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need help laundering money

Careful with the coins. The original metal is only a thin coating. Trade in the pennies asap. and then try fixing the quarters,which I believe are nickle plated today, no silver at all. Nickel likes copper, that's where your problem started.

I spent many years as an auto mechanic, leaning on car fenders. So I got out of the habit of carrying change around in my pockets. I would toss it all into a coffee can. At one point I had $1300 in change. It came to $70/ coffee-can-pound. A three pound can held $210.

Next time, I separated it all, calculated value by weighing each denomination, and the bank came up 10% short. Coin Star had raised it's rates to 9 1/2%. So next time I couin starred all the pennies, and have been making it a point to fill a pocket with silver change when I leave the house. I'm down to only a half-a-coffee-pound now, from 6 when I coinstarred the pennies . That puts me about $50 ahead?
 
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I appreciate all the advice, but it sounds like I'm screwed. I shouldn't have dealt with the different coins in one batch. No way I'll be scrubbing individual coins, especially the pennies.
I don't even bend over for stray pennies anymore, and I'm not even rich.
I do have some ammonium nitrate I was considering involving. Though it might just get worse.

At some point will these oddly hued coins be worth more as a collector's item?

I've taken a lot of flack in quarky town for this. I was our token science dude, and now have egg on face.

Can I maybe sue the Federal Government?
I've already lost whatever interest i would have accrued had I not hoarded the suspect metals. Plus a few hours of time and some lost solvents.

It's not only about the money. My dignity is at stake here, people.
 
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kedo1981 said:
carefully mix a little toilet bowl cleaner (ammonium hydroxide) into water, in a glass jar in a well ventilated space (outside) the copper oxide should desolve
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I am not as knowledgeable in chemistry, but if it were me, I would most thoroughly rinse off any previous attempts before trying this approach.
 
Not having a chemistry degree or an in-home lab, I think my first step would have been soaking them in dish soap and warm water, then picking out any individual coins that needed additional attention. That might still be worth trying.
 
quarky said:
I do have some ammonium nitrate I was considering involving.
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What- you want to blow them up? Heat the ammonium nitrate gently so that the laughing gas produced makes you forget about the pennies?

Don't try using it to clean the coins. Just don't.
 
quarky said:
No way I'll be scrubbing individual coins, especially the pennies.
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If you seriously don't care about the money, but only about salvaging the coins and your dignity, then your only recourse now is to enlist the help of a school-age child, probably about age 9 or 10 (because that's old enough to be responsible and capable, and young enough to be interested), and offer him/her halfsies if s/he'll clean the coins.

Although, now that I think about it, you may know some grownups who would be willing to sit there and clean coins for $75. :D
 
Just roll the coins, take 'em to the bank, they'll never see them.
 
hcmom said:
Just roll the coins, take 'em to the bank, they'll never see them.
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So much fine advice here, especially Madalch, for the chem.

Considered rolling them, but dang! That would take hours. Employing kids?
The wee brats these days won't do stuff we would have gladly done for 2 cookies.

As per future prevention?
Dumping change in a big jar is common. Short of sorting the coins, should I have a desiccant in the jar? I've got some MgSO4 kicking around.
Some sacrificial iron?

Has this happened to you?
 
quarky said:
So much fine advice here, especially Madalch, for the chem.

Considered rolling them, but dang! That would take hours. Employing kids?
The wee brats these days won't do stuff we would have gladly done for 2 cookies.

As per future prevention?
Dumping change in a big jar is common. Short of sorting the coins, should I have a desiccant in the jar? I've got some MgSO4 kicking around.
Some sacrificial iron?

Has this happened to you?
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Unless they are ALL pennies, it might take maybe 1/2 hour to roll them. I'd be more than happy to make $150 for 30 minutes of effort.

Of course, by now, between time and material, you've put out double the value of the coins, so really, you should just get them off your hands by sending them to me.
 
I have some strong acid (30% HCl) and some strong base (NaOH).
I do have some ammonium nitrate I was considering involving.
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Somebody call Homeland Security.
 
hcmom said:
Just roll the coins, take 'em to the bank, they'll never see them.
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Bank tellers are not allowed to accept rolls of coins without unwrapping them and counting them. This is because there's an ancient scam that consists of putting a genuine coin at each end of the roll, with slugs or things like Chuck E. Cheese tokens in the middle as filler.
 
hcmom said:
Unless they are ALL pennies, it might take maybe 1/2 hour to roll them. I'd be more than happy to make $150 for 30 minutes of effort.

Of course, by now, between time and material, you've put out double the value of the coins, so really, you should just get them off your hands by sending them to me.
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Sure, but its the principle of the thing.
More time spent (time =money) attempting to redeem this crappy metal.

If I was Ron Paul, for instance, I'd be making a stink about this. Its not like I invested my spare change jar with Goldman Sachs. This is fundamental currency.

Since the embarrassing interlude with banking and metallurgy, and my fading knowledge of molecules and reactions, I have heard from quite a few others whom have had a similar experience. This new money sucks, frankly. And its mostly the penny's fault, with its new cheesy copper coating.

These bad pennies, not worth the metal they're stamped on, have trashed the quarters that sort of are.

(The nickel as well, cost more to make than its value, degraded as it is too. The dime remains cool for now, mostly because of its little-ness.)

I'd like to feel that my outrage, however false, had legs.

The story is totally true, btw.

Its the indignation that's false, but it shouldn't be.

Hypothetically, I'm pretty steamed about this.
 
Goshawk said:
Bank tellers are not allowed to accept rolls of coins without unwrapping them and counting them. This is because there's an ancient scam that consists of putting a genuine coin at each end of the roll, with slugs or things like Chuck E. Cheese tokens in the middle as filler.
Click to expand...

My bank will only accept rolled coins. I suppose they may unroll them at some point, but not while I'm there.
 
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