Pressed penny from the Royal Fusiliers Museum in London

The museum is in the Tower of London and is dedicated to the history of the Royal Fusiliers Regiment. The regiment was begun in 1685 by James II and is part of the British army to this day. It fought in most of the British wars since it’s founding. Fusilier refers to soldiers armed with the fusil, which is a lightweight flintlock musket. They use a weapon a little more advanced today.

The penny press machine is pictured below. It’s made by the same company, Penny Mangle, as the ones in the Science Museum. Below that is the pressed penny. It was off center … more valuable as an error? LOL. The back was plain. The design I chose was the shoulder flash insignia. A shoulder flash is a badge worn on one or both shoulders of a soldier’s uniform. In the center is a Tudor rose. The motto is "Honi soit qui mal y pense". Surprising that it’s French, not Latin. It translates to "Evil be to him who evil thinks". Mike

 

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I always carry some pre 82 pennies when I travel to New places just in case they have one of these machines! The zincolns just don't turn out the right way!

 

Hastings (Poirot/Styles/Agatha Christie) was part of that regiment.

 

Copper is incumbent.....

 

Nice write-up! I live here in the States (obviously). I found this rusty RF badge while out metal detecting...
Also. I found this Penny pressing machine locator...
PennyCollector.com - The official website for elongated pennies, penny books
and penny machines

 

With these machines, you don't feed it the host coin - those are provided for you.

I think this company is setup in many London museums, we saw the same unit at the IWM.

 

They give you the penny and you can pay with a card? Wow, these machines have evolved!

 

There are a few older machines around like the one in Salisbury Cathedral. It’s completely non-electrical. You put a 1-pound coin and a penny in the coin-slide slots, push the slide in, and turn the wheel. This appeals to me more than the modern ones that read your credit card and supply their own pennies. I can see why the modern ones appeal to machine owners and lessors … no counterfeits, fewer mechanical problems, can adjust the customer charge easily, remote monitoring, etc.
Mike