Clean clad in 15 minutes.

[CliffHanger]

This is how I clean coins in 15 minutes for spending. This method is not for collectible coins, just spenders
I bought this little 1 1/2 cup capacity tumbler at a garage sale for a buck. In a little over two years it has run well over a hundred hours and seems to still be going strong.
The gravel is from a creek in a park I detect. Dime is for size comparison.
[attachment 56996 RocksampDime.JPG]
Black line indicates gravel level in tumbler cup.
[attachment 56997 gravelLevel.JPG]
Okay, to the gravel in the tumbler cup we add the coins. In this case 8 quarters, 8 nickels and 16 dimes. Many more coins could be added to half fill the cup. I never fill the tumbler cup more than half full. DO NOT put pennies in with anything but pennies. If you do it will leave the other coins with a copper color and you will have to remove the penny and repeat the cleaning process to get the copper color off of them. You can do pennies this way too but again, no other coins but pennies go in the cup
With the gravel and coins in the tumbler cup I add a tablespoon full of salt. Yep a whole tablespoon and sometimes it does not all dissolve. That's fine. It doesn't matter if the salt is iodized or not. Then enough white vinegar is added to just cover the gravel. No water, just pure white vinegar to the gravel line on the cup. The lid of the cup is put on and the cup is placed in the tumbler.
The whole tumbler goes into a plastic meat tray from the supermarket. I have to put the tumbler in at a slant because it is not leak proof and the vinegar will escape if not slanted. Sometimes a little vinegar still leaks out as you can see by the green crust on the tumbler and in the tray. No big deal. That's why the whole thing is in the tray.
[attachment 56998 TumblerAngle.JPG]
I plug the tumbler and in 15 minutes unplug it. The contents of the cup is poured into a sieve or strainer in the sink. The vinegar has gone from clear to brown and the coins have gone from brown to silver/gray. I rinse everything in the sieve to get all the vinegar, salt and dirt off. The coins go in a paper towel to dry and the gravel goes back in the tumbler cup (I haven't changed the gravel yet.)

Coins right out of the ground.
[attachment 56999 DirtyClad.JPG]
Same coins in 15 minutes.
[attachment 57000 CleanClad.JPG]

All the best

Cliffhanger

 

[jabbo]

Cliff, thanks for your great post, I printed your instructions. I need to get one of those tumblers, ebay has tons of them. Thanks, Jabbo

 

[Sanddigger]

n/t

 

[DavHut]

Nice idea. My tumbler is all metal and a sealed containter. Will the reaction of the salt and vinegar cause an explosion? And what about the nasty green acid salt crap that will get all over the metal works of the tumbler?

Maybe Ill just keeop doing it the old fashioned way...

 

[bdahunter]

You can see this if you put a silver ring in some vinegar and pour salt over the ring, bubbles will begin rising to the surface of the vinegar immediately. If your tumbler seals well then the pressure will build up until the top is blown off of it and then the contents will spill all over the floor.(a wise call to put it in a meat tray) The setup cliffhanger has is pretty slick and he has avoided the problem of pressure build up by using an unsealed container. Nice Clean Up Job, Cliffhanger!

Cheers,

BDA

 

[DavHut]

I agree,it seems to work well. I think Ill just keep rolling them as usual for now. Im not in any hurry.