cleaning your coins

[Mike RB.]

I have a couple coffee cans full of pennies and clad coins I've found from detecting. After I recover a target I always wipe away the excess dirt but still most of my coins are pretty much covered with dirt, mud and whatever else and those zinc pennies are about worthless.

What method do you guys use to clean your pennies and clad coins?

 

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[BigWaveDave]

why do you need to clean clad?

 

[Mike RB.]

Well, the ones I put into a wrapper and turn into the bank...I like to have them somewhat clean or the bank won't take 'em.

 

[thebiggerdigger]

I have a couple coffee cans full of pennies and clad coins I've found from detecting. After I recover a target I always wipe away the excess dirt but still most of my coins are pretty much covered with dirt, mud and whatever else and those zinc pennies are about worthless. What method do you guys use to clean your pennies and clad coins?

I use part vinegar part water plus fish tank gravel. I put all my pennies in an old plastic container that has a twist top and filled it with all the ingredients I mentioned. Then I just shook the container back and forth for about 10 to 15 minutes. Coins came put clean for the most part. Def clean enough for the bank. Just don't mix silver coins with pennies. It will ruin the silver finish.

 

[luvsdux]

I use a tumbler with water, dish soap and aquarium gravel and tumble for a few hours. DO NOT MIX PENNIES WITH SILVER CLAD or all the coins will look like copper.
luvsdux

 

[Coin Digger]

I fill my coffee can up with water shake it around and let set for a day or two. I then dump the coins in a colander and rinse off with a garden hose, do that several times over a period of a couple weeks and they turn out pretty good. Makes them a lot easier to sort for final cleaning in a tumbler.

Spend your corroded pennies at fast food drive troughs, they always take them.

 

[cudamark]

I only clean the clad good enough for them to go through a CoinStar or to spend. Rock tumbler with a tablespoon or so of powdered laundry soap, vinegar, and aquarium gravel for a couple of hours usually does the trick. There is a slight chemical reaction with this formula so you may have to shake the drum and burp it before you walk away to do other things or it might pop open and make a mess. As mentioned, don't mix copper with the "silver" clad unless you want them to turn pink.

 

[Agent Green]

Clean clad with gravel, vinegar and coarse salt... 20 mins in the tumbler, repeat if needed.. works great.

 

[James/Texas]

spede777 cleaning method is the best. White vinegar and coarse salt is the best way I have found to clean clad. Tumble for around one hour. Aquarium gravel can be used but really not necessary. Be sure to 'burp' the barrel a couple of times as pressure from the built up gasses can cause the lid to blow off. I set my tumbler on a 2x4 set inside a used roasting pan just in case the lid blows. That has saved a mess several times. A Thumbler Tumbler or a Latorne will last for years. Stay away from 'Harbor u know where' tumblers. I had two and they were junk.

 

[PullTabPete]

I usually tumble my clad all together with a little dishsoap and pea gravel for about a day. That way they are good enough to spend/roll. Don't really care if the dimes and quarters get a copperish color

 

[cudamark]

A day? Really? If I did that with some of the zinc cents I've found, there would nothing left of them after a day in the tumbler!

 

[Jeremy S]

I tumble mine with dish soap, water, and aquarium gravel. Usually a couple of hours and they looks great.

Rock Tumbler, 3 Lb. - Save on this Rotary Rock Tumbler

I picked up one of these cheap last year, it seems to work good for me.

 

[PullTabPete]

A day? Really? If I did that with some of the zinc cents I've found, there would nothing left of them after a day in the tumbler!

yeah some of the zincoln's don't like that, but they are usually pretty rough before they go in, not a great loss if I destroy them. I only tumble the pretty grungy clad like once a year and then mix it in with some rolled coin.

 

[mlayers]

I got my tumbler at Harbor Freight 3 yrs ago and it is still going strong. Fill tumbler 1/3 full with gravel fill 1nother 1/3 way with coins fill with water just above the coins and add 3 drops of dish soap. Tumble for a hour or two take out side and hose off let dry and you are good to spent your coins

 

[BigWaveDave]

OR.. you could all stop overthinking the whole clean your clad nonsense, and wrap them up, deposit them in the bank.