Pennybug wrote:Ever heard of Goof Off?
http://www.goofoffstainremover.com/I've removed some crazy stuff with that. Don't get the spray bottle... get the smaller can concentrate (and WEAR GLOVES!)... Also... may consider Purple Dragon (again... WEAR GLOVES!) We use that stuff at work for cleaning machinery. I'd consider laying them on a cookie sheet and dousing them with one or the other of those and letting them soak for a few min then try to scrub them lightly. You may be surprised! I hope you are able to salvage those! That's a NICE FIND!
Thanks pennybug I'll defintetly try that. That stuff looks HEAVY DUTY. lol. I just hope it doesnt eat away the pennies. Luckily I have a few to experiment on if it doesnt work. Thanks for the compliment as well! I managed to salvage a 1930 D which is now the best in my collection so I am quite happy with that. It happened to be one of the few that wasnt completely covered in grime. I figured it'd be worth taking 15 mintues and some elbow grease for that one.
HPMBTT wrote:Just a quick comment here, as a light bulb went off when I saw your pics. I had the same thing happen one time a few months ago when I opened 10 customer rolled pennies in brown wrappers (all memorial); they were basically ALL crap and nothing worth keeping or checking at all; a few of them even had small pieces missing or were just downright nasty or discolored! My conclusion? I got somebody else's hoard who turned in their rejects to the bank.
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I even remember mentioning this to HCBTT one time and he also said that I got somebody's rejects. Now in this case, it's all wheats; I would say that it could still be a partial hoard by someone else who is turning in junk.
What to do with them? Add them to the copper hoard to be sold later (ugly Abes plus regulars). After all, they are still copper, right?
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Yeah its defintely a bummer when that kind of thing happens, but kind of a challenge I guess you could say at the same time. I too believe it was a 'collection' of sorts that wasnt really cared for or something. And I guess the guy just gave up. i mean what are the chances that it was just some spare change that was rolled when they were solid wheat. I mean I guess it could be an REAL old timer who collected spare change until 1959 and then stopped and then waited until 2011 to bring it to the bank, but I kinda doubt that. Lol. Even as messed up as they are I dont think Id ever cash in rolls of wheats. I defintely think I'll save them regardless if they come out or not. Frankly they wouldnt pass as an 'ugly abe' but it might pass as ' a f-ed up wheat' if theres a market for that, LOL.
TXTim wrote:Put them in a tumbler with a good ceaning solution.
Or- put them in a plastic bowl and cover them with Snobowl toilet cleaner then dump them in a bowl of water to neutralize. Works every time.
I Think a relative of mine has a tumbler for jewelry, I dont know they'd like me putting pennies in there, haha! I'll defintely try snobowl toilet cleaner. Do you think that powdered stuff 'comet' works, or like some other liquid cleaner? Thats a good idea tho. Thanks a lot.
Thanks a lot everybody for the responses! I got a whole range of different suggestions and I am going to try everyone. It might take some time though. Maybe I'll post a thread sometime if this works out with a before and after picture and suggestions on what works best incase anybody runs into this problem down the line.
Thanks again!