Suhail, Yucif, and I drove down to Richmond for the regional North American Young Generation in Nuclear (NA-YGN) conference in June. One of the trends we’re seeing lately is weekend events. This conference was held on a Saturday and the last plant tour I took was also on an off day. Probably has something to do with the economy.
Speaking of the economy, penny press prices are raising.
The machine at the Children’s Museum of Richmond costs 75c per coin. This machine at the Science Museum of Virginia, located inside the museum but within steps of the gift shop entrance, takes only dollar bills.
There were much debate over the raising cost of the hobby. Personally, I don’t mind it much. If all machines cost $1, that means my existing collection is also worth more. The part which I don’t care for is the preloaded pennies. It’s probably good business practice to load the machines with “bright new pennies”, as indicated, but I want my ECs pressed on copper. It takes a lot of effort to explain to other collectors that a certain design is “zinc only.”
I’m lucky to be traveling with friends who understand the craziness of this hobby. In addition to the museums, we also visited the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden (machine found to be in the back room and broken) and Maymont Park (drove around for half an hour and couldn’t find the entrance to the Visitor Center). We even stopped at the Bass Pro Shops in Ashland on the way back.
New ECs from Bass Pro Shops Ashland, VA
