Dirty Wheat pennies. What do i do with them?

[Ammoman]

So i have run out of coins to look at. But wait! what about my uncleaned wheat pennies?

I have a treasure chest with around 2000 dirty wheat back pennies. No key dates ranging from 1910 to the last year they were made.



What do i do with them?

Do i sell them on ebay in lots of 50 or clean them with a tumbler and look for errors?
I like the idea of looking for errors but maybe the mystery of an uncleaned coin would command a higher price to someone?

Thanks, your opinion counts!

 

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[cyberdan]

if you tumble them and then find a good error you have ruined a chance of getting top dollar.
try selling buy the pound or two on feeBay. The treasure chest would be nice in the photo. put a book or two in the chest and cover with coins. make them spill over on the table. Say you have so many you can't possibly go through them all.

 

[Dozer D]

I don't polish clean my coins, BUT, I DO clean the dirty slim off of them by soaking them in a Rx bottle using a few drops of DAWN LIQUID SOAP with hot water, shake every few hours, for 2-3 days, rinse well, tap dry with soft cloth or paper towel. Coins will not have a polished appearance, but will be much cleaner to see and handle. Try a few to see if you like, nothing to loose.

 

[TxAg]

What do ya’ll think about boiling dirty copper cents, especially dug ones? I remember that my mom used to boil all the Mexican coins they got while vacationing in Mexico before they she gave them to us for fear of germs.

 

[Ammoman]

if you tumble them and then find a good error you have ruined a chance of getting top dollar.
try selling buy the pound or two on feeBay. The treasure chest would be nice in the photo. put a book or two in the chest and cover with coins. make them spill over on the table. Say you have so many you can't possibly go through them all.

But how do i find a good error without cleaning? It's a catch 22

I don't polish clean my coins, BUT, I DO clean the dirty slim off of them by soaking them in a Rx bottle using a few drops of DAWN LIQUID SOAP with hot water, shake every few hours, for 2-3 days, rinse well, tap dry with soft cloth or paper towel. Coins will not have a polished appearance, but will be much cleaner to see and handle. Try a few to see if you like, nothing to loose.

This may be an option. Thanks for the idea!

What do ya’ll think about boiling dirty copper cents, especially dug ones? I remember that my mom used to boil all the Mexican coins they got while vacationing in Mexico before they she gave them to us for fear of germs.

Not sure if hot water is any better than cold when it comes to cleaning them. I do know boiling water kills germs. This may be what your mom was doing. Remember, never drink the water in mexico!

 

[RustyGold]

I like the idea of using Dawn on them without the tumbling. Our German Shepard had a run in with a skunk last night and Dawn sure helped us remove the smell, almost, lol!

 

[cudamark]

If you can't decide, just send them to me! I'll get rid of them for you.

 

[ToddsPoint]

I like the idea of using Dawn on them without the tumbling. Our German Shepard had a run in with a skunk last night and Dawn sure helped us remove the smell, almost, lol!

Go to WalMart in the hunting section and get some scent killer soap for deer hunting. Works great for skunked dogs. Gary

 

[kingskid1611]

I'll take em….don't get your hands dirty let me do it for ya.

 

[ConshyBoy]

Yea send them to me I have nothing but time on my hands lcant go Detecting due to injuries

 

[Terry Soloman]

Just put them in a pot in the sink with HOT water and Dawn dish washing soap and stir them with a wooden spoon. OR, tumble them (that's what I do), and I have NEVER had trouble selling them after. Good Luck!

 

[xr7ator]

Top dollar is out of the question for dug copper coins unless they were contained in a jar or something that kept them from getting dirty in the first place.
Honesty will get you a lot farther in sales than BS.
I agree with Terry and others, tumble them. A well circulated coin has the polished appearance. Why not make all the ones you dug look more like undug cents?

 

[Toecutter]

I tumble mine with a little Dawn, but it would be interesting to see if they could fetch more on ebay dirty...

 

[fistfulladirt]

The LCS here is paying 2c each, that’s 100% profit.

 

[Noah_D]

As a coin collector... when I buy things on ebay (even if it is just pennies) I usually don't even think about buying things that have a polished or cleaned appearance. I would always prefer to receive a dirty tarnished coin to one that has been cleaned.

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Perhaps just selling them on Feebay as they are?

 

[A2coins]

Dawn works great

 

[huntsman53]

For most of the Wheat Cents without gummy or other accumulations on them, throw them in a Ultrasonic Jewelry Cleaning Machine with water, turn on and leave them in for an hour or so. Check to see if additional times is needed and if so, run them through again. You might need to change the water because it may become so dirty and/or cloudy that you can't see the condition of the coins without removing them. For the gummed up ones or the ones that have other accumulations on them, you might try the Dawn and hot water bath, then a bath in Acetone, then rinse, then into the Ultrasonic Jewelry Cleaning Machine. If after that, it is hard to tell an error on a coin or make out much of the details, then it is not worth much more than the Copper value.