Pennies From Heaven...

Blogging, and the sharing of your thoughts, obsessions, and quirky hobbies with an audience of one's friends, is occasionally accompanied by unforeseen consequences. For instance, after posting on my love of pressed pennies a couple months ago, these tiny scraps of tortured metal have provided a whole new level of connection between me and my friends. You see, people have started bringing me elongated pennies that they have made on their travels, or just around town when they saw a machine and thought of me. I didn't write my post with the intention of soliciting gifts, but rather, to share something eccentric about myself. Still, the additions to my collection have certainly been a unexpected perk, and it makes me happy to know that I've spread the joy of pressing pennies to my extended circle of friends.

After returning from a recent trip to visit her family in Florida, my friend Natasha informed me that she had brought be a little something from her travels. I certainly hadn't expected any sort of souvenir, but when she produced a Ziploc baggie of pressed pennies from her backpack, I was beyond delighted. As it turned out, she and her family made a game of who could spot the penny presses at Disney World, and taking turns making the pennies. It wasn't until the end of the day that a park employee informed them that they could have obtained a penny machine map at the information desk, but I think that would have spoiled their fun. Thanks for thinking of me during your vacation, Natasha!

Although Natasha brought me a small bounty consisting of fourteen pennies, I thought I would just share a representative sample.

Actually, my interest in pressed pennies has even netted me a new friend, Brandon, who is also an elongated coin enthusiast, although he is a far more serious collector than I am. I knew him tangentially, as he also works at the museum, but when one of our coworkers pointed out our mutual interest after reading my blog, we got to know each other better. Now Brandon brings me copies of the pennies he presses on his weekend jaunts in search of all the machines in the Chicagoland area. Even though we are on totally different levels, it's still great to have someone with whom to share my hobby, and expand my collection at the same time. Thanks Brandon!