Penny Smashing

Kara's cousin Jess came to visit with her husband Ben and their young son Talmadge. (They really came to visit my mother, but since we all live together, we got the pleasure of their company, too!) Jess and Ben introduced us to the fine art of penny smashing. They like to collect smashed pennies when on vacation. They asked us where the local penny smashing machines were and after some deep thought I told them I thought maybe the zoo had one. Kara's cousin Anna googled penny smashing and located another three or four machines in the area and so this morning we took off for a quick trip around town to collect some smashed pennies before they caught their afternoon flight home.

First we went to Alaska Wildberry Products. This store is famous for its Chocolate Waterfall which is touted as the largest chocolate waterfall in the world. Wouldn't you know it, the waterfall was not working. Fortunately the penny machine was, so we smashed two pennies and visited the fudge counter.


While standing in front of the counter Tal dropped his penny and it fell between the cracks in the wooden floor. Good-bye penny! We had to smash another penny. This time Ben used a wheatback and it turned out pretty cool.



Next we went to the Alaska Railroad Depot. We quickly found the penny machine and smashed another two or three.




We drove a few blocks to the Alaska Mint and part of the group raced in to smash pennies while Matt and I circled the block in the vehicles. Our final stop was the Anchorage Museum. They no longer have a penny smashing machine. Bummer. They did have some fine artwork outside so we had a final photo op.



Jess and Ben had also collected three or four smashed pennies at the Alaska Zoo where they spent Friday morning with Kara and the kidlets and cousin Anna and her two little ones and Kara's friend Amrita and her twins. They said they had a grand time there, but it was VERY cold. Jess and Ben were not properly attired for the low temperatures here.

Bentley is the possessor of our new collection of smashed pennies. I doubt that I can pry them out of his clutched little fists. He is a big fan of penny smashing. The twins haven't yet caught the vision.


I think I already own one or two smashed pennies, but I'm not sure where they are...I took a break and I found them! I have one from Niagara Falls, Canada; one from the Empire State Building; and one from Skagway, Alaska. Jess was with me when I smashed the last one.