I have a "Junk Jar" where I put all my doubles (for future sales/trades/giveaways/etc), and normally they are in decent to bad shape. I have allowed the occasional sewer coin to join them. However, I have recently gone through a box of Russian/Soviet coins. While many of them are decent there were a lot that were corroded, covered in glue/gunk, extremely scratched, etc.

What do you folks do with such unwanted coins? As they are no longer in use and thus I cannot simply spend them, I feel like it would be a numismatic sin just to toss them in the recycling bin for metal. However, these are modern coins (1960+) that have minimal value (with perhaps the exception of unc grades). These are not the kinds of pieces that one offers for trades. I set aside the decent circulated coins for trades and such, but I just do not want to hold on to 20 coins of the same date and denomination that are in s''t shape.

What do/would you do?

Probably give them to my kids since I couldn't spend them. But, my kids are a bit older than your kids. Otherwise, I would probably just end up with them in some kind of junk jar.

Leave them for tips in restaurants.

Seriously, I do leave world coins with the tip money sometimes just to amuse the wait staff.

Use them to brush up on your cleaning skills.

the laughing coin ranch?

Coins like that i generally just bin. I offer them away free to anyone who wants them, if no one claims them then they are destroyed.

Simply put i really don't like badly damaged coins of any era. Modern ones less so. If the coin has verdigris then that goes straight in the bin because i really can't abide verdigris, when it comes to that stuff i hate it more than any amount of brasso-ed coins or dipped/polished coins.

Verdigris is the devil itself.

Like Unclebobo said, play around with em using different cleaning agents, like ketchup on some old copper cents and such...

I keep a bowl of coins that have seen some tough times here on my desk. Joe always has kids coming in & out of the house, and often times I'm here at my desk. So when they pop in here to see what I'm doing or to ask for a snack I let them go though and pick out a couple to keep if they wish. There are 1 or 2 kids that I think I may have gotten hooked already

Robin
"Creating new collectors...1 short person at a time"

Send them to the oven.

I am posting a small sampling of what I am referring to. For example, I have somewhere between 50-70 of the 1992 1 rouble (shown), with about 20 that are like this. That means I have in the range of 50 decent circulated coins to save for trades and giveaways. Somehow, I cannot imagine anyone wanting these. Or am I just too finicky?

ouch, yes, those are icky....


local church or neighborhood committee organizing a flee market, donate the coins to them...

I give mine away in my fully advertised "Junk coin" contests.

So Sir Sisu-
What have you decided? What are the fates of these little round disks?

Not really sure yet. I was sort of hoping for someone to volunteer.

Perhaps with some, I will try what some have suggested, fool around with cleaning agents for the sake of experimentation. (Hmmmm....I am going to the cabin next week. I wonder what 30 minutes in an outdoor grill/campfire and then a dip in a cool lake would do to a coin?)

Hum? I am suprised over the 50 ruble coin, was that made out of iron...? O_O I just couldn't remember...

I would probably be more than happy to experiment cleaning solvents on them...

Tabasco does miracles on coppers and bronzes etc....

Sisu i'm sure you've got some worse than that, infact i know you have.

Speak not of such evil!

Nonetheless, despite their depravity they have more eye appeal than these.

I also send them to Art.

I always put my abused and damaged coins out to rest at the Laughing Coin Ranch. There's quite a small grouping of coins from all over the world. They are a great example for everyone in that as damaged and abused as they are, they just get along perfectly together.

Go to a really well known detecting spot and sprinkle them around like crumbs for the birds
Then sit back and watch the fun as the detectorists wonder how a russian coin got to there spot
Also detectorists keep any old stuff so they would be really happy with that stuff


Or donate them to charity for sale

Absolutely. I have a nice friendly home for those corroded, cut, drilled, bent, worn beyond recognition, marvels. They live in a nice leather satchel in a felt bag. It's quite a nice place and they have lots fo friends to keep them company.

I must confess that I have at least a few "undamaged" coins at the ranch -- a Churchill crown and a well circulated Ike.

Those would go into my tumbler.

That reminds me. I should have a new shipment for the Laughing Coin Ranch.

Send them to me

I'll give them a nice home

Put them in olive oil for two months then brush them gently with a soft toothbrush -- use GOO-GONE on the ones with glue and sticky gunk -- if nothing works then send them to Corina...

I've got a pile of them by my desk. I was thinking of cleaning them up somewhat and then carrying them in my pockets for 6 months and then giving them to my son.

As long as you leave a real tip also