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I got some coins in the mail today.

They were packed in an envelope the was obviously used previously.

They smell like dope, not cheap mexican dope, not dope smoke, but high grade icky sticky.

I simply cannot sell them like this or store them with my coin stash. There is one in particular that I don't want to dip or clean.

How do I kill the scent without messing up the coins.

This situation actually pi$$es me off

A friend of mine had this problem with some olds bills he bought off a local kid. he put them in a ziplock bag with some Bounty sheets. He was pissed too but it did take a bit of the smell away. he also said we should throw some tobaca in them and light em up. Coins may be harder to do this to though. .

Are they Ag? If so try the usual, distilled water and acetone. Otherwise I dunno. That does suck...

Thogey wrote:I got some coins in the mail today.

They were packed in an envelope the was obviously used previously.

They smell like dope, not cheap mexican dope, not dope smoke, but high grade icky sticky.

I simply cannot sell them like this or store them with my coin stash. There is one in particular that I don't want to dip or clean.

How do I kill the scent without messing up the coins.

This situation actually pi$$es me off

This is a real problem. But, my aggravated acquaintance, there is a solution. Simply put them in an package and send them to Quincy, IL, care of OneBiteAtATime. I will take the troublemakers off your hands for a tidy sum of $1 each. Just send me the coins and a check and we'll call it even stevens.... no problems whatsoever.

All kidding aside... that does suck. I was thinking an open window and time.... but I don't need the neighbors talking more than they already do.....

What to use depends on the composition of the coin. Different metals have different needs.

The stink is oils and tars, so you'll need a solvent that will eat the oils off the coin without eating the patina of the coin. The standard answer for those is to use acetone...but I'd always recommend trying any solvent on a test coin of similar composition before dunking a good one. For silver, I've had great results with mineral spirits. In my experience it does a great job of eating off the oils without disturbing the patina. Alcohols are generally a good choice as well, because they're solvents of both oils and water. If you don't have rubbing alcohol, a shot of vodka would do. After you're done, rinse them will distilled water just to make sure that you haven't left any chemical salts on the metal.

Whatever you do, don't use acids (vinegar) or bases (ammonia). Both of those will eat the patina and destroy the numi value of the coin.

Ya after four or five shots of vodka you won't care what they smell like.

CU Baker wrote:Ya after four or five shots of vodka you won't care what they smell like.

This is the best advice, although you don't need to drink the vodka. The resin in a cannabis plant is soluble in alcohol (actually in water and fat as well, but alcohol will work better) so just place the coins in a high proof alcohol and let the resin dissolve.

One of the perils of the area where I live is the fact the $100's and $20's will test positive for the presence of drugs. I think that this same predictament is also present in various other areas of the country. But the opening poster is correct about keeping the envelope that his coins came in. As a rule of thumb I never keep anything that I'm not sure of. I'm always sure of money so I try my best to hang onto it.

I'll go 75% of their value due to dope damage.

Wonder the exchange rate for 1/4 lb in silver...

Jeff Spicoli: Hey bud, what's your problem?

Are they already making the Clinton Presidental dollar?

TheJonasCollegeFund wrote:I'll go 75% of their value due to dope damage.

I wouldn't sell silver for 75% of spot! (snicker snicker - i know what you're doing)

robroy wrote:One of the perils of the area where I live is the fact the $100's and $20's will test positive for the presence of drugs. I think that this same predictament is also present in various other areas of the country. But the opening poster is correct about keeping the envelope that his coins came in. As a rule of thumb I never keep anything that I'm not sure of. I'm always sure of money so I try my best to hang onto it.

I once toured a maximum security prison in BC. They put everyone through a drug test - hands and clothing swabs. The swabs go in a machine. Guard told me essentially all $100s in Canada are laced with cocaine, so if you've been handling a bunch of cash you will fail the drug test.

I think you folks need to stop sniffing the money.

Rodebaugh wrote:Are they already making the Clinton Presidental dollar?

Good one

I have used an ozone generator for odor control. But I have never used it to kill the dope odor from coins that i have recently purchased. However I did by a used Ryedale Apprentice that had pot seeds in the machine and packing a few years back.

the smell is due to some of the plant oils/material being present in the bag. If you were to remove the coins from the bag and leave them out on a non-abrasive material the smell will probably go away. Perhaps very gently sweep the non-abrasive material across the coin faces.

If you can see that there is plant material on the coin I would take steps to remove it from the coin.

My opinions are based purely on your posts description and not from personal experience... good luck with this problem.

~JobIII

I would place them on a bed of sliced onions

JadeDragon wrote:I once toured a maximum security prison in BC. They put everyone through a drug test - hands and clothing swabs. The swabs go in a machine. Guard told me essentially all $100s in Canada are laced with cocaine, so if you've been handling a bunch of cash you will fail the drug test.

And here I thought that the drug problem was limited to the US only. Sorry to hear about that.

I heard if you roll them up and set them on fire, the scent goes away.

nero12345 wrote:A friend of mine had this problem with some olds bills he bought off a local kid. he put them in a ziplock bag with some Bounty sheets. He was pissed too but it did take a bit of the smell away. he also said we should throw some tobaca in them and light em up. Coins may be harder to do this to though. .

I tried this.

Now my bounty sheet smells like a Mexican rope factory.

Going to the vodka method.

Just run to the local convienence store and grab some ez-wider rolling papers, roll them suckers up, and put 'em in storage.

robroy wrote:

JadeDragon wrote:I once toured a maximum security prison in BC. They put everyone through a drug test - hands and clothing swabs. The swabs go in a machine. Guard told me essentially all $100s in Canada are laced with cocaine, so if you've been handling a bunch of cash you will fail the drug test.

And here I thought that the drug problem was limited to the US only. Sorry to hear about that.

BC is a major supplier of BC Bud to the US market - maybe our top export? The coke comes via the US in trade mostly. Because I live close to the border smuggling is in the news regularly. The border here (mostly) is defined by shallow road ditches beside country roads with no fence, or in the mountains just a cleared strip in the woods. We've read of tunnels being dug under the border, drugs concealed in trucks, crooked border guards, and more.