This penny smasher is located within the gift shop of the Submarine Force Library and Museum. The penny, which is oblong in the horizontal direction, has a depiction of a submarine surfaced on the water at night, with a star and moon in the sky. The penny has the wording:
UNITED STATES SUBMARINE FORCE
SILENT SERVICE
The Submarine Force Museum introduces their website with the following:
"The Submarine Force Library & Museum
Home of the USS Nautilus
Submarines have fascinated people from Alexander the Great to the Beatles, from Jules Verne to John Holland. You'll find out why when you visit the nation's finest displays and collections of America's submarine heritage.
The Submarine Force Museum, located on the Thames River in Groton, Connecticut, maintains the world's finest collection of submarine artifacts. It is the only submarine museum operated by the United States Navy, and as such is the primary repository for artifacts, documents and photographs relating to U.S. Submarine Force history. The museum traces the development of the "Silent Service" from David Bushnell's Turtle, used in the Revolutionary War, to the Ohio and Virginia class submarines.
Originally established as "The Submarine Library" by Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corporation in 1955, the Submarine Force Library and Museum soon gained respect for its archival and research value. In April 1964, the entire collection was donated to the Navy and relocated to the Naval Submarine Base, New London, Groton, Connecticut. The name "Submarine Force Library and Museum" was officially adopted in 1969.
The museum's collections include more than 33,000 artifacts, 20,000 significant documents and 30,000 photographs. With so many holdings, the displays change frequently and a return visit will be a new experience. The 6,000 volume reference and research library is a world-renowned collection relative to the history of U.S. submarines and is open to anyone looking for information on submarines or submarine history."
Wikipedia provides additional information:
"The U.S. Navy Submarine Force Library and Museum, located on the Thames River near Groton, Connecticut, USA, is the only submarine museum managed exclusively by the U.S. Navy, which makes it a repository for many special submarine items of national significance, including USS Nautilus (SSN-571).
Visitors may take a 30-minute self-guided audio tour of the submarine. In a 2009 visit to the museum, a writer for Connecticut magazine found several veterans of the U.S. submarine force who talked about their experiences while visiting the Nautilus.
Established in 1955, the museum was originally operated by the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics and was known solely as the Submarine Library. In 1964, it was donated to the U.S. Navy and moved to its current location along the Thames. It received its official title in 1969. Hoping to convince the U.S. Navy to donate the Nautilus to the museum, in 1984 the "Connecticut Nautilus Committee" was formed to raise funds for an improved museum. A new, 14,000-square-foot (1,300 m2) facility was built with funding from the state, individuals and businesses, opening in 1986. In late 1997 the Committee decided to start planning and raising funds for a 13,465-square-foot (1,250.9 m2) addition to the museum building. Fundraising started the next year, and construction project ran from 1998 to early 2000. The new addition was officially opened to the public on April 28, 2000 "in conjunction with the Centennial Celebration of the United States Submarine Force", according to the museum.
The museum has 33,000 artifacts, including the first nuclear-powered submarine in the world, the USS Nautilus. Launched in 1955 and decommissioned in 1980, the submarine had travelled under the polar ice cap and reached the North Pole during the Cold War. Also at the museum is a replica of David Bushnell's Turtle, built in 1775 and the first submarine used in combat; midget submarines from World War II; working periscopes, a submarine control room, models of submarines, and the Explorer, an early U.S. research submarine.
In addition to its large collection of submarines and related objects, the museum also has a library with around 20,000 documents and 30,000 photos related to the history of submarine development. The library also includes 6,000 books related to the field of submarine history, including a 1551 text on submarine retrieval, and an original 1870 copy of Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (the museum also has a model of the fictional ship). Documents in the collection include notes and calculations by John Holland for the Navy's first submarine, "one-of-a-kind artifacts from World War I and World War II", and the submarine library collections of both Electric Boat Corporation and the U.S. Navy."
The museum has separate hours during the summer and winter, as follows:
Summer Hours
May 1 - October 31
Wednesday-Monday 9am - 5pm
Winter Hours
November 1 - April 30
Wednesday-Monday 9am - 4pm
The museum is closed on all Tuesdays, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. It is also closed the last week of April and the first week of November for routine maintenance.
Admission to the museum, as well as parking, are free. It is located at One Crystal Lake Road, in Groton, Connecticut. directions to the museum can be found at SOURCE.