$292.25

grinsebring

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That was the total of last years clad. I just finished up the cleaning and deposit
of the that total. I also had roughly 25 to 30 silvers which included rings and odds and ends. Gold was elusive, just a couple rings and religious items.

I tumbled everything removed a couple quarters and dimes that were bent. Discarded nearly 80 pennies that were pitted, bumpy, bent or anything else that had the potential of jamming the coin counter. You see I run them through MY banks machine. The last thing I want is the hairy eyeball from
the people who know me.

Today when I ran through the last of my change I fished the reject tray and got back 81 cents and a hand full of dirt. There was two dimes a nickel and a quarter that were surely in an altercation with a lawnmower. The pennies in the tray still had a dirt crust on them.

I see folks running junk like that through someone else's expensive machinery on a par with leaving trash next to open holes on a soccer field.

Rants over, This is how I clean coins. Step one sort the pennies out of the clad. I run each denomination separate.

Some people use vinegar and dishwasher soap. I don't care much for the suds when I open the tumbler. I use citric acid to do the job. Citric acid in lemon juice that is. It's nearly double that of vinegar so be careful.

One cup of coins a forth cup lemon juice and a half jigger of simple green or a similar product is optional. Tumble no longer than 15 minutes, beyond that copper could leach from the dimes and quarters. Rinse twice with fresh water and spread them out to dry. I f you leave them stacked in piles they will get spotty, but still clean. You might get a couple really stubborn coin that need a second tumble with the next batch. But, all and all they will be clean.

Pennies same way but 10 to 15 minutes in just lemon juice, no soap. Rinse them really good and they will be ready for the bank. Just be sure you get out all duds. I straighten the bent coins on the anvil and spend them when I need change with a purchase. The pennies, I throw away.

Finding a couple silver coins after cleaning is the same rush as digging one up.

A couple before and after shots.
 

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Yep, that's very impressive. If you had to guess, how many coins do you think that is in total? One thing is for sure: that's a ton of holes dug!
 
1/2jigger

QUOTE=DirtyRob;2955001]What's a "half jigger" amount?

1/2 shot glass/ splash/ a little bit /not much....Maybe just skip the detergent.:D
 
Thanks for this information...I've used dish soap and aquarium gravel, and it cleans most of the crud off, but yours look MUCH better
 
I do basically the same thing except I use ammonia instead of lemon juice. It's a lot cheaper and stronger than lemon juice. I get Basic ammonia at Walmart for around a buck. It goes a long ways.

beephead
 
I do basically the same thing except I use ammonia instead of lemon juice. It's a lot cheaper and stronger than lemon juice. I get Basic ammonia at Walmart for around a buck. It goes a long ways.

beephead

Lemon juice is acidic and Ammonia is basic: so the opposite sides of ph scale.
Ammonia will clean but leave some of the patina and lemon juice strips the patina very quickly.
 
Congrats on all that clad, amazing! :mder: :woot: Even more amazing is all the silver you didn't realize you had, there was even a Barber! :woohoo: :clapping: :woohoo:

Imagine if you hadn't tumbled them ... you would've accidentally spent 7 silver coins. :shock::wow::shock: In melt value alone they currently total $12.16 - that's just over 12 times their face value! :shock::wow::shock:
 
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