I have a bit of an odd problem that I was hopeing someone else has had the same issue. We have a non profit org who recieves coin donations from a nearby fountain at a shopping center. The coin is naturally always a bit dirty, even after several washings, rinses and being towel dried. This coin is causing our coin counting machine to jam up repeatedly. We have had the machine serviced but the problem keeps coming up.

Does anyone know the best way to clean coins in bulk like this? Our customer is currently running them through a commercial dishwash (for a school) which automatically adds soap (unavoidable) and sterilizes them. They are then rinsing in plain hot water and drying them with paper towels. They are then left to air dry the last of the moisture away.

I've looked for a cleaner, but everything I've found is focused on collectors looking to polish each coin by hand which doesn't really seem to be necessary in this case. Does anyone have any experience with this?

Thanks for any help!

Hmmm. Just thinking "out loud" (or at least in writing):

I'm guessing that the "dirt" is from two sources: a scummy film of algae that may grow on the surface of each coin, and a layer of oxidized metal (tarnish). The scum could be killed with the kind of algaecide used in fish tanks or swimming pools. You'd probably only put a small amount in a much larger amount of water. Just agitate the coins in treated water, rinse in plain water, and air-dry. Better yet, treat the fountain itself, and the coins will come out cleaner to begin with.

The tarnish is harder, because different coins are made from different metals, and each metal produces a chemically unique tarnish. I've heard that ammonia will clean pennies, but I don't know if it will work on nickels, for example. Vinegar may work on some coins.

I doubt that your customer wants to sort the coins by denomination before cleaning. Maybe if they experiment a bit, they can find something that will clean mixed batches. Or maybe they should remove coins from the water a bit more frequently, so they don't soak as long.

Good luck!

Ah Haaa - the old money laundering scheme appears again!

Here is a helpful link. Read all of the responses including the one from the Naval person.

http://nz.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080221062811AA1XY0k

Take the coins to the grocery store across the street, run the coins through the Coin Star machine and let them deal with the mess. I know the customer is a non-profit, but they have to understand that there is a limit to the time you can put into a task...I doubt your making much off the coins deposited!

If they are a good customer, offer to eat the cost of the Coin Star fee. Surely this would be an amicable solution.

If you've ever left coins in your pocket and then thrown your clothes in the washing machine, you'll discover that they come out pretty clean. . .I don't know how a washing machine works with a lot of coins at once, but up to a point, I imagine it would work. . . ???

Have you tried bleach?

I am guessing that it is because of these cleaning issues, the mall so generously allows the non-profit to take these nasty coins off their hands for them.

Ha ha ha.... I was thinking the same thing here.

Or needed help with the money laundering.

Some helpful advice here, plus a chuckle or two.

I'm concerned that some of the gunk we saw was actually corrosion, so I'm going to hold off on the acidic solutions proposed here. We might try bleach as a last resort, though I'm hesitant to suggest that due to the hazards involved. (This might be the only place I can say that and not get funny looks.)

I spoke with a technician at our coin sorter manufacturer. He suggested using a *very light* coat of talcum powder on our pad. Part of the problem may have been that we recently had our pad replaced and it is a bit sticky still. Coupled with the stickyness of some of the coins it might have been the problem.

I've got the customer rinsing them one last time and letting them dry, then we will try again. I'll let you know how we fare.

Thanks again for all the suggestions! I'm still open to more ideas as this is an ongoing thing. Coinstar is not an option for us!

Fill gallon jugs with them and auction them on eBay?

I don't know about you guys, but the sound of one single loose coin bouncing around in a dryer is one of the most annoying sounds on earth. Can't imagine what hundreds sound like. I agree with Milby. Cover the cost of using someone else's machine.

coinstar takes a 9% cut - pretty steep to eat for a non-profit...

Yowza! I didn't realize it was 9%. Still, in most cases it is probably cheaper to pay the 9% for your customer.

Two employees to clean, dry, and run the coin through the coin machine: 3 hours x 2 people x $15/hr = $90.

Service tech to come clean your machine = $150.

Effect on coin machine's longevity = $10 (guess)

Total = nearly $250. That's equal to 9% of about $2,750. I don't think fountains have that much coin in them. If they do, I need to find my waders!

Happy: What does BOLWYWTCCUT mean?

We are not cleaning the coin, the customer is. We're also not the type of bank who likes saying no to customers, especially the really good ones.

The coin is still drying, so I haven't had the honor of running it again. Maybe they will wait until I'm on vacation!

Compared with the cost of being exact, there should be many ways to approximate the value. Assuming the mix of denominations remains constant, pile 5 or 10 lbs on a postal scale & then get an exact value per pound. If your customer agrees, then accept the bulk coin for credit on a per-pound basis. If the customer balks, sweeten the pot and chalk off any losses to customer care.