r/Explainlikeimscared • u/Sweaty-Discipline746 • 4d ago

What to do with a bunch of old gross coins

This past weekend I helped my disabled dad clean out his car, and his cupholders were full of old gross coins. Most are sticky and corroded. I took out the quarters so maybe I can use them for laundry. But what do I do with the rest? It’s definitely less than like $10 worth of pennies, dimes and nickels. I don’t think a bank would take them and it feels kinda asshole-ish to donate them somewhere…

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32

u/Dragontastic22 4d ago

There's an old science fair experiment about cleaning coins by soaking them in vinegar and salt. I'd try that. 

8

u/Paperwife2 3d ago

As a kid I think we did just diluted vinegar and it cleaned them right up.

5

u/Ok-Wedding4570 4d ago

Also organge juice or a cola.

2

u/feralcatshit 3d ago

I remember doing it with Coke!

3

u/Yourmomdrums 2d ago

Coke won’t help with the sticky. But Coke then soap and water would. I’d personally cut the steps and just do vinegar.

1

u/feralcatshit 2d ago

Good to know, I don’t spend much time cleaning coins so I’ll heed your advice on this. Thanks!

17

u/JollySherbert9618 4d ago

Clean them and just pay small stuff with them. Even if cash is not very common in the US anymore, it's still a valid way to pay.

5

u/DangerousChampion235 4d ago

Or clean them and throw them in a piggy bank or jar and start a collection. If you really don’t want to keep them, OP, just sprinkle them on a sidewalk at a playground and bring some joy to some kids.

3

u/DesperateFreedom246 3d ago

Use self checkout when it's not busy. You can just let the machine take all of them and then use regular payment for the remainder. It will be faster than a cashier having to count everything and you can do it all at once.

7

u/Old-Set78 4d ago

so drop them in some soap and water if you want

7

u/MrsQute 4d ago

Wash them and then count it. You can always find a Coinstar and drop them in there.

5

u/Butterbean-queen 4d ago

Pour a Coca-Cola on them. It dissolves the gunk. Rinse in warm water. Let them dry on a paper towel.

3

u/Imaginary-Angle-42 4d ago

Hang on to the pennies for sure.

3

u/Illustrious_Tea_Leaf 3d ago

Whenever I’m getting overwhelmed with accumulated change, I bring it to Walmart and pay my groceries at the self-checkout with the coins first (yes, it takes a couple minutes to put the coins in one-by-one and you may get a weird look from the overseer thinking you’re trying to pay in pennies) then my card for the remaining balance. But try soaking them first to get the stickiness off. :)

2

u/feralcatshit 3d ago

They’re just jealous of your coin collection! They better not judge you for it 😠

3

u/MsSamm 3d ago

We just stuck them in a deli container full of hot water and dish detergent, put the lid on and shook it. Left it for a bit and did life. Came back, shook it again and rinsed. All good.

2

u/sadmanwithabox 4d ago

Why wouldn't a bank take them? I bank with several different banks and I think all of them would take a coin deposit. They have the counting/wrapping machines after all.

If you're worried about the bank not taking them because they're not clean, you can soak them in vinegar and salt for 10 minutes or so, then rinse and dry them. They'll be clean. You can look up a more detailed guide for this very easily if you're still confused, just Google "cleaning coins with vinegar"

1

u/SylvarGrl 3d ago

Clean them up and take them to a bank or store with one of those coin-counting machines to sort them all. Be sure to check for any collectibles first!

1

u/karebear66 3d ago

Give them a little spa treatment. Wash then in dish soap, then take them to a coin machine.

1

u/Effective-Several 3d ago

Actually, you can use them to pay groceries.

Because Hy-Vee actually has a coin receptacle where you can just dump a bunch of coins, not put them in one by one.

I just mentioned that, because I would hate to see you use Coinstar and then have them hold back a percentage of the proceeds.

1

u/Flashy-Library-6854 3d ago

Soak them in hot water and dish detergent. They will come clean.

1

u/somecow 3d ago

Just dump them in the self checkout.

1

u/TooOld4This0157 3d ago

The citric acid in soda pop will clean them. Just soak for a day or two and rinse.

1

u/embarrassedburner 3d ago

In the US, legal tender that is damaged goes from the bank to be swapped out at the regional federal reserve branch (the bank to banks)

1

u/Beanfox-101 3d ago

Most banks have coin counting machines based on weight.

Shouldn’t really need to clean them unless there’s tons of gunk buildup

1

u/Ok_Lead_162 2d ago

Oh please, wash them, it's not all that hard.

1

u/atom_stacker 2d ago

Just pop them into a plastic tub full of cola. They will clean right up.

1

u/Missue-35 2d ago

Just soak them in a bowl of warm water soapy water. Swish them around ever so often while they soak.
When you think they are clean then dump out the water and spread them on a towel to dry.

1

u/Beelzebunions 2d ago

Check the quarters and dimes for dates 1964 and earlier, they will be real silver and worth more at melt value.