\u00a9 2023 wikiHow, Inc. All rights reserved. Before cleaning coins with baking soda, soak them in a solution of white vinegar and salt. Squeeze enough ketchup or Tabasco sauce into a small container or bowl to cover your pennies and place the coins into the sauce, making sure they do not overlap. Use a soft-bristled toothbrush to scrub the surface of the coins gently to remove dirt. Here's what's happening: When you remove the coins and wipe them with a cloth or paper towel, they should look shiny. Eventually, other substances can set up in the metal, making them more or less permanent. While valuable coins are best left alone, everyday pennies look shiny and new after proper cleaning and make your collection look stunning. You probably already have everything you need, Small, physical, and repetitive motions (may be difficult for grandma or grandpa to help), A quarter cup of tomato ketchup (or three ketchup packets from your favorite fast food place), Physically easier than the pencil eraser method, Ketchup can splatter on people and things, Does not bring out the bright copper color on the penny, 2 tablespoons Bon Ami cleanser (or baking soda), 8 oz. If your copper pennies are still not shiny after cleaning them with a mildly acidic liquid, try using baking soda to bring out their shine and luster. TOP LOADING WASHER: Place your towels into the washer, with no soap, and let it fill up with hot water. Coca-Cola, or any generic type of cola soda, contains acids that dissolve away grime from coins and removes copper dioxide. How to Clean Wheat Pennies Safely and Without Damage - Discover Detecting Citrus liquids such as lemon and orange juice are mildly acidic and work wonders for cleaning copper coins when combined with salt. Finally, the coin is placed in a solution of baking soda and water to neutralize the pH before removing, rinsing, drying, and polishing. Chemistry Experiments With Pennies - ThoughtCo Especially dirty coins can be left to soak for up to five minutes. Using small circular motions produces the best results. This image is not<\/b> licensed under the Creative Commons license applied to text content and some other images posted to the wikiHow website. The use of vinegar and salt to clean pennies goes way back. Using the old, soft toothbrush scrub the face of the coin softly. We use cookies to make wikiHow great. You can also lightly scour the pennies using a toothbrush or cotton swab for a more thorough cleaning. And, the beauty of cleaning a coin this way is that it really isnt even considered cleaning at all, by most standards. Thats because a coin is usually only considered cleaned if it shows hairlines or other signs of damage consistent with an abrasive cleaning as would be caused by the methods explained earlier in this post. was vinegar, salt and tomatoes) or with coca-cola. Im the Coin Editor here at TheFunTimesGuide. A dirty penny is usually the result of years of accumulated dirt. Place your pennies at the bottom of the cup or glass so that they are not stacked on top of each other. Vinegar alone is not strong enough to remove the worst buildup from old pennies. If they are not as bright as you would like them, let them sit for another five minutes. However, the acid can also wash away a coins patina, significantly lowering the value of the coin. Take one coin out of the vinegar at a time and immediately sprinkle a pinch of baking soda on the surface. One or more new pencils with soft erasers. Rinse under warm running water and dry with a soft clean cloth. Cleaning - PENNY COLLECTOR Start by adding a quarter cup of white vinegar, or lemon juice, into a cup or glass. If you would like to change your settings or withdraw consent at any time, the link to do so is in our privacy policy accessible from our home page.. wikiHow, Inc. is the copyright holder of this image under U.S. and international copyright laws. wikiHow, Inc. is the copyright holder of this image under U.S. and international copyright laws. No spam! Finally, wash the coin using the soap and water method mentioned above to remove any Goo Gone residue left on the surface of the coin. We hope that you enjoyed discovering how to clean copper pennies using a variety of fun and interesting techniques, and wed love it if youd share our copper coin cleaning recipes and tips with family and friends on Facebook and Pinterest. Exactly how do you clean old coins with vinegar and baking soda? If you know how to wash dishes, you will be able to perform this task quite easily. This procedure gives your pennies a nice DIY copper polish that you can also use for copper items throughout your home. If you do this with any collectible coins, you will lower their value and can even ruin them. As a scientist, Stacy Kish has focused her research on Earth science, specifically oceanography and climate change. Sprinkle in about 1 tablespoon baking soda. Note: For pennies minted after 1982, refer to method 5. ", "Doing a science experiment on this topic. All that has to be done is to mix the baking soda and vinegar together (about 1 part baking soda and 4 parts vinegar is the ratio I always followed) in a bowl or glass then immerse the coins you want to clean; this mixture seems to work especially well on pennies. The combination of acid and chloride may make your cleaning solution even more powerful. All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published. Gentle cleaning methods that use natural items like vinegar and salt are preferable to commercial coin cleaners, which usually contain harsh chemicals that can easily damage the coin. This image is not<\/b> licensed under the Creative Commons license applied to text content and some other images posted to the wikiHow website. Rub the baking soda into the face of each coin with your fingers to scrub away the dirt and grime. If you're a novice coin collector wondering the right way to clean old coins, you might want to rethink it. When you visit the site, Dotdash Meredith and its partners may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. Or worse, they pile up in your cup holder and start getting sticky. Give the pennies a good rinse, dry them in a towel, and they should be shining like new. Go over the entire surface of the coin using smooth, circular motions. Heres The Scoop On 1989 Pennies & Their Value. Cleaning one-two punch As a base, baking soda dissolves organic compounds like dirt, grease and . You can also use lemon juice instead of vinegar. Spray the paste with vinegar before scrubbing the grime away. Keep in mind, the goal is never to make the coin look brand new and shiny. Dip a clean, soft cloth or sponge into the paste and rub it on the tarnished silver. Interested in coin collecting on a budget? This image may not be used by other entities without the express written consent of wikiHow, Inc.
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