Question about Penny Arcade, and not the one we all love

Inx

I have a TD Bank near me, and a whole bunch of coins to get turned into bills. TD has a machine that sorts and counts your coins for free (called a Penny Arcade, hilariously).

Problem is, a bunch of my coins are really dirty and gross.

Anyone know if this will be a problem? I don't want to stand there like a dope while the machine vomits my rancid currency back into my face.

Esh

Can you be more specific? Why not put them all into a collander or something and wash them off in the sink?

Inx

They were in my car and had a lot of spilled soda and other general awfulness on them for like a year.

I'll wash 'em if I have to, but if I don't have to I'd rather not go to the trouble. They might require more effort than that though.

TychoCelchuuu

Just wash them. At least give them a rinse.

Gdiguy

If they're covered in junk you can just rinse them in soapy water and get a decent amount of the gunk off... just for sorting it's probably not worth doing something more serious.

Unless they're so coated that they're dramatically altering the shape or weight of the coins, they shouldn't be a huge problem

supabeast

Clean them first. I use those change counting machines a lot, and they get jammed up really easily.

Esh

Yeah, don't be a goose and subject the person who has to gather them up to the grossness and/or possibly gunk up/damage the machine with them. Give 'em a good soak in hot soapy water at least and then spray them off.

Inx

Will do. I wasn't sure if it would damage the machine, which was a secondary concern but is a really good point. I'll give 'em a scrub in the morning.

Thanks guys!

Bowen

Steel wool/copper will get most of the gunk off on the harder ones too.

Echo

As a person who has worked with counting money and cleaning gunk out of the counting/validating machines, I thank you in advance.

Pi-r8

I seem to remember from my grade school science class that ketchup cleans coins really easily.

Esh

Pi-r8 wrote: »

I seem to remember from my grade school science class that ketchup cleans coins really easily.

I think that's for cleaning up tarnish and what not. He just needs to get sticky soda and dirt off.

Donovan Puppyfucker

Just soak 'em in some Coke overnight, then rinse them with fresh water in the morning. They'll be spotless.

Drez

Not to hijack but I have the same problem, and soap just hasn't worked. I've tried cleaning the coins individually and soaking in soapy water for an hour, hours, a day, days, etc. Nothing is working.

Is there some kind of solvent that will help get nasty shit off coins?

I can try coke, I guess. Though I'm afraid the coke might eat the coins! (Not really.)

The Good Doctor Tran

Drez wrote: »

Not to hijack but I have the same problem, and soap just hasn't worked. I've tried cleaning the coins individually and soaking in soapy water for an hour, hours, a day, days, etc. Nothing is working.

Is there some kind of solvent that will help get nasty shit off coins?

I can try coke, I guess. Though I'm afraid the coke might eat the coins! (Not really.)

Coke, Simple Green or Brake Fluid will get rid of most crap on metal models, including paint/paint primer, so I imagine coins will work as well. Be careful with the brake fluid if you try that, obviously.

darkmayo

Just wanted to pipe up and say I fucking love those machines, it was always such a chore to roll coins so I just let them gather in a jar.. or whatever. After we got one of those machines nearby (no fee either) I brought in all my coins and walked away with just over $500.

Gaslight

Vinegar would probably also work.

Inx

I plan on using Simple Green to do it. Shit's a miracle, I swear.

Darkewolfe

Simple Green will do anything.

Donovan Puppyfucker

Drez wrote: »

Not to hijack but I have the same problem, and soap just hasn't worked. I've tried cleaning the coins individually and soaking in soapy water for an hour, hours, a day, days, etc. Nothing is working.

Is there some kind of solvent that will help get nasty shit off coins?

I can try coke, I guess. Though I'm afraid the coke might eat the coins! (Not really.)

Coke. Legit. That shit will eat through anything, given enough time. It took about 6 days for a glassful of Coke to completely dissolve a cow's tooth in my year 8 science class.

naporeon

Here is the magical recipe for cleaning coins: Fill your sink with warm water and add borax. Then, take the coins you need to clean, place them in a colander with some BBs (yes, the kind you fire from air rifles), and alternate between shaking and soaking.

This will take surprisingly little effort, and the coins will look newly minted.