RAM is distributing "ultrasonically cleaned" round 50s. Anyone know how this works and can we get access to this sort of device?
Aldi sells them. They don't work. However I have seen one that does work, it was in a jeweller's workshop and apparently wasn't cheap. How many of these coins ever got dirty enough to warrant cleaning, you can still pick them up in rolls on occasion if you want clean ones. I thought numismatists didn't like cleaned coins.
You owe me a coffee Use hot water & a dishwashing detergent & you have to let it run for at least an hour I have one I bought for $5 & it does the job
You will have to come to Brisbane for the coffee. All mine did was hum and emit a blue light. The blue light didn't do anything from what I can gather except make it look a bit "futuristic". I used a range of cleaners and after a couple of hours I noticed a couple of specks of dirt on the floor of the machine, I counted that as a victory but there was still a lot left on the coin, so it was only a partial one.
Why waste money? HP sauce works a treat! cover the coin in HP sauce and leave over night, make sure there is some on both sides of the coin (sort of a Sauce bath) a piece of cotton wool with some HP sauce on it rubs out stubborn in ground rim stains. For a proof like finish "Auto-Sol" with a piece of muslin cloth, rub on til it goes nice and black then rub off with a clean piece, mirror finish every time without fail.
After smothering in HP sauce, I thought you were supposed to eat the coin? Or am I again getting confused between coins and porn?
Bi-carb soda brings them up a treat, just put some in a bowl with a very small amount of water until it's like a thick paste, coat the coin and rub between your thumb and forefinger... Too easy!
I used one recently for cleaning a grimy Morgan dollar I picked up cheap in Berlin that was in otherwise excellent condition - had to run it for 16 minutes with the heat setting, but it came out nice. Most cheap units only have one transducer - the more expensive medical units have multiple transducers and work much faster (at a much higher price). As Spannermonkey said - dishwashing liquid (just a few drops) and time. I use them for cleaning other more grimy items (think grease, carbon etc) and it works great with the correct chemicals. For jewellery I just use dish soap. Make sure you use a plastic tray for coins - some come with wire mesh and that will scratch gold and silver.
I rang the Mint to ask how they did it. As they are a government owned operation, they ask the Airforce once a month for the use of a Hornet. Up they go with a bag of fifties and wait to they are beyond the speed of sound, i.e. ultrasonic. The copilot opens his window, if not already open, as he is a smoker, and one at a time holds the coin to the wind. This gives the coin that wonderful, just cleaned look. No soaps, no abrasion, simples.
If any of you are SCUBA divers, the ultrasonic cleaning process is used when you take your regs in for a service.
I've done many this way. I leave them overnight in cloudy amonia then use the bi-carb on them the next day. Your fingers get sore after too many.
I thought I'd give bleach a try to clean one. I left it soaking, came back 20 minutes later, and it was black. I then used the bi carb method which cleaned it up beautifully.
