What do you do with these?

[heavymetal]

Nasty ones

 

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[ZumbroKid]

Are those corrodded zinc cents?
A. If so they are very useful for those charity containers. Just gives me a warm feeling thinking about it.
B. Panhandler cash, this way they learn who not to ask.
C. Just toss the in the water at the beach. Make a test garden for water hunters.

Can you think of other useful ideas?

 

[heavymetal]

 

[rvbvetter]

Sell them on ebay as metal detector finds ?

 

[Narked1]

Yep, sell them on e-bay as "proven MD'ing practice targets"! $5 per dozen plus shipping and handling.

The other suggestion is to put them into ziploc bags and sell them as dive weights. For us divers that don't find anything on a dive, we can always pull one of these out and impress our friends (and they will be diving the site for days afterwards while we move on to other, more promising sites!).

 

[jeff of pa]

I throw them in the Penny jar, with the rest of my pennies, for the Bank to Worry about.

 

[lonewolfe]

Are those corrodded zinc cents?
A. If so they are very useful for those charity containers. Just gives me a warm feeling thinking about it.
B. Panhandler cash, this way they learn who not to ask.
C. Just toss the in the water at the beach. Make a test garden for water hunters.

Can you think of other useful ideas??

LMAO!

I like A & B but C "I" personally can do without Pete!

 

[bk]

Those zinc cents would probably dissolve away within a year in salt water anyway.
I put all my bent, holed, and CBR (Corroded Beyond Recognition) coins in a three pound coffee can.
It makes for a good conversation piece.

 

[ramjet2187]

Buy a cheap rock tumbler at a hobby store, put the coins in the tumbler, add a drop of dishwashing detergent, and a small handful of aquarium gravel. Tumble for an hour or so, rinse, and lay out to dry. Any cents not 'CBR', you can roll and get a bit of gas/battery money.

I've had the same rock tumbler for over 10 years, and the aquarium gravel doesn't 'wear out', so after a small initial investment, you're set.

I do all of my modern (cald, zinc, etc.) 'dug' coins that way. Some banks balk at really dirty coins, and this cleans them rather well.

Good luck, and continued HH

Roger

 

[littlehugger]

The problem with the zinc pennies is they are not generally cost effective to clean.
Buy a tumbler? There goes $30, or 3000 pennies.
Cents are not worth much, but they are everywhere, and most people find it hard to throw away money.
Over time, a hard working detectorist amasses a lot of them, but most banks will not accept the dirty and corroded ones.
Look for a tumbler at yard sales and flea markets, then clean them in a batch, every couple years or so.
Alternatively, you could put them in a jar with salt and vinegar, shake vigorously for a minute or two, then rinse.
Best way is to do this every couple of years, when you have a LOT of pennies, so it adds up to a significant sum that makes it worthwhile.
Hugger

 

[DigEmAll]

I too have a bunch of those! Mine are setting here in a basket. When I roll my coins, I will mix them in with the "pocket change" so that each roll get one or two. Banks have no problem taking them like that. The way I look at it, if I can what they are, then a money expert at a bank should be able to as well!

 

[ZumbroKid]

Nice looking stuff in the basket Diggem,

 

[srpnt]

Hot sauce works....

Taco Bell / Del Taco hot sauce will shine a penny. You can grab a handful of it (ah, cheap!) for free. Put the pennies in for a few minuets or so and they will come out shinny. Rinse and spend.
-Henry

 

[Ricky1601 aka pull tab king]

Hmmmmm how about mailing them to the IRS along with a check to cover your tax bill?

 

[Monty]

One of these days I'm going to put mine in a jar and bury them at a park. Some day someone may be posting about his penny cache he found in the park. After he/she has them a while and can't get rid of them, maybe he/she will rebury them and the wicked joke starts all over again! Monty

 

[PBK]

Well, I doubt too many of us will go to the trouble, but here's the official answer from the U.S. Treasury Department:

Question: What happens to United States coins that are no longer fit for circulation?

Answer: Those coins are classified either as uncurrent or as mutilated. Coins that are chipped, fused, and not machine-countable are considered mutilated. The Mint redeems mutilated coins at the value of their metal content.

Mutilated coins are only redeemable through the United States Mint at:
United States Mint
P.O. Box 400
Philadelphia, PA 19105
(215) 408-0203

Uncurrent coins are worn, but machine-countable, and their genuineness and denomination are still recognizable. Uncurrent coins are replaced with new coins of the same denomination by the Federal Reserve Banks, then forwarded to the United States Mint. All uncurrent or mutilated coins received by the Mint are melted, and the metal is shipped to a fabricator to be recycled in the manufacture of coinage strips.



Source: http://www.treas.gov/education/faq/coins/sales.shtml#q4