how to clean copper pennies without damaging them
This website uses cookies to improve your experience, but you may opt out if you wish. Wash each coin gently with a soft toothbrush before rinsing and drying it. Abrasive cleaning, using a brush and an acid or alcohol solution, can leave the coin with hair lines and discrepancies in the metal that may only be seen under the right lighting and magnification. If needed, use a soft towel or soft-bristled brush to scrub the coin. For a safer way to remove stubborn debris and make a coin shine, rub it gently with a little bit of vegetable oil. If you are keeping them for sentimental value or for your own personal collection, you may certainly clean them. Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. They were initially made of bronze, a 95 percent copper alloy. 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. Put your solution and a small bit of sand into a watertight jar. Can hydrogen peroxide be used to clean coins? Dump all the pennies into the liquid. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. We hope you enjoy these tips and find the one that works best for you! Grab some past with your thumb and forefinger, rubbing it gently onto both sides of the penny. Keep reading below for the best methods for safely cleaning your wheat pennies at home. These coins range in value from a few cents to a small fortune, if you are lucky enough! Wheat pennies are a relatively common find when metal detecting. If there are stubborn stains that dont seem like theyre budging, try scrubbing them vigorously with steel wool while theyre still wet; this should do wonders when trying to remove stubborn grime from coins like pennies made out of zinc (which often have dark spots). 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! Other Ways To Clean Copper Coins Without Damaging Them 1. You just have to put a thin but uniform layer of sauce on the penny and then rinse it off with water after some time. Enjoy! How To Clean A Copper or Zinc Penny - Coin Collecting! Method 1 Removing Dark Spots with Vinegar Download Article 1 Pour 14 cup (59 mL) of white vinegar into a small bowl. Copper is a soft metal, so copper coins are prone to degrading over time. Scrub low-value coins with baking soda and vinegar, lemon juice and salt, or ketchup to break apart tarnish. In fact, I use dish soap to clean my wedding ring, necklaces, and other jewelry. Wet the coin with water and roll in baking soda. Here are a few different methods that you can use to get those pennies clean.