The Disneyland Medallion

Over the years, Disneyland has come out with some really unique merchandise. From newsletters, to pins, to clothing and jewelry, anything that you need as a decor piece or just a reminder that you visited Disney, you can get it.

One of the first pieces of merchandise that Disneyland sold was The Disneyland News, which was a monthly newsletter people could pick up in the stores on Main Street, that detailed what was happening in the park that month. The Disneyland News began as early as opening day, July 17th, 1955.

Image from: https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/vintage-disneyland-cast-line-magazine-1905200712

Another piece of merchandise that was sold when the park opened was a Disneyland medallion, or a coin as some may call it. It has no cash value, but it is in the shape and made with the same metals as a coin. It was packaged and sold in a small plastic box, and the coin rested on a piece of blue sponge. The coin itself changed every so often, so there are different ones to find with different images on them. Most of them feature Sleeping Beauty’s castle on the front, and small images of the different lands at the time engraved on the back. As time went on, more lands were created, so they added them to the newer coins. This is how you can tell from which time period yours is from, as most of the older ones don’t feature dates on them. There is a 20th anniversary one, which has the dates 1955 and 1975 on it.

It was recently my birthday, and I was gifted one of these medallions. It was found online and sold to my family member by an older man, in his 80s, and he said that he bought the medallion straight from the park in the 1960s. He kept it in its original packaging, along with what’s left of the price sticker. I wanted to be sure that it actually was from the 60s, so I did some digging.

The coin that I received looks like this on the front and on the back:

The back features Frontierland, Fantasyland, Adventureland, Tomorrowland, and Main Street. The Frontierland section has the Mark Twain Riverboat on it. The Fantasyland section has King Arthur’s Carousel, the Mad Tea Party and the castle in the background. Adventureland has the Jungle Cruise with a hippo, Main Street has the train station and Mickey garden, and Tomorrowland has the Matterhorn, the Monorail, and the Submarine Voyage (not Finding Nemo’s yet). Oh, and what’s that next to the Matterhorn? Ah yes, the Skyway.

Two of the featured attractions on this coin no longer exist, which are Submarine Voyage and the Skyway. Although Submarine Voyage is still around as it was converted into Finding Nemo’s Submarine Voyage, it wasn’t converted until June 2007. So by that, we know this had to have been made before then. The Skyway is what gives this one away, as the Skyway opened in 1956, and closed in 1994. So this had to have been made before the 90s.

Image from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Submarine_Voyage

Image from: https://www.ocregister.com/2016/05/18/video-disneylands-skyway-station-to-be-demolished-to-make-way-for-star-wars-land/

The biggest giveaway for this coin being made in the early 1960s is that there’s a land missing from the back. New Orleans Square didn’t open until July 1966, which means this coin was made in the early 1960s, and it was being sold when Walt was still alive.

Image from: https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/1970s-disneyland-walt-disney-world-150526046

The medallions made and sold in the 1970s have a different look, as some still have the castle on the front with different details around it, and some have a quote from Walt on the front. The backside includes New Orleans Square and features different attractions in each land, like Dumbo the Flying Elephant, Space Mountain, and Pirates of the Caribbean.

These medallions are collectibles and can be hard to track down if you’re looking for a certain year, but they are so worth it once it’s yours. I feel honored to have a piece of the park from a time when Walt roamed the park too. Do you have one of these? From which year is it from? Let me know in the comments below!