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rock tumbler

I use a cheap tumbler from harbor freight.
Without it I would have rolled up a standing liberty.
Tumbling made it stand out from the rest.
I found it night hunting on a beach and thought it was just a crusty quarter.
Makes the pennies look good.
 
I do

I have a Lortone tumbler I bought 10 years ago. Currently in the process of cleaning last years clad. Once I get every thing done I will post a thread start to finish. I discard bent, rotted or other damaged coins so they won't mess up the banks sorting machine. Cashed in 108 dollars this morning, still have a couple hundred more to go.

Tumbling clad takes about 30 minutes, pennies 15 with my process. Every thing comes out shiny and clean.
 
I agree with Walrus350. I got the HF dual machine (one for pennies an one for clad). Use the 20 or 25% coupon as available. I haven't been sorry. I typically don't clean Wheaties in a tumbler. I just carefully rinse them off and maybe use a toothbrush if necessary.
 
I have a Lortone tumbler I bought 10 years ago. Currently in the process of cleaning last years clad. Once I get every thing done I will post a thread start to finish. I discard bent, rotted or other damaged coins so they won't mess up the banks sorting machine. Cashed in 108 dollars this morning, still have a couple hundred more to go.

Tumbling clad takes about 30 minutes, pennies 15 with my process. Every thing comes out shiny and clean.

Do you have the specifics of your process? While tumbling DOES get my clad cleaner...they're not nearly "shiny"
 
I throw my clad into a mesh bag and put it into the washer machine with baking soda and vinegar. Everything comes out clean enough to roll or turn-in. I haven't been fortunate enough yet to worry about cleaning silver or old coins. :(
 
I use a cheap tumbler from harbor freight.
Without it I would have rolled up a standing liberty.
Tumbling made it stand out from the rest.
I found it night hunting on a beach and thought it was just a crusty quarter.
Makes the pennies look good.

Walrus,

Will tumbling green crusty beach found coins clean them up pretty good? is that what you are talking about?
 
Walrus,

Will tumbling green crusty beach found coins clean them up pretty good? is that what you are talking about?

Yep. I used natural aquarium gravel, dish soap and lime away.
Tumble for 30 minutes to get them in acceptable condition, 30 minutes more to shine them up.
 
I bought a Lortone tumbler in 1984 and it's still going strong. I tumble the clad for about 30 minutes to get the dirt off then put them in a jar with some lime-away toilet bowl cleaner, shake them for a few minutes and then tumble them for another hour. This process makes them look good and I cash them at my credit union in their coin machine for no charge. Quick and easy......Then at the end of the year I use the clad to buy precious metal.
 
excellent, i'll give it a try. thank you!

will this stuff work? it's a cheap add-on currently but am curious if whatever makes them flourescent will cause issues in the tumble...

https://www.amazon.com/GloFish-Aqua...id=1527020018&sr=1-4&keywords=aquarium+gravel

You run the risk of the coating coming off and transferring to the coin.
I suppose it could work with frequent solution change and the right ratio of soap and water. Keep the coating in suspension.

Same reason you separate pennies from the other types of coins.
 
You run the risk of the coating coming off and transferring to the coin.
I suppose it could work with frequent solution change and the right ratio of soap and water. Keep the coating in suspension.

Same reason you separate pennies from the other types of coins.

ok thanks. I'll probably just pick up some basic stuff at walmart. That one just happened to be cheap on amazon while i was ordering other stuff but i'll skip the potential hassle.

thanks again!
 
ok thanks. I'll probably just pick up some basic stuff at walmart. That one just happened to be cheap on amazon while i was ordering other stuff but i'll skip the potential hassle.

thanks again!

No prob. If you really want to take it to the next level, geta pound or 2 of jewelers shot.
 
I am also interested in getting a tumbler. I'm looking at many methods for cleaning and the two that stick out to me are tumbling and using a Dremel to polish. Have not experience doing either myself though

Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk
 
I tumble pennies with an abrasive (rock) water and a dash of dish soap I let the tumbler run over night. The majority come out clean and go thru the coin counters with no problem. some of the beach zincs are full of holes so they get thrown in the trash.


Clad coins get tumbled with white vinegar and a table spoon or so of rock salt. A dash of dish detergent does not hurt. Tumble for about 20 minutes and the vast majority go thru the coin counters

do not tumble pennies and clad together.
 
Do any of you guys tumble coins AND rocks??? I bought my 7 year old a Harbor Freight tumbler, and he loves doing ricks. I need to do a batch or 2 of clad, but don't want to ruin the tumbler barrel. Can I go back and forth between coins and rocks?
 
I have a Lortone tumbler I bought 10 years ago. Currently in the process of cleaning last years clad. Once I get every thing done I will post a thread start to finish. I discard bent, rotted or other damaged coins so they won't mess up the banks sorting machine. Cashed in 108 dollars this morning, still have a couple hundred more to go.

Tumbling clad takes about 30 minutes, pennies 15 with my process. Every thing comes out shiny and clean.

I have a Thumbler's Tumbler that I use, but I don't discard bent coins. A few taps with a hammer bends them back well enough to pass muster. If the coin machine won't accept them (I only use those for pennies, and roll the rest), they get used in my regular day-to-day change... Which of course means they sit around for a long time, because who uses cash these days?! :laughing:
 
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