Foragist
Forum Supporter
No water at all. A handful of clad, enough aquarium gravel to fill the container half full. Then about 3 table spoons of salt, pour vinegar over it all until It just covers the gravel. 3 good squirts of lemon juice and a few drops of dish soap. Tumble for an hour or so. DO NOT add any pennies. (I will say that they come out clean, not exactly "shiny") If you were to get one in circulation you might think it looks a little off. You will know what I mean when you try it out. Let me know what you think. I will post a pic of a tumbled quarter next to a brand new shiny quarter later.
Well, I tried a version of your "pickling recipe", with vinegar, lemon juice & salt, but no soap. I separated all the pennies out, but unfortunately, forgot to remove the President dollar. After about 1.5 to 2hrs tumbling, I got a very satisfactory cleaning, but it all came out with a gold tint. Now I have to go clad stabbing again to give it another try.