I was doing some correspondence for the site when I stumbled upon the discussion of different types of 2×2s. (btw, I always appreciate incoming mail as I’m constantly surprised at the level of support visitors show, even though I’m horrible at posting blogs.)
There are two types of 2×2 cardboard holders, designed specifically for elongated coins. For a lack of better description, the types of holders are generally referred to as “Large Windows” or “Small Windows”.
Large Window
Small Window
Window, of course, is referring to the oval opening covered by mylar. Both types are used to hold pennies, while Large Window can also be used for nickels and sometimes quarters. The pictures above show the differences.
So… what’s all the fuss about? Not much, unless you have a strong preference as to how you’d like to store and view your coins. Some folks like to use Large Window holders because they’re versatile (they can be used for pennies and nickels, maybe even for quarters). Others prefer Small Windows because pennies shift around in the holder designed to fit larger coins. Personally, I would like to store all my pennies in the Small Window holders and use the Large Window type only for nickels.
What prevents me from satisfying this strange but definite EC storage/display desire? It’s a given that these 2×2s can only be purchased online (local coin shops can’t afford to stock exonumia supplies) and most online stores carry only one type of these holders. For the sake of convenience, I end up with whichever type of holders the shop happens to be carrying.
There seems to be coins piling up everywhere… In my purse, my wallet, my car compartments, and of course in the box where I normally put unsorted coins.
Last week, my parents came to visit and brought with them a bag of ECs from Nanjing. They weren’t too happy when they saw the offering just lying around. That’s the problem with receiving the gift and the giver at the same time.
Towards the end of their visit, we went to the Baltimore National Aquarium. These were pressed at $1.01 each. Hopefully I’ll be able to work backwards and get the coins from China entered in next. One of these days, I’ll have to write longer posts and actually talk about the trips. But it’s already such work just entering in 25 coins within one setting…
New ECs from National Aquarium Baltimore, MD
The first step to recovery is to admit that moving is very destructive to EC collections. Every time I relocate, I seem to lose a dozen coins. Out of which, 8 I’d never figure out that I’ve lost, 3 I’d perplex over for several years to come, and 1 I’d confirm right away and that would always be among one of my favorites.
I want to go through all of the nicely labeled coins first, probably because that’s easier than sorting through the random ECs I tossed into a box while packing. For example, the first coin that I fished out reads “MEERKAT, ADELAIDE ZOO”. Did I press this? If not, who gave it to me? Where is Adelaide Zoo? Where’s the rest of the set? And why doesn’t the image look anything like a meerkat?
As it turned out, Adelaide Zoo is in Australia. So that solved most of the mysteries (Aussies got great accents, but they were never good at drawing meerkats.) After carefully labeling the coins, I tried to find my foreign coins box. This took a long time. There were moments when I wondered if this was the end, because I’d kill myself if somehow all my international coins were lying in a dumpster somewhere by accident. Then I remembered that I used the box as a door stop when I first unpacked it a few months ago… Whew~
Of course, it couldn’t have been this easy… I couldn’t login to phpMyAdmin, undoubtedly due to the lack of use. Oh well, maybe the same password will work if I try again tomorrow.
I’ve been HORRIBLE at upkeeping.
I just moved recently and nothing is in its rightful place. There were around 30 boxes, 25 of them are unpacked, yet I’m still missing half of my EC collection… Last time I moved, I lost a good number of ECs. I must have just stuffed them somewhere and tossed them accidentally. I really hope that won’t be the case this time.
By the way, introducing Miguel! Who is an EC collector in Spain and has an awesome website. Click here for Google translate. I’ve also added his site to the links. Speaking of which, I should move the links block upward… It’s not very helpful when you have to scroll to get to it.
So far the trip’s been terrific.
I didn’t do a bit of research before coming here, but I’m pleasantly surprised by all that’s in central London. Everything’s so ornate. It’s almost impossible to imagine the man power and money that went into the construction.
We were walking by Parliament and the Big Ben to get to Westminster Abbey. People put tremendous thoughts into each brick and it feels like I can just stand there and stare at the wall all day. The Abbey is even more fantastic. Even kings and queens had to claw a few square inches for entombment. When we got to the Victoria and Albert Museum, there were statues, among other royal knick knacks, pouring out the doors. Many of them monuments designed to be in the Abbey.
Now for what we actually care about - pennies! (or… here they call them pence.)
I pressed 8 coins at the London Eye (missed one machine), 4 coins at the Tower, 8 coins at Kew Garden, and 2 coins at Harrods. Harrods has replaced the die to 2011 and the machine at the pet shop was broken. I don’t know how many times we’ve passed by the London Bridge Experience or the Tower Bridge Experience, but never had a chance to press the coins.
Coin pressing is an expensive business in London. Each costs one pound, which is close to $2. That’s crazy!! The most expensive EC in America is only $1, and those are only in national museums where the admissions are free. I think it has something to do with the pound coins being widely used here. Personally, I find these coins precious, using both meaning of the word - they are much more likable than our Sacagawea and, obviously, are worth more in the International market. Anyway, I’m still hopeful to find a 50 pence machine somewhere in the city.
I’m heading to London next weekend.
My family’s been planning this trip for a while and I’ve known that there are penny machines in the city forever, still it came as a surprise how absolutely unprepared I still am. Where are these places? What type of coins do they use? Should I write down some addresses? Does it matter since I’ll have no idea where I’m at half of the time anyway?
Since I’ll be there for over a week, I guess there will be time enough to figure out the tube system, draw a traveling salesman map, and collect change from a bank.
New Year Resolution: Post more often… (Also, learn to delegate to my manager at work.)
So, I was changing my password on this site when I realized that there are subscribers… Wow~ How is it possible that I never learn this before? If I knew people were reading this, I would have sorted material for my autobiography here. Well, it’s never too late - Chapter 1: I Am Born… just kidding
I’m looking over my desk, trying to remember where all these coins come from. I have the last batch of ECs Jason, Jessica, and Derek pressed for me on their trip to Monterey, CA. There are a couple of coins from New Orleans, a gift from my quilting buddy, Wendy’s, husband. Suhail, Yucif, and I also went on a trip to Vegas a few months ago and there were some coins from that trip. One of my trades landed me coins from Korea, Germany, and Australia. I still haven’t figure out whether these coins from Taiwan, marked as “Bubble Electric Company” is from an actual electric company… And, last but not least, there is a bag of dirty zincs that I need to sort through (don’t drink and bid, otherwise you may end up with a bag of these as well.)
The place where Jason, Jessica, and Derek visited was called Mackerel Jack’s (not Monterey Jack’s).
I’ve also added the last two coins from the National Museum of Natural Science in Taichung, Taiwan
More later…
All over Taipei, there are advertisement for the 2010 International Flora Exposition.
My trip coincide with the opening day and I got some ECs from the shows. There are some characters developed for the Expo, but I can’t tell apart from the other on the coins.
New ECs from Yuan Shan Expo Showroom Taipei, Taiwan
I know I’m missing coins from this set. Not surprising since I sent everyone in every direction, pressing whatever they can find. Hopefully I’ll be able to get more details later.
I also got a key chain that holds a single EC, designed as the Expo logo.
The material is made of soft rubber and there is a groove inside the oval opening so the coin easily fits inside the key chain, covering the boarder.
For purchases this crazy, it deserves a devoted post.
I bought these coins back in July. I’ve seen the Vintage TDL coins sell as high as hundreds, so the listing price of $50 each sounded like a real steal. Of course, there are millions of people out there who’d think it’s insane to spend this kind of money on a slab of copper, but here they are - some of the most expensive coins in the collection:
1996 Mickey Mouse Type 1: TDLVT01 Purchase price: $40
1996 Penny Arcade Donald Duck Type 2: TDLVT02-T2 Purchase price: $40
1996 World Bazaar Minnie Mouse Type 1: TDLVT03 Purchase price: $40
1997 Donald Duck: TDL9705 Purchase price: $15
The moral of the story to EC collectors is: If you wait long enough, the coin of your dreams will become yours. To non EC collectors: Look, your spouse/sibling/child/friend can be crazier… They can be spending this kind of money daily on their hobby. Wait, that’s a different hobby called golf.
My friend Jason came to visit over the weekend. In the past year, he’s been calling every time he sees a penny machine and he finally got the chance to give me everything he rolled, which is over a few dozen coins.
I need to back track and scan in the other ones that were already taking up all of my desk space… Also, I need to pay better attention to my grammar when blogging. One of these days, I’m going to hire an English major to go through all of my posts. The cost of being a sloppy writer.
New EC from Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden Richmond, VA
I remember this coin vividly. It took me a whole 10 minutes to convince the garden attendants to walk in without admission, just for using the machine allegedly in the Children’s Garden.
I was pretty proud, walking back to the car. But Suhail said I should be grateful that these people are willing to make such concession and take the trouble of walking with me through the garden. He’s absolutely right. And for those who are thinking about going to the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, don’t bother paying admissions for the machine, it’s broken and stored in the back room.
New EC from Children’s Museum of Richmond Richmond, VA
The machine is in the lobby…
New EC from the Science Museum of Virginia Richmond, VA
Right next door to the Children’s Museum
New EC from the Gateway Travel Plaza Breezewood, PA
Keith, Suhail, and I paid a visit to Westinghouse on behave of the client. On the way back to the office, I saw the humongous rest station that is the Gateway and instinctively said, “I need to go, there’s a machine in there.”
I knew I was right because I actually smashed coins here before, but I have no idea why I don’t have this coin in the collection already.
New ECs from Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World Dania Beach, FL
These were pressed on the AHFE 2010 Conference. Harry and I presented our paper and spent the rest of the time visiting Miami sites.
The BPS was on the way to the airport.
