Add more baking soda and water as needed for larger batches of coins. Paper Towels This process can get a bit messy. You might have to use multiple methods or go back and forth between methods until you find the one that works best for you. PCGS offers a restoration service that can aid in cleaning your coins professionally. An alternative is to use vinyl erasers, but they do not contain abrasive, which is typically found in pencil erasers. So, thinking about cleaning them is not wrong, and they can be cleaned in several ways. If the coins still look a little dull, try treating them with more paste. Plain tap water is a good options, if you know your water is not corrosive or hard. In fact, it works so well that, like the other coin cleaning brews mentioned here, it can completely strip away the original patina and obliterate the value of the coin. After youve cleaned off any grime or other contaminants from your coins surface, its time for step two: cleaning out any crevices that could have collected dust or dirt over time. Soak them in vinegar or ketchup: If youve ever used ketchup on your penny, then you know that it can clean it up pretty quicklyand with very little effort on your part at all! It may take a couple of applications, so dont be afraid to try this method a few times to get out those tough stains. It does this by using the low levels of acids that are contained naturally in vinegar and lemon juice to remove the patina (brown oxidation) on the penny. Experts can always tell if a coin has been cleaned improperly. Lemon juice. But we recommend the vinegar or lemon juice approach because the materials are safe for your skin, overall quite very effective, creates little to no mess, and the risk of damaging the pennies is fairly low. Vinegar is a great cleaning agent because it will remove the copper oxide thats on your pennies. It might seem like theres no hope for your tarnished coins, but fear not! How to clean a copper penny? Pennies get dull and dirty because the copper in the pennies reacts with oxygen in the air to form copper oxide. Remember to not use tap water because the chemicals are bad for the coins. Drop your coins in a bowl and cover them completely with olive oil. Check back on them every few minutes, especially if you use a highly acidic substance like cola, to avoid damaging them. In this video, I'm showing you the 2 safest methods to clean coins without devaluing them. 2. Retrieve the coins from the vinegar and apply a few teaspoons of baking soda to each coin. You dont have to sacrifice the quality of your pennies just so you can have them looking good. The soap should help keep the coin safe while you gently scrub it. Instead, use a soft cloth and a gentle detergent (like dish soap) to clean it. There is something so magical and intriguing about looking through coins from the past. Do not clean these valuable pennies on your own, and if you do, only use distilled water. You can use lemon juice to clean copper pennies, but youll want to work in a well-ventilated area when you do. Add distilled water and a small amount of dish soap to your shallow bowl. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUbe88W78I0&feature=youtu.be&t=13, https://sciencebob.com/clean-pennies-with-vinegar/, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mMp2OYpCq8&feature=youtu.be&t=27, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHZSYR463uw&feature=youtu.be&t=41, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RS9-A1TO67c&feature=youtu.be&t=45, https://www.pennycollector.com/cleaning.html, https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/shine-bright-like-a-penny/, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7cfVkadI_A&feature=youtu.be&t=174, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7cfVkadI_A&feature=youtu.be&t=928, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUPuRLcm7WY&feature=youtu.be&t=516, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUPuRLcm7WY&feature=youtu.be&t=542. Tartaric acid is a weak organic acid, which means its not as corrosive to your penny as other chemicals. Use distilled water because chemicals in tap water may cause discoloration. This article has been viewed 60,522 times. By signing up you are agreeing to receive emails according to our privacy policy. They also will not pay you until you ship the coins. You will not need to clean your coins repeatedly if you know the best way to clean pennies and how to preserve them properly. Wait about five minutes and check your pennies. Keep in mind that adding more salt to the solution makes it stronger. So how do you safely store your wheat pennies? Aside from white vinegar, there may not be a more versatile household cleaning agent than baking soda. Should the oil start to look discolored, change it out. Soak your coins in a glass or other non-corrosive container for at least 30 minutes, up to overnight, and then wipe with a clean cloth or scrub gently with an old toothbrush. If you happen to find one of these while metal detecting, do not attempt to clean them yourself! Last Updated: November 9, 2022 Okay, so you have found some corroded pennies you want to clean and you have also gathered all the materials we listed above now its time for action. Keep reading below for the best methods for safely cleaning your wheat pennies at home. The more contact the coins have with one another the more damage they take on. In fact, it would probably be extremely wise to do so, at least from a sanitary perspective. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. Pennies are made from highly reactive metals like copper or copper alloys, so it is only normal for them to get corroded with time. How To Clean Old Copper Pennies. Most wheat pennies that are not extremely rare will sell for at least 3 to 5 cents at most coin dealers. Passchal.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.comSitemap | Contact | Privacy Policy. 2 Pour a few ounces of vinegar into a shallow dish. If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. Get an appraisal before you clean themif you plan to sell them. What is the best solution to clean copper? Clean pennies with Vinegar and Salt NurdRage 664K views 10 years ago How to CLEAN coins HardCoreCopper 43K views 1 year ago Coin Collecting : How Do I Clean Dirty Coins?. Use a soft cloth to rub the paste on the surface of the copper. For older, condition-sensitive coins, a gentle bath of water and mild hand soap will suffice. This step is basically you leaving the pennies to soak inside the salt and lemon juice solution for 15 minutes. Or in layman's terms, by generating microscopic bubbles between a hard surface and a softer material, and allowing them to catastrophically collapse. There are chemicals within the tap water that can erode the coins over time. These were 95 percent copper and 5 percent zing. Some wheat pennies found can be worth a small fortune. Remember, cleaning a wheat penny you have found while metal detecting might make it look better to you, but to a professional numismatist, it will be ruined. Numismatists and some coin collector organizations may offer these services. You can also find protective books which have individual sleeves for each coin. By using our site, you agree to our. That means a lot more options for getting them clean enough to use again. Once theyve soaked enough, take them out and rinse them with clear water until all traces of acid are gone from their surfaces; finally dry them off with a paper towel before putting them back into circulation (or storing them). These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. This way, you should not have to worry about cleaning them on a regular basis. This article has been viewed 438,144 times. Other coins are molded from different metals, so the solution may not work as well on them. Can hydrogen peroxide be used to clean coins? Drop the pennies into the mixture for about 5 minutes. Copper coins often turn a muddled brown color, and these marks can be cleaned off with salt and a mild acid like white vinegar. Dont make the mistake of using something meant for regular coins on something older and more condition sensitive. The first step to cleaning a copper penny is soaking it in vinegar. It is always at the discretion of the buyer whether the minute scratches and damaged caused by cleaning is an issue. Some other options include you can at least look into are: There are many rust removers you can use to clean your coins, and some of them can be very fast and effective, but that is just part of what you need. In 1943, the composition changed to zinc plated steel due to the need for copper during World War II. For this reason, only clean coins that have little value, such as standard pennies. Mix it together and add the coins into the bowl. When in doubt, leave the coin as you found it. From there, use your brush to gently get the grime off of the coins before putting them back into the water again. Mix 3 parts baking soda with 1 part vinegar. They are too harsh and abrasive to clean wheat pennies with. Repeat, as necessary. Alicia holds a CPA designation and a Bachelors degree in Commerce and Finance from the University of Toronto. Wet the penny with warm water until its thoroughly dampened (but not dripping). Drop your coins into the mixture and let them sit for about 5 minutes. Give them about five minutes to sit, though you can go for another five if they are not quite as bright as you had hoped. Use your soft cloth to dry them off gently in order to prevent any scratching. There are a variety of suggested ways when it comes to cleaning coins, and cleaning . Keep in mind that this is more of an abrasive than even the sand method and can do serious damage without the proper care. Fill up two plastic containers with distilled water and a tablespoon of mild hand soap. But if you do really want to get stuck in and have a go at cleaning some coins, we recommend that you experiment on some modern loose change instead. A common ingredient in DIY eco-friendly cleaners, the acetic acid in white vinegar can help wear away the contamination on your coins. With over 17 years of experience, Alicia specializes in creating a healthier, green alternative to chemical-based cleaning products and services. This process only works in fluid. Anyone can use this simple technique. In this video I clean three old worn large cents. Dont leave them in a bowl of water, since the vinegar solution and copper oxide will end up in the bowl and on other coins. Put your solution and a small bit of sand into a watertight jar. Believe it or not, you can clean copper coins using yet another household item: ketchup. With -cup of ketchup, just dip your old toothbrush in and scrub the surface of the coin. Dab some yellow mustard onto a cotton ball or soft cloth and rub firmly over the entire surface of the coin until it starts turning darker than usualthis means that its working! There are various other methods to clean your pennies. If you dont have a brush available, leave the coins submerged in the ketchup for at least 5 minutes. If the quarter is clean, rinse it off with distilled water. The concept is the same as white vinegar and salt. Start with a mixture of warm, soapy water when cleaning silver coins. Microwaving 2 cups of water for 2-3 minutes should suffice and avoid boiling water. Take them out, setting them on the cloth. Beach Metal Detectors The level of water in the container should determine when you stop adding pennies into it because they must all get totally submerged into the solution for this process to work. Soak your pennies for five minutes in vinegar to dissolve any copper oxide left on them from handling before you start scrubbing them with toothpaste or soap. Place your pennies in the vinegar or the lemon juice. Rinse the coins with fresh water after 24 hours and let them air dry. I usually DO NOT use water or oil, b. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. In your small container, measure in a cup of fresh lemon juice (or white vinegar) and add one tablespoon of salt to it. Well, the general rule is if you intend on selling your wheat pennies, you should not clean them. If youre having trouble getting rid of the tarnish on your copper penny, rubbing alcohol might be the trick you need. The amount of vinegar used to clean the pennies depends on the number of coins you wish to clean. From there, use your brush to gently get the grime off of the coins before putting them back into the water again. Apply the paste with a microfiber cloth and rinse it off with water. If this does not bother, you and you simply want to restore the coin for yourself you can use a baking soda paste. If you are planning to sell your cleaned pennies, using chemicals or scrubbing methods for cleaning could leave marks on the coins and an appraiser could easily discover this, which will greatly reduce the market value of your pennies. We use cookies to make wikiHow great. If you plan on cleaning off a lot of coins at once, use a bigger bowl and add more vinegar as needed. Soak your quarters in lemon juice. By using this service, some information may be shared with YouTube. You may even want to take the same steps you learned from here to help clean other dirty pennies that you come across in the future. tb1234 Basic Penny Cleaning Warm water Dishwashing soap Plastic bin Toothbrush Paper towel tb1234 You can clean a dug copper coin by removing layers of dirt, gently, with a toothpick, piece of wood, or your fingernail until getting down to the patina. We hope you enjoy these tips and find the one that works best for you! Your email address will not be published. It does not store any personal data. In addition to the vinegar and lemon juice, ketchup can also be used to clean copper pennies. In this article well take a look at the top 10 tips for cleaning a copper penny. Level up your tech skills and stay ahead of the curve. Remove the coins and dump out the lemon solution, and then pour the olive oil and one teaspoon of lemon juice into the container. This way, you can take any preventative measures necessary to clean the coins and retain their value. Repeat the treatment with more oil as needed. You do not want to leave behind any residue that may further degrade the pennys condition! Before we go into the process of bringing corroded pennies back to life, let us look at the cleaning materials you must have. There are various other methods to clean your pennies. If you feel that it needs longer, you can soak it for up to 15 minutes. Take them out, setting them on the cloth. After a good shake, take the coins out and rinse them off. I like to use distilled water to clean coins if I decide to clean them. Use it to try out great new products and services nationwide without paying full pricewine, food delivery, clothing and more. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. Mix a teaspoon of salt into the liquid by stirring until it is dissolved. Let them soak for a while. Step 4 Now take out the pennies from that mixture, and wash them in water.
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