The North Myrtle Beach Area Historical Museum, scheduled to open March 10, 2013, will bring the new Penny Press on a Post to the Irish Italian International Festival this weekend.
“With the community’s history of arcade activities, the squished penny machine was a logical choice for local souvenirs,” said Museum Director Jenean Todd. “As a squished penny collector, I visited area merchants to inventory their machines. While there are six machines in the city, I was surprised to find that only one, Professor Hacker’s Lost Treasure Golf, advertised North Myrtle Beach.”
The Museum will introduce four North Myrtle Beach designs at the upcoming festival. Four additional designs will be available on a fixed-location machine when the Museum opens. Squished—or elongated—pennies have a long history in the U.S. The first elongated coins (EC) were pressed at the 1892-1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois.
Interest in elongated coins ebbed in 1916, but increased again in 1932. Since then, collectors venture to attractions and historic sites that have penny press machines. The website PennyCollector.com provides a wealth of elongated coin information. There, one can discover U.S. and international locations of penny presses, trade or purchase elongated coins, and join many collector groups.
Museum volunteers look forward to sharing the new souvenirs with festival attendees.
Grand Strand Happening is your source for everything happening in Horry County, South Carolina. With up-to-date local coverage of businesses, events and people, our digital magazine is your local online destination for everything fun & exciting in and around Myrtle Beach. Follow us on Facebook & Twitter; join in the conversation, enter contests, and be the first to know Grand Strand Happening! 
