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The 1904 |
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Elongated Cents
at the 1904 World's Fair and in 2004
Elongated Coins (ECs) are coins that have been rolled through a hand cranked
machine consisting of steel rollers with reverse-engraved dies crafted by an
artisan, similar to wringers on old fashioned washing machines. The rollers
press the coin into the die under tremendous pressure (about 22 tons), and
simultaneously stretches the coin into an "Elongated" shape.
ECs are produced (or "rolled") as
souvenirs for many organizations, events, fairs, shows, amusement parks and
other activities or tourist attractions, or even as promotional or personal
cards. They are also called Stretched, Smashed, or Squished Coins (or smashed
pennys, the most commonly produced denomination).
It is generally accepted that elongated
coins in the
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The Hendershott catalog of 1904
World's Fair memorabilia lists 30 different ECs that were produced at the
1904 Fair. Most depict the Fair's great Palaces, Festival Hall (pictured),
or the More rare and valued 1904 World's Fair ECs
depict advertising (Hall's), organizations (the Masons), the 1904
Presidential Candidates (Roosevelt and Parker), a Lucky Horseshoe, or even
The Pike. A pike fish represents the Fair's entertainment district, and has
been seen in two versions: with and without a person on the fish's back. The
plain fish version ("The Pike Souvenir") has sold at auction for
over $2000! Prices of ECs vary widely, depending on the number produced, age, denomination, popularity of topic or event, even the condition of the coin. There are even four published books which catalog elongated coins. |
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The 1904 World's Fair Society
has produced a special Elongated Cent for Society members to commemorate
2004, the Centennial of the Fair. It depicts the Ferris Wheel as the
central image, and has the Fair Motto "Nothing Impossible". This minting follows the independent 2004 production of another 1904 commemorative Elongated Cent, that 'updates' an EC from the 1904 Fair. The original 1904 "Lucky Horseshoe" EC also had the horseshoe and 4-leaf clover. But, the horseshoe opened at the bottom, so the 2004 designer made this version 'upright'! |
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It is estimated that there are well over a
thousand "serious" EC collectors, and thousands more who collect
topical or specialty ECs. The Elongated Collectors (TEC) club publishes
quarterly newsletters for EC collectors, keeps members informed of new ECs, and
has even reprinted some out-of-print EC books. TEC is a great place to meet
other EC collectors, find out about elongated coins, and buy, sell or make
trades. Their website is http://www.tecnews.org/index.html. Other EC websites I found include a 'museum' and a
manufacturer of EC machines.