Ages ago I saw a news featurette about a luxury hotel (I think it was in SF, but I’m not sure) that had one employee whose job was to literally launder money. The bills were washed and pressed, and the coins were tumbled in what looked like a front-loading washing machine. The point was that the hotel only gave back bright & shiny coins and super crisp bills in making change – none of that limp or grimy looking money for patrons of their caliber.
I didn’t pay enough attention to learn what they used to clean the coins. Does anyone know?
To reassure Numismatists, I’m not proposing to clean valuable coins, just a lot of ordinary circulating coins. A friend’s daughter is going to be a freshman this year, and she’s throwing her a ‘going away to college’ party on Friday. Drawing on my own experience, I know one of the main things a student needs is a heck of a lot more coins than they ever imagine, between washing machines and vending machines – and giving money is a heck of a lot easier than figuring out what might suit the taste of a girl I’ve only met in passing a few times.
The thing is, my ‘treasure chest’ would like nicer if it was filled with only shiny coins. I asked at my bank, who said they couldn’t supply rolls of uncirculated coins on such short notice. 
I figure ordinary silver polish will work on dimes & quarters, except that I hate the idea of how long it would take to polish each coin individually. Anyone know of a short cut?