\u00a9 2023 wikiHow, Inc. All rights reserved. Pour a little bit of 100% pure acetone nail polish remover over the coin just enough to ensure that the coin is completely submerged. Rinse the coins to reveal the now-shiny surfaces. Fill another container with warm water and add a couple of squirts of dish soap. Allow sitting for five to ten minutes. This makes them harder to distinguish from other coins and may make you reluctant to handle them. Start by adding a quarter cup of white vinegar, or lemon juice, into a cup or glass. According to coin experts, cleaning any potentially collectible coins might cause them to lose value. This cleaner contains oxalic acid that cleans gunk from coins and brings out their original shine. wikiHow, Inc. is the copyright holder of this image under U.S. and international copyright laws. This image is not<\/b> licensed under the Creative Commons license applied to text content and some other images posted to the wikiHow website. This video is for demonstration purposes only on coins that are only worth face value. Any variety of salt will do. This image is not<\/b> licensed under the Creative Commons license applied to text content and some other images posted to the wikiHow website. Visit our corporate site (opens in new tab). TOP LOADING WASHER: Place your towels into the washer, with no soap, and let it fill up with hot water. Then, mix up some baking soda and just enough white vinegar to make an abrasive paste. wikiHow, Inc. is the copyright holder of this image under U.S. and international copyright laws. Before cleaning coins with baking soda, soak them in a solution of white vinegar and salt. These are both proven odor busters! Using small circular motions produces the best results. Place your pennies at the bottom of the cup or glass so that they are not stacked on top of each other. If you're a serious coin collector, you can hire professional services to clean coins in a way that won't diminish the coins' value. If you're collecting just for fun and with no intention of one day selling or trading your coins, the steps below will clean a standard oxidized penny (that is only worth one cent) with ease. Hold your coin under gently running tepid water for a few moments not too hot, and not too cold. Pick up a little ketchup on an old toothbrush by dipping it in the ketchup. NY 10036. If youd prefer to use a commercial metal cleaner to clean coins, try Bar Keepers Friend. You cant watch daytime TV without seeing at least one or two ads touting the latest and greatest silver or copper polish. You can polish your pennies with a polishing cloth from a silverware set to give them a polished surface. 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. Heres how it works. The acid in vinegar, like in citrus, is what really takes the tarnish away. Materials needed: Zinc screw (or Fe or Ni nail), vinegar, old pennies, baking soda, bowl. An easy way to clean copper pennies and coins to remove the build-up of grime is with soapy water and a little elbow grease. Once clean rinse with soap and water and dry off. Rinse the baking soda off with fresh . There are many reasons to clean copper pennies, whether you have a coin collection that requires shining or you have children looking to turn a jar full of old pennies into a treasure. You can get Lincoln penniesby the roll at your local bank, or check with your parents or grandparents if they have a big-old-jar full of pennies and spare change sitting on top of their dresser. Placing your coins in a lidded container will defend them from deterioration-causing germs and moisture. This image is not<\/b> licensed under the Creative Commons license applied to text content and some other images posted to the wikiHow website. Use a soft toothbrush to dip into the ketchup and gently scrub the surface of the penny with it. For many pennies, one tablespoon (15 g) of salt in 1/2 cup (4 oz) of vinegar will get the job done. Other coins are molded from different metals, so the solution may not work as well on them. In a suitably sized cup, bowl or basin, stir salt - approximately 1 tablespoon of salt per cup of vinegar - into white vinegar until it's dissolved. When baking soda is mixed with vinegar, the acid breaks down baking soda, releasing carbon dioxide gas that can help lift dirt from the surfaces being cleaned. All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published. Remove from the bin, place on the soft cloth and allow to dry naturally. Learn how to clean copper pennies using items you have in your cupboard right now. Wet the affected coin with clean tap or distilled water, roll in baking soda, then gently scrub with a soft toothbrush. As a science writer, she explores all aspects of science from mites living books to noctilucent clouds, stretching across the mesopause. Cleaning pennies can be a fun activity for kids of all ages. Both kitchen ingredients are effective cleaning agents because they are found on opposite sides of the pH scale. pH is a measure of how acidic or basic a substance is, on a scale from 1 (very acidic) to 14 (very basic), with a neutral value at 7. Rub the front surface of the coin with the tip of an eraser. Scrub any stubborn spots with a grill brush or kitchen scrubber. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie.