How to clean your dirty coins with a rock tumbler ! | Nugget Noggin

In this video I show you how I cleaned my dirty coins that I found metal detecting. There are many ways to do this , but this Is just the way I did it . Thanks for Watching !
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About Nugget Noggin:
Hey! I'm Michael, I love to get outdoors and discover awesome things
with my metal detector. I started treasure hunting when I was 12 years
old and shortly after received my first metal detector. Since then, I've
been hooked and just love going out to search for the unknown. You
may see me in the woods crawling under an old house or diving down
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How to clean your dirty coins with a rock tumbler ! | Nugget Noggin
• How to clean your dirt...
Nugget Noggin
/ nuggetnoggin

[@insaynbcr]

I found that tumbling copper separate from clad or nickel, and nickel separate from clad or copper works best for shine clarity. The copper tends to pink the clad and nickels. Also, I use the white sharp edged aquarium gravel and can get each batch of coins nearly new looking in about an hour. I also pre-soak each batch for about 5 minutes in cheap dollar tree toilet bowl cleaner, and then thoroughly rinse before tumbling. Clad and Nickels go first through the pre-soak, and then the copper is last, as copper can cause the clad or nickels to dry with a green tint. Or just use one container for copper and another for everything else. When done, my coins look better than what would be in my pocket, or pickup ashtray.

[@tlsumner]

Amazing to think that for each and every one of those coins you had to kneel down and dig a hole. Then add the non-coin targets you dug between these coins and you have one heck of allot of exercise. Thanks for all your videos Nugget ! Good luck !

[@Haven2U]

Don't be tempted to clean silver or gold coins this way. Junk coins, yeah. I wouldn't even clean old wheat pennies this way. There are much better ways of cleaning coins. Usually mild soap and water soak, will clean them up sufficiently. In short, never use abrasives for cleaning coins.

[@jacobluker5531]

Morris Starkey I heard that you shouldn't clean coins or else it would decrease the value of it

[@EWDAVID94]

this is just for coins that are only worth their face value, nothing valuable, or old

[@jamesmcnally8705]

Some of us tumble coins to clean them up for the penny presses, so different rules can apply. But never tumble coins for a regular coin collection

[@tawnyar7037]

@@jamesmcnally8705 That is true

[@kaypolo]

Tumbled my coppers in fine sand and vinegar for a few minutes. That's all it took. Very bright.

[@mpwall123]

Thanks, informative and I like the special effects when adding the water

[@fjbsolutions2446]

white vinegar, rock salt, aquarium rock.. 30 mins tumbling.. they come out looking brand new! regular clad only of course!

[@Docdaugh]

Try crushed pecan shells...I've got a friend in Arkansas who has access to a nut farm. He puts them through a coffee grinder. Mix 3parts shells to 1/2 part water w/ a half cup of baking soda and see the difference in less time!

[@nelsoncaraballo9446]

Thank you for your video. Great information. Even better to know that expensive chemicals aren't need. One tip, wash/change water every time you check on your coin run.

[@godspirate6250]

Watched about eight of your videos today. You're basically finding the same stuff I am, but I always wondered how you cleaned your coins. Thanks for the info,...and happy huntin'!

[@jaymoge]

cleanin coings wiff smoove rocks. Love it, nice work.

[@jackmehoff5916]

There's a field by my house I walk through coming home from work, and every time it rains coins wash up in it, and I won't clean silver or wheat pennies but for the ones I wanna cash in I soak em in tarn-x and take a brillo pad to them. That gets em good enough to cash in. The coppers look brand new while the zincs usually still look pretty rough.

[@grampsandme]

Very informative Nugget, thanks for sharing.....

[@zul32]

I have a slightly smaller tumbler - same company and it's very old. Probably around 15+ years old. So, I had maybe 15-20 pennies mixed clad & copper and just threw them into the tumbler a few minutes ago. We'll see how they come out in a couple hours! Thanks for sharing the video with us Nugget!

[@GasserGlass]

Dirty Money Looking Clean....good job

[@jeremy1170bud]

I've thought about buying one of the smaller tumblers. Thanks for the info nugget!

[@BriceCoinsAndRelics]

Very nice instructional video. Gotta get me one. Looks pretty cool. Thanks for the vid

[@MikeOfKorea]

That was really interesting. I got a rock polishing kit for Christmas when I was a kid and had a blast doing that. You're right about the noise!

[@roktherock9243]

Thanks man.. I've been watching your videos and i like them a lot👍🙂Now i'm searching for variuos coin cleaning methods. And i think you solved my problem man.. Soo.. Thanks a lot😉👏

[@peedeesanddigger4862]

Was checking out videos, I just got a tumbler . THANKS

[@matthewkyle7763]

Thats was great always wanted to no how cones are cleaned. Thank you for posting take care stay safe keep up the great work. God bless you peace be with you.

[@craigcsu07]

Before you put the lid on wipe some oil around the lid on the seal and it makes the lid much easier to remove. I learned the hard way lol

[@zannie2723]

Nice instruction video, Mr. Nugget:) Happy New Year, and HH.

[@bryanhemedinger9875]

Clean enough to use the coinstar machine at the store!! Great JOB

[@brianprice1543]

Very cool video I got a lot smaller one bought at harbor fright

[@jimallmon1994]

thanks for showing the video-pretty neat!

[@funktron4]

Very enjoyable video. Thanks.

[@ripleyradio2o]

thanks for the heads up I was using sand. Got stones now. LOL

[@LyudmilaRGVK]

Great Video this helped me a lot.Stay safe out there on the rivers.

[@mtnboyjp]

They look great!! I think the baking soda will help clean them a lot better but they did clean up well!! Also, if you have any valuable coins, never clean them this way as it will damage them!! The valuable coins are better if left uncleaned. Great vid!

[@mrtilley66]

I use goop hand cleaner in my tumbler it only takes 1or2 hr. and they will be super clean.HH Rick

[@tfknauss]

Makes your hard work worth while, cash in and pays for the fun. Good job

[@jerrythecoo3295]

Best I found to cleaning coins is any dish soap& Sand. It's finer& it gets into the grooves better. I learned this from my Grandpa............... Another" Top-Quality" Video from the Nuggetman!!!. :)

[@georgelaw5000]

Thanks for showing this. Wondered how you turned some of them in.

[@timothkeyyprice]

Seems hard to clean the depressed areas next to the raised letters and figures. The stones are so large that they cannot fit into small places. You might try adding a cup of builders sand to the stones and then check it after one hour. Or do sand alone first, then follow with stone.

[@uncleboogie69]

very good info thanks man:)

[@PlasteredDragon]

I got the same kind of tumbler for cleaning coins and it works pretty good. It will strip the nickel shine off quarters and dimes though--but if they came out of the ground they were probably already toast so this just gets them to an acceptable condition for the bank.

[@MrUbiquitousTech]

I hope there's enough money there to pay the electric bill after running that tumbler for 15 hours.

[@usakindatheartflower6229]

5 1/2 hours

[@AB-gz9yb]

usakindatheart flower he rabbit for a total of 15 and half hours

[@addictedone]

Good video, this is exactly how I clean my clad too. You said you don't bother with the zinc, but I've been throwing all of them together all summer and have found that coinstar takes most of the zinc pennies too once they've been cleaned. Maybe it's just my local machine, I'm not sure.

[@davidhopper1087]

good job,i use a ultrasonic cleaner not quiet as good as the rock tumbler.but makes them spendable. nice one

[@pvampire]

BTW..great touch with the water special effects! Little touches like that really make a video cool. Also, when I saw your hands they looked like someone who actually works for a living, and not someone who parks their butt in front of a TV and plays video games all day! Good on ya Nuggetnoggin! :)

[@LyudmilaRGVK]

Thank you, I was confused as to the pennies from 1982 being the first year for zinc pennies or last year they made copper pennies.I once found 50 zinc pennies in one hole all eaten away.

[@dutchboy9991]

thanks for the great vid nugget god bless you to.

[@Dldmny]

Reloaders use a variety of non-abrasive stuff to polish their brass cases before reloading them. Nothing harder than the brass, for sure!

[@pvampire]

Is this what they call "Money Laundering" haha...seriously though, I learned a lot from this video and your "Pick" video. I have to really thank you for posting this it was very informative. I have a Lortone tumbler as well, except it has the double drum. I actually never thought of using my tumbler to clean my coins...pretty cool! One other thing I wish you could touch on someday, is using "electrolysis" You've mentioned that a time or two and I would love to see how that's done. I'm in the procdss of making that relic strainer with the wood and screen right now. What a cool design that is I cant wait till it's done. I've made it so nice I wont want to get it dirty..haha..Thanks a lot and keep making these vids I love them!

[@calebhoise6663]

I just stumbled across this video but that seems like a cool hobby

[@jaichimcarridin8650]

As far as cleaning, I do not mix the pennies with the clad. The clad is nickel clad, and the hardest thing when cleaning nickels is that red coating it gets. Through trial and error and reading many forum posts I found the best way to get that red off in a very short amount of time. That is to use vinegar and salt. Go buy a 2 gallon jug of vinegar from the grocery store and fill it up above the coin/rock line as in your video. Then take regular table salt and pour liberally into the tumbler. You will not need to tumble for more than 2 hours to get them in shiny, brand new looking condition. You may have to take an additional 1 hour with water and soap to get the pink hue off of it, so 3 hours total. Go grab another jar of your coins, film and try this. You will swear by it.

[@jaydee8959]

Great vid... i use my tumbler on silver jewelery and it works great and i use stainless steel shot instead of plastic...just dont ever put a chain or necklace in you will NEVER get it untangled !!!! Also cut gemstones can get damaged too... but I dont really think it hurts coins....

[@silverfox4055]

My da has an older tumbler for his bullet casings. He’s pinched his fingers tons of times getting the ring that seals the lid on so many times I can’t count. Gonna grab it next time we grab things from storage next year.

[@MUDSWAT]

I don't suggest mixing the copper with the clad or nickels. The copper can stain your clad. You only need a drop of soap, it accumulates inside very badly... (Foam) Just rinse well before trying to retrieve them. 30 minutes tends to get them clean enough to roll up and take to a bank. :) Keep @ it and HH !!

[@Oldtboot]

That's a beautiful jar... dayum

[@MadisonMainedetecting]

I've been thinking about upgrading to a tumbler as I only have a brass cleaning shaker. It works ok but I know a tumbler would work better. Great video. GL&HH

[@Bryan-no2xv]

pretty neat , ive found that clr does excellent job

[@AndTheCorrectAnswerIs]

Harbor Freight sells smaller rotary tumblers for $45-55 as well as vibratory tumblers for $55 (they are all now on sale). I just use some gravel from my driveway and some dishwasher or laundry soap (it doesn't foam up). Works great for the spendable clad.

[@yourboycheezy9436]

Really useful for me and my dad

[@brentsealy9623]

Harbor Freight sells a smaller dual drum tumbler for about $68. I use stainless steel media for my ammo and coins.

[@louisemissouri4410]

I wondered if you used a tumbler for cleaning your coins. Just a note... you only need a little soap in your canister as Dawn is super strong. For getting tarnish, and nicks off silver and gold jewelry we used stainless steel shot and it works really great!! thanks for sharing this. :)

[@johnw.lauritzen5784]

I have a smaller version of your tumbler & I get much more efficient & faster coin cleaning by first adding a teaspoon of CLR® & a little bit of a liquid detergent then adding enough hot water to about 3/4 full before tumbling for 3-5 hours. Sometimes it is necessary to repeat this process. Try It -it works!

[@frogman319]

A lot of good suggestions in the comments. I would think that BBs or something small like that would work great. Thanks for the video. :)

[@kyredneck]

i got to build one of them....works great looks like

[@MetaldetectingIsrael]

That method is tottaly awesome! Sonic cleaner smoking in a corner))))

[@1977jda19]

Would love to see you whole collection of coins and rellics

[@jirimar]

Would using a little bit of CLR with the water be ok, or would it do more harm than good?

[@ArjanndHD]

Thanks!

[@joeyhunter5498]

Hey nugget I have a quick question for u how would I make a ionizer rust remover shown in a video u did

[@lorenzomaximo1818]

Oh boy this is just what I need to clean my dirty 1909-s VDB penny.

[@colejosephalexanderkashay683]

hahahaha

[@SAVAGE_IRON]

lemi shine and stainless steel pins, in addition to the dawn/water mix , it will make them cleaned and polished in much less time, about 1-3 hours id say, i use it on brass for reloading, makes it look new, i also use a homemade tumbler i built myself.

[@PurpleMeatloaf]

Have you tried using baking soda instead of soap or in addition to? I wonder if it would work better or if would be too rough and would damage them.

[@wmcbarker4155]

OK, good job NuggetNoggin

[@therealcoinroller]

Cool vid!

[@gr8fzy1]

That coin jar looks like you dug IT up too. :p

[@dersondelwolf6831]

Very nice way to clean Coins. Good Luck from Germany

[@brandonmiller2356]

I know this is an old video but this is a great tip you should try... KETCHUP cleans coins so well. I swear it's the craziest thing I ever seen. You should try it out nugget

[@jakobe328]

thanks a whole bunch for helpin me wid ma coings feller

[@thequeen2897]

I love your country accent!!!

[@bettyannmckinney8256]

Enjpyed this video very much. I put a damaged penny into white vinegar for 4 days. There wasn't much left, really sad. Thanks for the info.

[@LyudmilaRGVK]

Some zinc pennies will actually break pieces off when ran through a Coin Star machine.

[@1950cappie]

I really don't like to pay a merchant, or place into circulation, dirty coins. For me, this tip will come in handy. Thanks. This also reminded me that years ago, I saw how to clean old discolored bottles with a modified tumbler. I bet that there are more videos of that by now. Worth a look anyway.

[@1950cappie]

Note to self: "Never bet with yourself" !

[@btpearce]

You should as a bit of sand it would help get into the crevices etc. Wonder what would happen if you threw a little of that tarn x stuff you use to clean silver with into the mix?

[@usakindatheartflower6229]

how do u keep the cruddy new zinc coins from corrosion? even heat effects them, left in my clean car ashtray.

[@mushedroom]

hey nuggetnoggin!!! sometimes it's best to NOT clean coins... collectors like the coins to be all tarnished, etc. best thing to use it mild soap and water and for the crusty crusty ones use olive oil and soak them. when you tumble them you beat them up more, killing all the details in the coins.... for example let's say your wheat penny was worth 10.00, if you clean them like this, it would reduce the value to 1-3.00 but if you use a non-acidic chemical way of cleaning, then lots of collectors would be more happy with the dirtiness of them.

[@ThaneR0248]

+mushedroom's toy box I think this was more of a method to use if your going to drop them in a coin star.. or like he said for people who just want them to look brand new. could be wrong I know very little about this stuff.

[@VirtualLunacy]

+mushedroom's toy box - most of this stuff that comes out of the ground has to be cleaned just to see what it is. and then they go to the coinstar or bank.

[@stephenmoleski8726]

+mushedroom's toy box He was clear. These are for cashing in/spending only. No numismatic value other than face value.. Listen to the audio as well.

[@chongtak]

+mushedroom's toy box all coins have to be cleaned. However there are several methods to do it properly without damaging coins and this method is not one of them. This technique is ok for poor value recent coins. You can't do this way with coins found in Europe, some can date back to more than a thousand years here.

[@usakindatheartflower6229]

+chongtak yea, I think he made that point early on

[@scottknickman1520]

What do you use to clean them with

[@jacobluker5531]

Does it matter what kind of soap like hand soap but not bar hand soap or body wash or anything like that

[@dawnlindgron5570]

I always wondered if this could be done

[@TheFirstgoldking]

I use pet store Lizard bedding ground walnut shell for cleaning empty brass shells for reloading..its cheaper then reloading cleaners and makes brass look new in 30minutes +-.use it dry and sift it out and reuse..with out scratching..good videos sir

[@toddhall3710]

Looks good nugget yea keep up the good work its a good hobby I'm glad you liked my comment I hope we can talk and have lunch

[@jacobhauck1928]

I tired this way before and it actually work perfect but I put a silver coin in it and it rip it in half not literally but tore it up and it ruined it

[@1colt451]

I reload bullets so corn media will work without the mess. Lizard bedding is even cheaper. throw coins in and go to bed by morning all is clean.

[@northcountryflyers]

A Sonic cleaner but I haven't used it yet should I take it back and buy a rock tumbler?

[@JIMinBama1]

I think they would clean up even better if you would use maybe a 1/8 screen to screen river rocks and that smaller rock would get in all cracks and cranny's better . They would get in places like between letters and dates better .

[@xfib]

I was checking about how to clean coins. First thing is you should never tumbler coins. I really like your videos about metal detecting. Please check about this.

[@tasspartan3880]

Thanks man=)

[@spooievision]

What kind of camera/lens are you using? The closeup shots of the coins at the end look very sharp.

[@mrburtonneal]

The purpose I clean my coins is to get them clean enough to pass through the bank counting machine. Before any coin is cleaned they are looked at for important dates from a numismatic point. The comments made about cleaning coins destroys them is unwarranted! For the last 50 years the US mint has not produced any coins of low mintage, so what difference does it make!

[@djzman]

+mrburtonneal all of those coins you showed before you cleaned them would go thought a bank counting. I send a lot worse looking coins then that to bank counting machines.

[@ltcajh]

Just had a thought- how about putting coins into the gun brass tumbler with the crushed walnut shells?

[@ltcajh]

***** Good thoughts.

[@PlasteredDragon]

BTW if you use dishwasher detergent in small quantities you won't have so much foam to deal with at the end.

[@FiveStringCommando]

Semi-non-sequitur: Good way to clean ammunition brass for reloading is tumble with a healthy squirt of dish detergent and a .45acp case worth of LemiShine (powdered citric acid).

[@marktubeie07]

Just amazing and fascinating process - great video!

[@Poisson4147]

No, _terrible_ idea. Abrasive cleaning will ruin the value of any collectible coin. It would be like using sandpaper on a piece of antique furniture.

[@cajunoutdoors7440]

Poisson Volant did you not hear him say that there were no silvers or anything worth spending in the batch

[@MrSprayNplay]

Hey nugget could you make a video of your coin collection? Thanks!

[@MrRoux00]

Have u ever use soft scrub soap to clean

[@Blogengezer]

Mixing the metals leaves an undesirable electrolysis plating transfer on some of the coins. Do not mix denomination coins while tumbling wet. All pennies, four hours with few drops of liquid detergent, water, vinegar with a bit of salt, leaves pennies shiny with no electrolysis plating. Nickles mixed into the batch turns the transferred coating on everything green and dull. The same metal coins, all rubbing against each other in the solution, works quite well, with no rocks to separate out.