quicksilver
New member
Just hoping someone could throw some ideas to me on how to clean up a lot of clad that I have found over the past two years. Thanks.
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Tons of clad
- Thread starter quicksilver
- Start date
I use 2 methods. One is a harbor freight vibrator with an 8" drum. Put in coarse sand and pea gravel and water , and run it for a few hours. The dimes and quarters stay brown though. The other method that works well to restore original color is a grinder motor with a stiff brass wire wheel, safety glasses and pliers.
Andy Sabisch
Active member
Get yourself a rock tumbler - preferably a double unit so you can clean copper and non-copper coins at the same time.
[attachment 275579 model-33b-tumbler.jpg]
You will probably get 100 different recipes to put in with your coins to clean them and they will all probably work to one degree or another but the cardinal rule is make sure you DO NOT mix copper coins (pennies) with nickels, dimes, quarters, halves, etc. Even one or two pennies will copper plate the clad coins when you tumble them.
Once you separate the coins, you can put about 100 at a time into each of the barrels. Put the coins in and add aquarium gravel, warm water, a bit of dish wash soap and some cleaner. The best known additive is called Magic Tumble Clean and they have been making the kits to clean coins for 30 years now - developed by treasure hunters for treasure hunters . . . . you can read about the kit and process here Magic Tumble Clean
Another thing to keep in mind is to make sure you keep the gravel used for one type of coin separate from the other as even the residue can color future loads.
Hope this helps
Andy Sabisch
[attachment 275579 model-33b-tumbler.jpg]
You will probably get 100 different recipes to put in with your coins to clean them and they will all probably work to one degree or another but the cardinal rule is make sure you DO NOT mix copper coins (pennies) with nickels, dimes, quarters, halves, etc. Even one or two pennies will copper plate the clad coins when you tumble them.
Once you separate the coins, you can put about 100 at a time into each of the barrels. Put the coins in and add aquarium gravel, warm water, a bit of dish wash soap and some cleaner. The best known additive is called Magic Tumble Clean and they have been making the kits to clean coins for 30 years now - developed by treasure hunters for treasure hunters . . . . you can read about the kit and process here Magic Tumble Clean
Another thing to keep in mind is to make sure you keep the gravel used for one type of coin separate from the other as even the residue can color future loads.
Hope this helps
Andy Sabisch
I use a rock tumbler. I will do the copper pennies than the clad. My tumbler is big. I put in the coins, Fill with water just above coins. A little dish soap. Run it for about an hour. Change water and soap and run for an hour again. Cleans them up pretty good. That is as simple as it gets. I found my tumbler at a garage sale for $5.00. It is one gallon size. I hope that helps a little... KEN
quicksilver
New member
Those are all super ideas. Thanks.
First of all, Congratulations on a big haul of clad!
You got good advice up top so I have nothing else to add...no matter what I do, some coins will just not clean up, so I take them and dump them into the Coinstar machine...some people say that if you check with your bank, they MAY take dirty rotten clad, or at least they are supposed to, but I have not tried that yet..
Mud
You got good advice up top so I have nothing else to add...no matter what I do, some coins will just not clean up, so I take them and dump them into the Coinstar machine...some people say that if you check with your bank, they MAY take dirty rotten clad, or at least they are supposed to, but I have not tried that yet..Mud