Penny Smashers, Unite!

While on my vacation I finally gave into a nagging compulsion.  For years I have stared at those penny smashing machines whenever I would come across one.  I saw one while we were in Monterey and there was another at the Aquarium.  I was good.  I walked away, from both of them.  But then we stopped at the Sea Lion Caves and there was another one.  I looked at it.  I checked it out.  It was electric and had 3 stamps in it.  I was good.  I wandered through the gift shop and looked at all the stuff.  I even bought a couple of signs for the bathroom at the store.  I checked the smashing machine again as we left and we did leave BUT we didn’t get far before I had DH turn around and go back.  I got 2 smashed pennies, one for the Sea Lion Caves with, of course, sealions and one for Heceta Head Lighthouse.  Did you know there are websites for Penny Smashers, Penny Presses and Penny Squishers?  They have lists of where you can find a machine, how many dies the machine has and what the dies look like AND you can join a Smashed Penny Collectors group.  How cool is that!  AND there are people who have their own personal smashers!  Way cool!  Well, I printed a list for Oregon and stopped at the Seaside Aquarium and smashed two more pennies – Seaside Aquarium with an octopus and Tillamook Head Lighthouse.  Now I have to collect pennies pre 1986 because those are the ones that are all copper, without zinc(or whatever)filler and did you know there  are smashers in Europe?  I feel another vacation coming on.  Isn’t OCD a wonderful thing?