Message:

<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Old Silver, post: 164600, member: 4686&quot;]The reason for the steel cents was I came across rolls of them that a dealer ws selling.&nbsp; They had obviously been re-conditioned&nbsp; and he was selling them pretty cheap (40c ea).&nbsp; To look at them, they are just the prettiest shade of ultra shiny, proof-like gun metal blue.&nbsp; Not knowing what I would ever do with them I picked up a few rolls and they have been sitting with my collection for several years.&nbsp; Just recently I wondered if I could smash them.&nbsp; I thought the colors would make very interesting and pretty sets.&nbsp; When I inquired and found that they work really well in the machines I tried a few and yes, they were very nice and Lincoln&#039;s bust and the date almost jump off the coin when pressed for some reason compared to their copper cousins.&nbsp; I think what makes them desirable is the date of the coins and you just don&#039;t see many of them offered as elongates.</p><p><br /></p><p>As far as my most interesting.&nbsp; Since I have only been doing the elongated coins for about a year I have only been able to hit the machines in this area and a few on vacation but I have come across some very nice designs.&nbsp; Probably my favorite are the casino designs from Vegas ( tons of machines) especially the ones from the M&amp;M Works and Nascar Cafe.&nbsp; My most prized and unique one would have to be one I found in a dusty case at an antique dealer in Frankenmuth, MI from the 1933 Chicago Worlds Fair.&nbsp; Collectors seem to favor the Walt Disney designs especially from Japan as I mentioned earlier.&nbsp; It must be popular in Japan because last weekend at the Air Force Museum I had to wait for a large group of young Japanese men that were smashing rolls of cents and organizing the 4 coin sets each in 3x3 ziplock bags.&nbsp; When I showed them the 1943 steel cents and what they looked like finished they bought every set I had made except for 2 sets I kept for myself.&nbsp; They were having a ball.</p><p><br /></p><p>Here is a very nice website that lists all the machine locations by state in the U.S. and even shows photos of the coins.&nbsp; <a href="http://www.pennycollector.com/AreaList.aspx" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.pennycollector.com/AreaList.aspx" rel="nofollow">http://www.pennycollector.com/AreaList.aspx</a>Also remember to use <u>non-zinc </u>lincoln&#039;s for best results or Canadian cents also seem to give a better finished product.&nbsp; I have an extra set of all-copper from the Air Force Museum if your kids would like them.&nbsp; Let me know.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

Your name or email address:

Do you already have an account?

• No, create an account now.
• Yes, my password is:
• Forgot your password?

Stay logged in