Dont tumble your coins sno bol instead!

Okay, I tried the salt and vinegar cleaning. I actually had fewer quarters needing cleaning than I thought. When I dumped them out of the bag a lot of green sand came out as well, so I guess the process of drying out turned some of the corrosion loose from the coins. I separated the clean coins from those that needed cleaning and put the dirty coins in a glass bowl. I added the vinegar and rock salt (I used rock salt because I had some on hand), and I watched. I swirled it around for a minute or so until the salt was completely dissolved and although the vinegar was getting a slight greenish color (no photo of this stage since no action was taking place), I wanted to see more cleaning action..... So I decided to add a layer of aluminum foil to the bottom of the bowl to set up a natural electrolysis action. WOW, did it work fast. I noticed there were bubbles forming, so I set the camera back up to take a photo and after a couple of shots I realized the coins were all turning "PINK". Stop the action quick!!!! I pulled out the coins and rinsed them in a colander. NOT what I was expecting. I realize the salt and vinegar tip by Ron, did not include the addition of an aluminum anode. With the method I used, the coins were substantially cleaned in a matter of minutes even though they were all packed together. However, they are now all or partly pink, which doesn't seem to be a good idea. So my question is, "If I had just left them in the vinegar and salt and allowed them to sit over night would they have still turned pink??? Does cleaning them with "Sno-Bol" or "Lime-Away" cause the coins to turn Pink also??? Is there some way to turn them back to silver again? Hope this helps someone else. My cheeks are now pink with embarrassments. Beach Papa
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I removed all pennies and let clad coins US (dimes, and quarters) sit overnight covered by apple vinegar as I do not have a tumbler.
Did a good job cleaning the crud off, some coins had to be lightly rubbed with a cloth before neutralizing coins in water.

Unfortunately, the inner copper layer bled through and I ended up with red coins anyway (sigh). I don't use anything stronger because I have grandchildren love who love to explore and are fascinated by my hobby area taking it for a pirates den (Arg)!

When you use anything as strong as Sno Bol toilet cleaner, you not only have a HAZARDESS material to work with, you are further Toxing the area where you live. Anyone caught putting something this caustic in my toilets (I owned rentals in a former life) which are connected to septic/cesspool "Walk the Plank" (are immediately asked/forced to leave); Pirates have rules which must be followed.

BabyNeedsANewPairO'Shoes said:
It really doesn't matter which acid you use in terms of the environment. Makes no difference. An environmental scientist I once knew told me "The secret to pollution is dilution."
Just add water.
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ron lord said:
Use salt and white vinegar ,way way safer . Cover with vinegar add a little salt shake up , cleans all your coins ( don't mix penny with clad ) this solution is so safe you eat it.
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Note to self: safe to eat before adding coins.
 

Beach Papa said:
Okay, I tried the salt and vinegar cleaning. I actually had fewer quarters needing cleaning than I thought. When I dumped them out of the bag a lot of green sand came out as well, so I guess the process of drying out turned some of the corrosion loose from the coins. I separated the clean coins from those that needed cleaning and put the dirty coins in a glass bowl. I added the vinegar and rock salt (I used rock salt because I had some on hand), and I watched. I swirled it around for a minute or so until the salt was completely dissolved and although the vinegar was getting a slight greenish color (no photo of this stage since no action was taking place), I wanted to see more cleaning action..... So I decided to add a layer of aluminum foil to the bottom of the bowl to set up a natural electrolysis action. WOW, did it work fast. I noticed there were bubbles forming, so I set the camera back up to take a photo and after a couple of shots I realized the coins were all turning "PINK". Stop the action quick!!!! I pulled out the coins and rinsed them in a colander. NOT what I was expecting. I realize the salt and vinegar tip by Ron, did not include the addition of an aluminum anode. With the method I used, the coins were substantially cleaned in a matter of minutes even though they were all packed together. However, they are now all or partly pink, which doesn't seem to be a good idea. So my question is, "If I had just left them in the vinegar and salt and allowed them to sit over night would they have still turned pink??? Does cleaning them with "Sno-Bol" or "Lime-Away" cause the coins to turn Pink also??? Is there some way to turn them back to silver again? Hope this helps someone else. My cheeks are now pink with embarrassments. Beach Papa <img src="http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=930422"/><img src="http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=930423"/><img src="http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=930425"/><img src="http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=930426"/><img src="http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=930427"/>
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I've never had them turn pink unless some copper was in the mix somehow. Maybe a quarter or the like had a copper edge exposed. Sno Bol pretty much turns them whitish silver so It may clean them up again. I just get the crud off them and don't mind what they look like! I pump them into coin stars, beach meters, and gave a few pinkish red ones that I mixed with pennies in the beginning before I knew better, to the Haitians that work at Walgreens and the look on their face was priceless as they asked what kinda money is that? I responded its U.S. Currency and legally you have to accept it! Was very comical!
 

Its seems like way too many people are worried about how there Clad turns out....All that matters is that it makes it thru a counting machine...I dont care if all mine turned Neon Orange...its still money..and it still spends the same...All these chemicals is not only dangerous, but a HUGE waste of money and effort. Unless you plan on keeping your Clad prestine and want to view it daily...tumble it it and dump it at the bank.
 

Diggin-N-Dumps said:
Its seems like way too many people are worried about how there Clad turns out....All that matters is that it makes it thru a counting machine...I dont care if all mine turned Neon Orange...its still money..and it still spends the same...All these chemicals is not only dangerous, but a HUGE waste of money and effort. Unless you plan on keeping your Clad prestine and want to view it daily...tumble it it and dump it at the bank.
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Yep, that's what I do. Tumble in water(not necessary) and if there any holdouts, add a bit of sand to simulate that beach action.
 

Everything you pour into the toilet ends up at the beach/ocean! You might as well put an arrow over the toilet that says Beach Access!
There are natural ways to clean the coins!
 

RustyGold said:
Everything you pour into the toilet ends up at the beach/ocean! You might as well put an arrow over the toilet that says Beach Access! There are natural ways to clean the coins!
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There's worse then that going into a toilet if you know what I mean? Lol!
People flush pills and all kinds of bad things down toilets also, not to mention when you clean your toilet with cleaners that gets flushed anyway!
 

This progressing debate reminds me of the time when I entered a UAW bass fishing tournament on Lake Monroe back in the 80's. I had a Skeeter Bass boat with a "Suzuki" engine. Wasn't long before a few hard liners came walking my way, looked over my boat and "engine" and proceeded that I shouldn't even be allowed to fish in "their" tournament with that "foreign piece of crap" on the back of my boat. So I walk over to their Ranger boat, nice Mercury motor, but all of their rods and reels were of foreign manufacture, so I made sure they saw me examining their tackle and then I said, "You're right. Let's all go home and give up the hobby." That pretty much ended the debate. :laughing7: I guarantee you all of us are guilty of consistently providing some unsafe pollutants into our environment. We're simply cleaning coins here, we're not building a nuclear reactor, operating an industrial factory, or drilling for oil in the ocean floor. :thumbsup:
 

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bigscoop said:
This progressing debate reminds me of the time when I entered a UAW bass fishing tournament on Lake Monroe back in the 80's. I had a Skeeter Bass boat with a "Suzuki" engine. Wasn't long before a few hard liners came walking my way, looked over my boat and "engine" and proceeded that I should even be allowed to fish in "their" tournament with that "foreign piece of crap" on the back of my boat. So I walk over to their Ranger boat, nice Mercury motor, but all of their rods and reels were of foreign manufacture, so I made sure they saw me examining their tackle and then I said, "You're right. Let's all go home and give up the hobby." That pretty much ended the debate. :laughing7: I guarantee you all of us are guilty of consistently providing some unsafe pollutants into our environment. Where simply cleaning coins here, we're not building a nuclear reactor, operating an industrial factory, or drilling for oil in the ocean floor. :thumbsup:
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Well said sir!
 

May a dribble of bad contents here and there but of course it's never done intentionally.
Think of how many times we go to the beach and collect trash then properly dispose of it!!
 

I must admit, I have spent way too much time cleaning these coins. However, I hate to throw coins into a tumbler (which I don't have) every time I go to the beach. When I first find a coin on the beach, rubbing it between my fingers with a little bit of beach sand takes virtually all the curd off the coin, so I know tumbling the coins in a little sand and salt water would do the trick without turning anything pink or putting toxins into the environment. I guess I will have to build a heavy duty tumbler. Maybe a piece of 4" pvc pipe with some fins inside and screw caps with something on the end to attach an electric drill to. Any Suggestions?
 

A 1 gallon Plastic jug with a lid work very good.
 

Beach Papa said:
I must admit, I have spent way too much time cleaning these coins. However, I hate to throw coins into a tumbler (which I don't have) every time I go to the beach. When I first find a coin on the beach, rubbing it between my fingers with a little bit of beach sand takes virtually all the curd off the coin, so I know tumbling the coins in a little sand and salt water would do the trick without turning anything pink or putting toxins into the environment. I guess I will have to build a heavy duty tumbler. Maybe a piece of 4" pvc pipe with some fins inside and screw caps with something on the end to attach an electric drill to. Any Suggestions?
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image-3964699794.jpg I used a body building supplement container Bought rubber coating for tool handles from Home Depot in the paint department to quiet the barrel . A box fan motor and attached a axel to it with a side axel to help stabilize it Built a ply wood box " double walled with hole to support axels" Bent a old street sign into two L shaped fins and attached with P.L. Construction adhesive NOT liquid nails crap and it's held up fine! Didn't want to rivet fins and cause leaks Installed 2 vacuum belts on barrel for added traction And a small U.S.B. Fan to keep the motor from over heating. Works really well used to have to tumble coins for almost all day and sometimes through the night but this I sore I built cleans in about 2 hrs maybe due to speed. 2 fast and your barrel will walk back and forth and try to leave its enclosure. You tube has all kinds of videos on building one but some of them are like what the fudge? Car tires with caps ect.! Hope this helps Sorry big clumps of sand on fins, should have cleaned it out first but got off work at 9:00 tonight
Almost forgot! I tried to attach things to canister such as motors drills ect doesn't work so good for loading up coins and to much strain on connection.
Drop in barrel on spinning shaft and guide axel works great.
Load up drop in and clean!
 

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Lost item Recovery, Thanks for the post. It took me a while to figure out that the fins from the bent sign were inside the drum that holds the coins and sand, but I got it now. Looks like a great solution.... I really blew it, I had an old tread mill that I got from the trash and repaired. It worked for about 5 years and broke down again, I got tired of it sitting in my shop waiting for me to stop metal detecting long enough to fix it, so I threw it out for someone else to fix. The motor and speed control still worked, and I thought about taking it apart to take the motor out. Now I am sorry I didn't. It would have been perfect for this project. I will have to see what I have available to make this project happen. I appreciate you taking the time to post your solution. Beach Papa
 

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