How can I clean old coins? We found some that are nasty and the kids want to clean them. Any suggestions?
362008
vinegar and baking soda. \nWill also be fun experiment for them!
1039556
A coin shop.  Look in your phone book.  Most cities have them.  Also, check your local paper's classifieds.  Sometimes people advertise in there that would like to buy coins.  You can also try and sell them on Ebay.
817008
I think there's a website that identifies ancient coins, maybe your's is listed:\n\nhttp://www.coinscatalog.com/
459565
I agree with the people above. You should set the right example for your and other kids. And recycle. Find a nice kebab recipe, take your family to the park for a lovely sunday BBQ, and turn the remains into a decorative shade lamp.\nEnjoy!\nRegards from Holland.
869473
Take it to a coin dealer. (Yes, I know it's a bill...but they deal in that stuff, too.)
690394
A practical answer would be to go to a pawnshop and have the old coins appraised for their current market value. Of course, they will be appraised lower for their profit margin. But you will have an idea of their worth, which is approx. about 40% more than their appraisal and it will be a free service from the pawnshop.
1098433
There are tons of pawn shops and antique stores that specialize in coins.  Just look up Coin shops in the phone book.
901823
Many grocery stores and other types of stores also, have a machine where you just go in and pour in your loose coins and for a small fee gives you cash for it. Check it out. Just get on phone and call stores to find one that has one.
26960
This website should provide you with information: http://www.goodmanandsons.com/Birthstones_nov.asp\n\nMany jewelry stores will clean items for free or for a low price, however. If you're not sure how to clean it, it's best to let professionals do it to avoid damaging the piece.
352903
clean it. take out the little circular sphere thing and clean it.
743488
Bound & Bound's hubby here:\n\nYou can not really "recycle" spent shotgun shells ... j-yards don't buy them. However, you can do a couple of things.\n\nFirst, if your children would like to make their hike profitable ... bag them in bags of 25 or 100 (identical guage [marked on the brass headstamp], make, color hull). They could list them for a quarter a bag [for starts] on e-Bay. \n\nSecond, you could list them on your local Freecycle ... as give aways. Freecycle is a way to recycle things that would otherwise wind up just taking up space in a land fill. If you find someone willing to take them, these shells can be reloaded a number of times.\n\nGood luck!
779156
Sometimes they are better.  There is a formula for cleaning grubby little brass items (screws, hinges, hooks, Meccano gears etcetera): mix 1 teaspoonful of cream of tartar with one and a half teaspoons of washing-up liquid and a little cold water, add half a pint of scalding water, add the metal items, stir for 60 to 90 seconds, drain and rinse.  This either leaves the items gleaming, or loosens their tarnish so much that a gentle scrub with cream cleanser leaves them gleaming.  Nothing commercial is anything like as good as this.
857425
I have some old cards...maybe 12-15years old. I'll have to dig them out.. Could they be worth anything?\nThey were released in Australia
362965
If you are talking about antique coins, you should'nt polish or clean them, you will wear away the features that determine its value.
182312
Sell on eBay\n\n"Silver certificates are still legal tender and do still circulate at their face value. Depending upon the age and condition of the certificates, however, they may have a numismatic value to collectors and dealers."
940191
Return them to nature, bury, burn or make them an offering to a river or the sea. \nPeople buy old religious prints and statues on eBay but you can't know how they'll be treated or what they might be used for, if you don't really care about this you could make some extra dollars.
404969
Use a flat knife with no ridges, and be careful!\nSlide it through the coin slot and flip your bank upside down.\nI have a beautiful glass piggy that was my sons at birth and didnt want to break it, I managed to get out a good majority of the coins this way!\nGood Luck! :)