Elongated Coins - Click Here to go to The Penny Machine Company for Souvenir Penny Machines

Elongated Coins Prolong Memories of Memorable Events

Every child who has lived for very long by a railroad track has laid a coin on the track for a train to flatten. The incredible force the train inflicts on the coin causes the coin to both flatten and stretch into an oval. The combination of the flattening and stretching obliterates most of the original design of the coin. This was the origin of elongated coin production. Soon, instead of a clumsily engraved date hand etched on the coin, elongated coins were produced with elaborate embossed designs as a means of commemorating an event or as a souvenir.

Collecting elongated coins is popular in the United States and has its own branch of numismatics, exonumia. It was in 1893 at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois that the first such collectable coins were produced for sale. From the period between 1893 and 1965 the elongateds, as they were known, were issued mostly at nationwide fairs. However, starting around 1965 individuals who rolled and engraved their own designs began to enter the market. When commercial machines were introduced in 1985 the private rollers were slowly displaced. Today amusement parks, museums and other attractions purchase machines for customers to produce their own souvenirs.

Entrepreneur purchased machines give customers multiple engraving options to commemorate any event whether historical or personal in nature. While coins of any denomination can be used, the penny has always been the most popular. Most machines charge 50 cents in addition to the penny to be elongated. Although less common, machines which press quarters, dimes and nickels can also be found. Additional information about elongated coins, and the machines available to make them, can be found at The Penny Machine Company. A free brochure can be downloaded and information about medallion and tag machines can also be found there.