Cleaning Canadian Coins

[JimVT36]

Good Evening All- I'm looking to tap into the wisdom of coin collectors and inquire on coin cleaning methods. I have a small mountain of Canadian coins that are badly corroded and therefore not useable. I'm guessing they were under water (Wishing pod or the like) for some time. (Pictures provided)I was wondering if any coin pros have a cleaning method that would restore these coins to spendable condition. Any advise or directions would be greatly appreciated.

Stay Safe and well out there

Thank you in advance.

 

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[SvenS]

Get yourself a double barrel tumbler from Harbor Freight.
Put a about 1/3 full of coins, some aquarium gravel as grit and two drops of dishwasher detergent, tumble for 45 minutes to an hour.
Dump coins out, rinse and dry. https://www.harborfreight.com/dual-drum-rotary-rock-tumbler-67632.html Pick up a few extra drive belts.

 

[cudamark]

^^^^^^Good cheap method. I use laundry detergent (lower foam) and a bit of vinegar to cut the crud. You do have to keep burping the drum to keep the lid from popping off, as the vinegar causes a slight chemical reaction and gas expansion. I would also separate anything copper from the rest of the steel/clad or it will all turn a bit pink in color.

 

[Dozer D]

I use the blue DAWN liquid soap, put in a Rx bottle, fill half way with coins, add a few drops of Dawn, hot water, shake, let stand a few days and shake every now and then, rinse with hot water, tap dry with soft towel. Works great on wheat cents, gets that oily film off coin.

 

[lorenzdenesiks]

^^^^^^Good cheap method. I use laundry detergent (lower foam) and a bit of vinegar to cut the crud. You do have to keep burping the drum to keep the lid from popping off, as the vinegar causes a slight chemical reaction and gas expansion. I would also separate anything copper from the rest of the steel/clad or it will all turn a bit pink in color.

Agree with you. I use the same method and it is working. And, yes, it costs a few dollars.

 

[MiddenMonster]

And, yes, it costs a few dollars.

That's really the kicker, isn't it? You have coins you want to recondition for spending, not collecting. But the cost of buying the equipment for cleaning them likely costs more than the value of the coins. That's when I would probably try to modify the above methods to make it economically worth it. Like using a dilute solution of CLR in a bucket with some detergent, then using a stick to agitate them periodically for a few days, checking and removing coins that are back to spending conditions. If the goal is spendable coins, the threshold is a fairly low bar to meet.

 

[cudamark]

If you plan on having metal detecting as a regular hobby, the investment in some proper equipment will be worth the cost. A tumbler is fairly cheap and used ones can be found if you don't want to pay for a new one. White vinegar and laundry soap is also very inexpensive since you only use a dab in each batch. I've used CLR too, and it works great, but, it's much more expensive than the vinegar/soap method, and the outcome is about the same.

 

[MiddenMonster]

If you plan on having metal detecting as a regular hobby, the investment in some proper equipment will be worth the cost. A tumbler is fairly cheap and used ones can be found if you don't want to pay for a new one. White vinegar and laundry soap is also very inexpensive since you only use a dab in each batch. I've used CLR too, and it works great, but, it's much more expensive than the vinegar/soap method, and the outcome is about the same.

CLR is expensive, but I usually pour it into a container to clean things like shower heads, and when finished pour the used CLR into a jar for reuse. It can be reused several times before it has ceases to work. But I agree that if something is going to be a regular hobby one should bite the bullet and purchase the equipment needed to make it worthwhile.

 

[IN DA HOLE]

Dump them at Tim Hortons on a few double doubles or pay your taxes with them, send them directly to trustin Justin.