Chemical way to clean corroded coins for use again.

[abrakdabra]

Hey,
I've found, and continue to find, heaps of corroded coins at the beach. They're green/red. They're just coins, nothing collectable. I have no clue how to chemically get them silver again, their normal colour, to use like any other coin in shops. Tried bleach but they went from green/red to black. Since they're nothing special, just coins, an electrolytic method is dumb. Any of you alchemists know how to chemically clean them? Yours truly, 'in need of bus fare'/'will detect for food'.

 

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[southern gent]

Most of my clad coins I just get the dirt off and spend spend spend! If they are'nt too bad you can use the vinigar and tin foil method. Good luck and HH! Chris

 

[nedigger]

Buy a rock tumbler from Harbor Freight Tools. You can get a single drum tumbler for about $30 or a double drum tumbler for about $50. I used to spend hours cleaning coins by hand with limited results until recently I bought a single drum tumbler and it works great. Fill the drum about half to three quarters full of coins then add enough sand to cover the coins. Tap the drum against a firm surface (counter, table, floor, etc.) to settle the sand into the coins and down to the bottom. When sand and coins are about evenly mixed add Simple Green cleaner and water until you can see it near the top of the coins. Close, place on tumbler, turn it on and let it run for about three or four hours (or all day/night if you want). When done you need a vegetable strainer/collander (anything that will retain the coins while letting the sand and water pass through) and a water hose. Take these items and the drum outdoors, dump coins into stainer/collander, and rinse with water while swirling coins to remove all sand. When done, take coins inside and lay out on a towel to dry. I usually lay them out in rows according to denomination making them easy to count. You may have some coins that are really stubborn. These can be thrown back into the tumbler with the next batch. If you don't have a local Harbor Freight Tools nearby you can find them online at www.harborfreighttools.com. By the way don't try this with coins that may be valuable and I've heard you shouldn't mix silver coins with copper coins. Hope this helps. HH

 

[abrakdabra]

Thanks, hunters
More coins today, corroded green/red. And a ring, maybe silver with jade, haven't really looked at the 'haul' yet. Will wait 'til I get back to the 'vault'
Happy hunting

 

[lab rat]

You can get plain white vinegar from the store-- its diluted to 5%. It takes longer than muriatic (hydrochloric) acid, but is less dangerous. You might keep some baking soda around for spills, too.

 

[abrakdabra]

Vinegar, good idea, nice and natural . Think I'll try that first, take as long as it takes. Fumes from varnish from making boomerangs, my other hobby, are enough 'mother of all chemicals'. Want to be ninety and waving my wand in public, er md'er .

 

[FLauthor]

With clad coins, I will use my rock tumbler to get the worse off of the coins. If they are still grungy then I use a pair of vise grips and fire up my grinder with its wire wheel. Don't use this method on collectibles only clads.
Harry

 

[Budjeep]

Try Electrolysis it is the best way I have found to clean beach coins that are corroded.
It is very easy to do .

 

[JohninCT]

I use a rock tumbler, the cheap kind that kids often get. Holds a handful of coins, then I use small pebbles with water and a bit of detergent, and it ususally cleans then fine in about 4 hours.

 

[Darod]

I like California Seeker's method the best

Rod

 

[histoplasmosis]

LoL

 

[wreckdiver1715]

Do not use Electrolysis on modern clad coins, you will end up with a mess on your hands, and will not be happy with the results. Electrolysis will pull the copper to the surface of the coin. Use the vinegar method if you suspect the coin to be of some possible value, if not then the tumbler will work just fine. Remember that the value of old coins is not just in the age, but the condition will be what actually determines it market value.

Q

 

[histoplasmosis]

Soda machines work wonders. So does coinstar gives you nice shinny coins back if you ask the lady nicely. Allthough she'll look at you funny for cashing in coins for coins.

 

[netling]

California Seeker, you are one funny dude... made me laugh out loud! Sometimes the easiest methods are right in front of us and we never even consider it...

 

[Darod]

i had read somewhere that hydrogen peroxide were's well too?!

Has anyone tried this method?

Rod

 

[liu-hai]

Heaps of corroded coins at the beach

Just call 281-841-6442 or go here Coin Cleaning Service

Hey,
I've found, and continue to find, heaps of corroded coins at the beach. They're green/red. They're just coins, nothing collectable. I have no clue how to chemically get them silver again, their normal colour, to use like any other coin in shops. Tried bleach but they went from green/red to black. Since they're nothing special, just coins, an electrolytic method is dumb. Any of you alchemists know how to chemically clean them? Yours truly, 'in need of bus fare'/'will detect for food'.

 

[metalhealth]

look on youtube. there are some videos showing how to make a tumbler out of an old printer you can get at recycling center or dump. spending money on cleaning kind of defeats the purpose of finding coins in the first place.

 

[lost items recovery]

Sno Bol toilet cleaner dip for about 4-5 seconds and rinse. Do pennies separate and outside.
Be careful contains acid.

Sent from my iPhone using TreasureNet

 

[Ring-A-Day-Dan]

I Found A Miracle

Go to the Dollar Tree Store.....Buy their Green Bottle of Rust-Lime-Calcium cleaner for a buck
Use this ONLY one crappy clad coins as it is highly corrosive. But it does get the coins so you can use them or bank them.
Soak the corroded coins in the cleaner for 2 minutes. Shake your coins while soaking. Remove the clean one.
Do again for 5 minutes then remove clean coins. Throw away the pitted corred pennies that remain

It's a miracle !!!!

 

[meMiner]

The problem with clad coins is they are made of junk. The more chemicals you use, the more they deteriorate. Here is my two cents:

If you decide to use stuff like CLR or Green Bottle dollar store miracle cure, be careful where it spills and wipe up right away with lots of water. It can take the finish off places where it sits for too long. Cleaning $5 in coin and causing $500 in damage does not make the wife happy.

If the coin is dirty, try washing it with nail brush. Usually, at that point they can be used in a coin machine or coin counter machine. If you want to make them a bit shiny, some aluminum foil in the bottom of a glass container with the silver colored clad coins on top and not touching, add boiling water and baking soda. Take out the coins after about 5 minutes. All coins should be the same colour (ie. not copper and silver).

I heard coke cola worked, but I tried it on vacation with some seriously corroded clad and it did nothing.

When I spend an "ugly", without using a machine, I mix one in with a bunch of good looking coins. I have never had one get returned.

When I am detecting in the ocean and get a real nasty clad coin, I throw it away or leave it behind in the hotel. In that shape, they have the value of a bottle cap and are not worth the trouble to clean.