Since I’m planning a trip to Europe, I dug into my Box of Foreign Coins to get the euro coins I knew were there.
The good news: I have E14.35 in change (even though I do not have a euro-sign on my keyboard). The bad news: some of the coins are spotted or discoloured.
Do euro coins react with other coins or each other over time? They were jumbled among British, US, Chinese, Ukrainian, and European pre-euro coins.
They can react with other coins, yes, specially if you’re in a humid place. The coppery ones are the worst.
Have you tried giving them a wash with regular hand soap or glycerin soap? In most cases this takes away the worst of the “attack” without rendering the coin unusable. Dry each with a soft cloth and leave them to finish drying on another.
It’s said you can clean pennies with Taco Bell “hot” sauce. I imagine it’s the vinegar that really does it… [consulting with Google] …Heh, seems someone determined experimentally that it’s vinegar in combination with salt. So, you can raid your nearest Taco Bell (assuming you have them up there) for their crap sauce, buy a cheap bottle of hot sauce, or mix your own salt and vinegar solution. Now, this works with copper coins, I don’t know if it would work with other metals.
Discoloured coins, you say? Europe, you say? There’s only one man and one product for the job.
Don’t bother with cleaning. Just spend them when you’re in Europe. Sooner or later, they will end up in a bank, and the bank will take them out and replace them. That’s what they do with mouldy euro’s, and banknotes that are stained, torn, or ended up in the clothes wash cycle.
You could trade them in for dollars – you’ll get more of them now than ever before 
Nice 
Would a spot of coca-cola not do the job for you?
If that doesn’t work, this might.
Yeah but sometimes people at stores don’t like getting coins in real bad shape. I’ve never seen them reject one, but it sure can hold up the line.
Thanks, everyone.
I never thought I’d need to launder my change…
We’re not interested in spending them! Science will find an answer!
Yike. Should I be glad they don’t actually have commercials like that on our TV? Or do they? :eek:
That has to be the most annoying commercial ever made. I couldn’t even stand it long enough to get to the part about the coin (assuming there is one).
I think it was a remix.
(People are remixing their favourite commercials now?)