Squished Penny Tip #1

Always keep a small bag of pre-1982 pennies (and quarters) in your purse. You never know when you might need them.

Ok, so this is a better tip for women squishers then men. I learned the hard way about this though!

I have a large zip-lock bag where I keep all my pre-1982 pennies. Not wanting to carry it around with me all the time (that thing is heavy!) I keep it in my car, figuring that I would have it if I needed it. Well, twice now in the past month, I have not had it with me and had to scramble to find pennies.

The first was when we went to the Maryland Science Museum. There were two penny machines and I rode with Kathi, so I did not have my car (or my pennies!). Luckily between Kathi and myself we were able to come up with enough so that I could get one set from each machine and 2 extra of the crabs (for my crab collection). I did not, however, have enough to squish any pennies for traders.

The second time was at the Great Wolf Lodge. I had planned on packing my penny bag, but totally spaced and forgot. And we took Jeff's car, so again no pennies. Of course I was wiped out of pennies since the Maryland Science Museum and my mother-in-law did not have any on her either. I ended up buying 50 pennies from the front desk at the Lodge and did find 14 pre-1982 pennies. Unfortunately when I went to squish, the machine was totally off and smashed them too hard, leaving a huge tail. So again no traders, but at least it was not because of a lack of pennies!

So what I have learned is that I now carry a small plastic bag with about 16 pennies or so in it. This ensures that I have enough to squish at 2 machines…one set for my collection and one set for trading. The bag is not too heavy and at least I will not be caught without my pennies!

For those of you who are wondering what the heck I am talking about, you can read an earlier blog post about it.