Taking a bath with String & Son

[ffej]

Don't know if this has been asked, mentioned, or something new. I went to several banks today looking for boxes of pennies. In my area of Florida I've only seen String& Son boxes twice. Usually Brinks. Got the box and opened it up and all shiny ends were showing, dang all zinc. Got home and started opening the and noticed ALL of them have been cleaned, all 50 rolls, looks like they were tumbled, or steamed, be all were definatley cleaned, even the wheaties....is this somthing new or does String clean their coins, this would ruin the value of a good coin!!!

[highroller4321]

No thi's isnt something strings normally does. The coin may have been cleaned if it was in a flood or something but its not normal pratice.

[bman]

Maybe they came from the guy that cleans out wishing wells, he uses a cement mixer to tumble large loads of coins to get them clean.

[ffej]

Maybe they came from the guy that cleans out wishing wells, he uses a cement mixer to tumble large loads of coins to get them clean.

I thought about someone else cleanning them, but what are the chances of all those cleaned pennies being in a sealed box. I would think they would get dumped in a giant hopper with other pennies then sent through the rolling machine...I was so happy to only find common dated wheaties, just my luck to find a once in a life time coin and had been cleaned...

[cesariojpn]

Maybe they came from the guy that cleans out wishing wells, he uses a cement mixer to tumble large loads of coins to get them clean.

I thought about someone else cleaning them, but what are the chances of all those cleaned pennies being in a sealed box. I would think they would get dumped in a giant hopper with other pennies then sent through the rolling machine...I was so happy to only find common dated wheaties, just my luck to find a once in a life time coin and had been cleaned...

It depends on how the machines sort and wrap. It might hit that load of pennies that got cleaned by someone, maybe the guy had a crapload of coins that he cleaned and redeemed......

[CardsNCoins]

Check out what this hotel does.

http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Coin-Washer-Cleans-SF-Hotels-Money-128219193.html

[TheJonasCollegeFund]

Maybe a metal detectionist, like myself, using a rock tumbler a bit too much.

[tinhorn]

I'm getting just the opposite--rolls that are full of corroded skanky coins, even coins with the shield reverse! I don't have any insights into your odd rolls, but I've personally begun washing all my pennies before they hit the Ryedale. I fooled around all summer with different equipment and processes that would rid them of the filth without affecting their patina. (Pennies with verdigris get separated out for the rough treatment--those coins do lose their patina.)

From what I read, as long as the patina remains, no collector value is lost. Really, if I flick a booger onto a rare coin, is there truly any value lost if you wipe the booger off? When it comes to corrosion, I figure a skanky, verdigris-encrusted penny has probably lost its collector value anyway. I'm doing it a favor by saving its life.