Steel shot and soapy water for cleaning silver / nickel coins in tumblers ???

[Shortstack]

An episode of "How It's Made" , on The Discovery Channel was about how miniature silver pieces ( teapots, cups, etc. ) are made for collectors. The method the silversmiths used for cleaning the solder flux and other grunge from the newly made pieces was to put them in a tumbler with small steel shot ( as from a shotgun shell ) topped off with soapy water. The shot size were very small; about the size of No. 6 shot. A person can find bags of this shot at a sporting goods dealer who carries reloading supplies. It seems that if this method produces clean, shiny, silver artistic pieces then why wouldn't that work for cleaning silver and nickel coins?

Has anyone tried this method?

 

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[teverly]

i believe they polish those pieces after they run them through the tumbler.
Silve coins would probably come clean but they would be ruined.
If you are going to turn them in for silver value alone then it wouldnt matter,but as for the ones i find i clean them with soap and water and my fingers.

 

[Shortstack]

i believe they polish those pieces after they run them through the tumbler.
Silve coins would probably come clean but they would be ruined.
If you are going to turn them in for silver value alone then it wouldnt matter,but as for the ones i find i clean them with soap and water and my fingers.

NEGATIVE. I KNOW what the program showed and stated. Those pieces were tumbled with steel shot and water with dishwashing liquid soap. I had watched that program not long ago and watched a rerun a few nights ago and paid extra attention to that part. They showed the tumbler being emptied after the cleansing and the silver pieces poured out with all of the steel shot and soapy water. The FIRST time I saw that, I wasn't sure I'd heard and saw what I THOUGHT I had. The second time I watched it confirmed that I'd heard and saw correctly. I would NOT have posted this thread if there were any questions concerning what they had said. The program showed the operator using a clean cloth to dry the pieces, NOT polish them. By the way; these pieces were very small. Teapots were about 1 inch tall. The pieces were being made by a noted silversmith operation named Rogers. I'll restate one more time---steel shot, not iron or lead and the size is about a No. 6 or smaller.

I am NOT suggesting key coins be cleaned and polished this way. Key coins and other collectible coins should NOT be cleaned in anyway, EXCEPT for possibly a dusting off of any LOOSE soil--not even THAT if the coin is REALLY valuable.