Some may say the penny is past its prime, but it is still a big deal for a small company in Little Canada.

Since 1987, The Penny Press Machine Company has manufactured custom machines that flatten coins while printing new images on both sides, replacing Abraham Lincoln and the Lincoln Memorial or Union Shield with whatever the buyer wants.

"From theme parks to zoos to souvenir gift shops, fast food restaurants. We'll do a lot of sports teams."

"Souvenir shops use them to sell souvenirs of landmarks. Really anything you can imagine, we can put on the coin," said general manager Brian Peters.

Brian's father, Joe, bought the company a few years ago.

He says penny presses were introduced at the Chicago World's Fair in 1893 and gained popularity at tourist attractions in the 1950s and 60s.

He says by putting in 50 cents to a dollar or by tapping a credit card these days, collectors can crank out a unique souvenir that they helped make themselves.

"It's probably the most economical souvenir in the whole tourism industry that somebody can get for their family," said Joe.

There's even a website for die hard penny pals, who go on road trips or "squishin' missions" to find penny presses in all 50 states.

Even though there's been talk about stopping the U.S. Treasury from minting new pennies, the company says its machines could still operate using copper tokens.

"For 30 years, they've been trying to do away with the penny and nobody's been able to come up with a concrete solution. It's not going away," said Joe.

But no matter what happens, they plan to keep pinching pennies for as long as it makes cents.

To read the complete article, see:
For a Minnesota company, pinching pennies is big business(https://www.fox9.com/news/minnesota-company-pinching-pennies-big-business)

To visit the firm's website, see:
THE PENNY PRESS MACHINE COMPANY(https://www.tppmc.com/)

To read earlier E-Sylum articles, see:
THE SQUISH PENNY MUSEUM(https://www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v08n06a15.html)
RAYMOND H. "ROCKY" ROCKHOLT (1930-2021)(https://www.coinbooks.org/v24/esylum_v24n28a03.html)
THE PENNY PURGE: COMMON CENTS OR CENTSLESS(https://www.coinbooks.org/v28/esylum_v28n07a29.html)