennies?
Whilst there are a few niche sites for pressed penny trading, the best way to find a set of Disney pennies (or one in particular) is through eBay.
As with any eBay purchase, pay attention to the seller’s feedback rating and watch out for any import duty if you’re buying from abroad (opt for eBay’s Global Shipping Programme for a bit more certainty regarding import duty.
How To Display Your Disney Penny Collection
Once you’ve got your pressed pennies, you might be wondering what to do with them. You’ve got a few options here:
Pressed Coin Book - You can buy Disney pressed penny books in the parks and they hold around 50 pressed coins
Framed Canvas - How we opted to display our pennies. We displayed them with adhesive putty in a square frame
Pro Tip: Protect your Disney pressed pennies from degradation with wax metal polish
The Story of The Secret Pressed Penny In The France Pavilion
Prior to the attraction’s closure in February 2022, completing ‘Agent P’s World Showcase Adventure’ granted you the opportunity to collect a rare pressed penny from the Souvenirs De France store in Epcot.
Eagle eyed pressed penny fans would have noticed that the ‘Souvenirs De France’ Coin Press machine in Epcot only had two designs to choose from. That’s because this was the location of a hidden ‘Agent P’ penny.
On Agent P’s Adventure, you’d receive a series of missions, integrated through the Play Disney Parks app, which would take you to different Epcot pavilions, hunting for clues and interacting with the app.
On the ‘Penny For Your Evil Thoughts’ mission, you’d be instructed to say this secret phrase to the ‘Souvenirs De France’ cashier cast member:
'I’m from maintenance; I need a penny to test the pennyinator”
On hearing the secret phrase, the cast member would give you a penny and direct you to the coin press machine in the store. You’d insert the penny, hit a button on the app and a ‘Mr P’ penny would be pressed and drop out of the machine.
Whilst the Agent P attraction shut in early 2020, Disney have previously stated a replacement experience may debut sometime in the not to distant future.
Do you have any questions about Disney Pressed Pennies? Comment below or message me on Twitter @AndrewYBlogs or Instagram @ourdepartureboard
Looking for a fun way to tour Walt Disney World without the kids in 2024? Here are our top 3 complete Disney World Bar Crawl experiences with unique souvenir printables for each one.