US Coins

Mickey Mouse medal finds way into roll of Eisenhower dollars

Found in Rolls column from Oct. 12, 2015, issue of Coin World:

A roll of large-sized dollar coins seems to have “Slipped me a Mickey!”

The “Mickey” of that idiom was a drugged drink, most likely named for the manager and bartender of the Lone Star Saloon and Palm Garden Restaurant. Operating in Chicago from 1896 to 1903, Michael “Mickey” Finn was accused of using knockout drops to incapacitate some of his customers so that they could be robbed. 

Well, the “Mickey” I was slipped was not quite a Mickey Finn, but it sure was a Mickey Mouse! 

A recently obtained roll of large-sized dollars looked a little weird. I could readily see that something within the paper wrapper seemed to be pressing outwardly against the wrapper’s walls. 

This thing was really jammed inside the roll, and it actually took quite a bit of effort to remove the piece from its coin-wrap prison.

It turns out that the oversized piece tightly stuffed inside the wrapper was a Walt Disney Classics Collection, Millennium Mickey 2000, On Top of the World medallion. Having a diameter of 40 millimeters, it is slightly larger than the remaining 19 Eisenhower Ike dollar coins, what I had expected to find in the roll. An Eisenhower dollar measures 38.1 millimeters in diameter.

This piece seems to made of pewter and have an antiqued finish.

One side of this collectible medallion features the iconic Mickey Mouse running on a globe, with ON TOP OF THE WORLD seen below the scene and MILLENNIUM MICKEY seen above him. The date 2000 occupies a central portion of the design. Also visible to the left and right of the top of the world are small devices that symbolize Mickey’s face and ears.

The other side of this item depicts a centered Mickey Mouse as he appeared in Brave Little Tailor, a short film produced by Walt Disney Productions in 1938. His name, MICKEY MOUSE, is seen above and BRAVE LITTLE TAILOR is seen below. A stylized Mickey 2K symbol is seen to the right while a Classics Walt Disney Collection logo, placed within a rectangle is seen on the left.

A little online research indicates that this medallion, if it has its “Certificate of Authenticity” and original packaging, can be purchased for less than $10, so I would imagine that this piece without the documentation might have a value of $3 or so.

You can always share your finds with me by emailing foundinrolls@netcape.net.


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