Hi Folks:

I am having fun with my new DFX ! Over the weekend I had a change to use it for a about 3 hours on a small patch of grass next to my church about 1/2 a football field in size. In that short time I found about 50 pieces of clad coinage and one Barber Silver Quarter from 1892. (What a thrill it was to see that one pop out of the ground !)

I thought I was going to get some exercise but I was on my knees digging the whole time... I guess I will have to dig faster :)

My question is: What do you do to clean the clad ! Some folks say don’t rub the dirt / muck off others tumble theirs in walnut shells ?

Any suggestions ?

Thanks


Mark
Redwood City, CA

Opps


I had a change to use it for a about 3 hours

I ment

I had a chance to use it for a about 3 hours

Later

Mark

Hey Mark,

I tumble my clad coins using aquarium gravel, water and either soap or sudsing ammonia,
depending on how cruddy they are. They come out clean enough to take back to the bank. See:

http://forums.kinzlicoils.com/index.php?showtopic=5962

PS: Congrats on that Barber.

Mark-
First off, congrats on the barber. I'm still trying to break into the 1920's with my DFX. As for cleaning of the clad, I don't. I rinse everything off in warm water, roll it up and take it to the bank. Pennies, zinc ones mainly, are the only coins that, in my opinion, really need any kind of tumbling, especially after they have been in the ground for any length of time. I put the zinc pennies into a metal container with some water, soap and I shake them up a bit to get most of the dirt and lose residue off. After I dry the pennies off I roll them up and take them to the bank.
unearth

A Barber quarter? Nice work! Those are the ones you don't wipe the dirt off of, clean them gently with warm water and let the dirt wash off with the pressure of the water.

I have heard of some people using aquarium rocks to tumble clad, do copper and zincs seperate from the other coins. So far I have just washed my clad, the quarters, all red and rusted orange go into the laundry machines just like the shiny ones... :)

If you want to speed recovery of the target try the in-line probe from Sunray for the DFX, works like a mini coil at the flick of a switch... That or a handheld target pinpointer, the inline works with the detector electronics and you hear it in your headphones, works with discrimination and tone id... I have one for the Explorer and I would hate to hunt without it, it is a slick tool.

HH

JW

I dont detect enough to buy a tumbler. I just pour it in a coinstar machine, dirt and all, take my money. I have choked a coinstar machine every now and then :) But for 8.9%, I let 'em choke. I average about 80 bucks every summer. I know some guys do a whole lot more.

/bing

Hi Mark, I do alot of clad and see alot of the dark red coins. My bank takes them without rolling them but they need to be clean. I tumble mine with a little gravel, vinegar, and some salt. This is not for good coins just clad. Pennies need to be separate or you will end up with copper colored clad. Rob

Hey Mark,

I work in RWC, live in Santa Clara. I couldn't tell if you are new to MD'ing to just to the DFX. I can give you the places I've hunted that have yielded wheats and silvers if you PM me. Maybe we can get together for an early evening hunt... I just got a new (to me) DFX to add to the arsenal.

About the clad, I have read about and tried a few of the tumbling methods with the cleaning additive (soap, grit, rocks, etc.). The problem with any tumbling method is that your goal is to get the tons of clad turned into the same equivalent in green. Investment in a tumbler (if you don't already have one) or in any rubbing compounds simply erodes the value on your return. Also, any time spent prepping clad (cleaning, examining, counting, bagging) erodes from both your detecting time and your time in general (time is money...).

After thinking about it a long time, here is my method:

I tumble all clad, usually separating the pennies from the others. I spill all the coins out and do a quick, final screen for silvers and wheats. I separate the quarters because they will go into laundry and vending machines. I sell the $10 rolls to friends at work for their laundry. I take the rest to Coinstar. And here is my take on Coinstar (let's just assume it takes a 10% service fee): my time is worth more to dump them in that machine to pay for the 10% fee for everything but quarters. I can screen out quarters and save 10 cents on every dollar. I give the "holy" zincs a few tries, and if it spits them out, I throw them in the trash on the way out (usually the amount of zincs goes to essentially zero as the quality of detecting you are doing improves). Finally, if you drink Starbuck's or use Amazon or Barnes and Noble or whoever the Coinstar partners are, you can avoid the ~10% fee altogether by getting the payout in that gift certificate. Then, as you buy the things you normally buy from those places, the money from your clad converts 100% into money for you. If you don't have a tumbler, I'd just churn the coins in warm water by hand to wash them quickly...

That's my $.02 and I hope it helps!

HH,

Brian

Mark, I'm with Bing on this...I just pour my clad into the Coinstar machine as is (after I wash it off first). It's just too much hassle putting it through the tumbler, although I do have one and use it occasionally. I've clogged the Coinstar machines in the past, too, although I've discovered that if you shove the coins in slowly, you don't run much risk of this. Funny story--the time I really clogged up the Coinstar machine was when I put a bunch of Eisenhower Dollars in the machine. Well, it's not geared to accept these larger size coins, and I really did a number on it. Live and learn!

HH

Dan

I clean NOTHING ... :o :o :o

I belong to a credit union that has a coin counter inside and they will allow the coins to go thru the machine as long as it is deposited ....its all automatic....via the ATM card.....sometimes i runs the bad coins a couple times to get them accepted...

I clean NOTHING.

Mark....

Tumble the Clad BUT keep the Pennies Separate.

Those coins that are located shallow are pretty clean so separate those immediately.

I have Tumblers is you need to purchase.

Now, if the coins are basically clean after a soaking, just make a night time visit to your local post office.... put in 20.00 in 'clean' coins and press the changer and get BRAND new Susan B or the Sakajewia Dollars.

925Bill will take his clad and put them in one of his DIRTY socks, take it down to the Laurel Street Laundromat and run them through with his other Dirty Laundry... helps but not perfect.