If I must choose a cleaning method, I will choose distilled water. The effect is immediate and obvious. If youre having trouble getting rid of the tarnish on your copper penny, rubbing alcohol might be the trick you need. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. After applying, give it a couple of minutes and then rinse using distilled water. Rinse them off after soaking them in vinegar so they dont reabsorb any of that dirt onto themselves! 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. It works similarly to ketchup. Let them sit for a month though you may need to let them go for as long as six months. wikiHow is where trusted research and expert knowledge come together. AspenClean develops and manufactures its own line of 100% Natural, EcoCert certified, and EWG verified cleaning products. What is the formula for calculating solute potential? This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. If you need to remove dirt from your coins, remove the worst of it with a tooth pick. Pull the coins out of the liquid and gently wipe them with a paper towel to break apart the tarnish and dark spots. Finally, take the pennies out and rinse them off using distilled water. Create a mixture using -cup vinegar of lemon juice and a teaspoon of table salt together into a bowl. Rubbing the surface of a coin can damage it, even if you cannot see it. Ketchup can restore the copper glow of a penny. The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. Soak coins in warm water mixed with liquid dish detergent to clean off light dirt and grime. There are many options for selling wheat pennies. Step-2: Mix dish soap with water in a bowl. All items are affected by the passage of time, and coins are no different. Simply hold your copper penny by its edges between your thumb and forefinger, then dip its entire surface into a small bowl of freshly squeezed lemon juice. Ketchup is also effective at cleaning copper jewelry, so keep this tip in mind next time you need an emergency polish job for your favorite necklace or bracelet! The concept is the same as white vinegar and salt. Every cleaner is thoroughly vetted and every cleaning is backed by a 100% money-back guarantee. wheat pennies found can be worth a small fortune. If you do have hard water or highly acidic water, try using distilled water. If you have recently gone metal detecting and found several wheat pennies, what do you do with them now? You do not want to leave behind any residue that may further degrade the pennys condition! You will end up with irreversible damage to the coins. A great way to clean coins without doing damage to them is using a bath of salt and isopropyl alcohol. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. But if you simply want to clean the coins for non-commercial reasons (for example, you just want a bunch of cleaned pennies youve found to become part of your coin collection), the vinegar/lemon juice method will be good enough. Dissolve 1 tsp (7 g) of table salt in a bowl with of white distilled vinegar. The key is to first know what kind of coin you have. Where I live, we have acidic and hard water. Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. Soak the coins in more salt and vinegar if they still look dirty. Fill the bowl with enough lemon juice to cover the quarter. 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. It is always at the discretion of the buyer whether the minute scratches and damaged caused by cleaning is an issue. Method 1 Using Simple Washing Download Article 1 Sort your coins. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. 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! Clean copper coins in a vinegar and salt solution. It is okay to stop at the fourth step, but if some of the pennies dont get clean after you use the paper towel to clean them, you can put them back into the solution and soak for an extra five minutes. Hot sauce and brown colas are some other household substances that work well on copper coins. If they look clean enough, use a soft cloth to dry them. If pennies are collectibles, then cleaning them may reduce their value. Nearly all metal detectors will be able to find coins in the right conditions. This article has been viewed 438,144 times. First, do not every use any type of jewelry cleaner or metal polish on coins. Be sure to check with a professional before cleaning a corroded coin that may have significant value. This technique is an easy way to clean silver coins and zinc pennies without causing damage, too. Something like a penny for example. Coins / February 17, 2021 by Walt / Leave a Comment. They were initially made of bronze, a 95 percent copper alloy. The olive oil is good at separating the dirt from the surface of the coin for a thorough cleaning experience, though it takes substantially longer. Patience is key: The best way to clean a copper coin is by using patience and not being afraid to try new methods until one works well enough for you without scratching up your penny too much while doing so. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. If youve ever discovered gold jewelry in the woods or beach before, then you likely stumbled upon jewelry that was quite dirty and in need, Read More How to Clean Gold Jewelry With Vinegar Without Any DamageContinue, Wheat pennies are a relatively common find when metal detecting. Enjoy! If you dont have ketchup or another acid, try using a metal polish from a general store. Lightly rub the ketchup into the coin with a soft toothbrush, then rinse off the ketchup. There are also various commercial cleaners available in the market to clean your pennies, but they may prove a bit expensive if you have lots of pennies to clean. Pennies are normally made of copper, which is a shiny, bright metal, and more recently Zinc. Leave the pennies for around five minutes in the glass of vinegar or lemon juice. Rubbing alcohol can be used to clean pennies and other copper coins, as well as other metals. To clean your copper coins, start by adding some vinegar or orange juice to a small bowl, and stirring in 1 teaspoon of salt. Wash each coin gently with a soft toothbrush before rinsing and drying it. From there, use your brush to gently get the grime off of the coins before putting them back into the water again. Stir together until the soap is sudsy, then add your coins to the bowl. Step 3 Now put those pennies into the bowl containing the mixture of vinegar and salt. As for what is best to add and enhance the cleaning action, I'm not sure. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. How do you clean old copper coins without damaging them? This is the important part: rinse with distilled, not tap water. After brushing each penny, rinse with clean water and dry, it should be looking good as new by now. Start by adding a quarter cup of white vinegar, or lemon juice, into a cup or glass. Garret ACE 300 Review The advantage is it will not cause any decrease in numismatic value, but there are better options for cleaning materials. 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. Put the coin in the bowl and slowly rub the coin with your finger from both sides. 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. This step is basically you leaving the pennies to soak inside the salt and lemon juice solution for 15 minutes. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. Most wheat pennies that are not extremely rare will sell for at least 3 to 5 cents at most coin dealers. I go from light cleaning, to using soap and water, to using olive oil. Make sure they are not directly on top of each other. You like wouldnt need the professional cleaning. With this simple technique, anyone can get their penny as clean as it once was. WATER. Vinegar is a great cleaning agent because it will remove the copper oxide that's on your pennies. 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. The first step to cleaning a copper penny is soaking it in vinegar. After 24 hours of drying time (72 hours if you live in humid conditions), use a soft cloth like an old T-shirt or washcloth to buff up all sides of your penny until it has regained most of its original shine! Let them soak for a while. 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?. In terms of valuable wheat pennies, while it can range vastly depending on the pennys condition, here are some best case scenarios in terms of value for a select few: If you happen to have one of these in your wheat penny collection, consider yourself incredibly lucky! So how do you safely store your wheat pennies? Use a stronger acid like ketchup or cola to strip away the green patina that forms when copper is exposed to salt and water. You just cant see them because they are microscopicbut your intended buyer will see them. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. 1 1/2 cups olive oil. When a coin is submitted to be examined by the experts at PCGS, signs of cleaning can be evident in many ways. 3 What is the fastest way to clean copper coins? Of course, there are other ways to clean corroded pennies. Soak the Pennies in Vinegar. There are coins worth thousands upon thousands of dollars, all contingent on the condition of the coin. The best thing about using rubbing alcohol is that it will remove the tarnish from your copper coin without damaging its surface. This way, you should not have to worry about cleaning them on a regular basis. Hydrogen peroxide can be an effective way to clean your coins. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features. With over 17 years of experience, Alicia specializes in creating a healthier, green alternative to chemical-based cleaning products and services. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". Here are a few different methods that you can use to get those pennies clean. Both can damage coins easily. Shine the coins to make them look better. Soak your penny in the vinegar for a minimum of 30 minutes. Before you do anything, do your research to know the value of the coin. When they are sufficiently clean, lay them out on a soft cloth, dabbing them dry with gentle pressure. Simply run the water over the coin, or let it soak in the water. Kids Metal Detectors Basically, it all depends on why you are getting your pennies cleaned in the first place. If you have a penny that has been cleaned with another method but still looks dull or dirty, try using the baking soda and salt method to bring back its shine. Alicia holds a CPA designation and a Bachelors degree in Commerce and Finance from the University of Toronto. Collectors actively look for the tiniest flaws in pennies and they have all the necessary tools to find those flaws. If it works for you, stick with it. You may want to try using some non-abrasive cleaners (like vinegar) if youre worried about removing any patina on your coinand always keep in mind that these cleaners are only meant as a starting point! 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 detector uses 5 frequencies simultaneously or it can use them individually. In fact, 99% of coins do not increase in value after you clean them. Level up your tech skills and stay ahead of the curve. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Again, if you have hard or corrosive water, go with distilled water. 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. Dont use steel wool or abrasive chemicals to clean your penny, as this could damage the metal. If you have any other ideas, please share them in the comments below. Were committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Step 4: Add More Baking Soda & Hot Water. 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. Vinegar and salt are the best methods of cleaning your pennies. In that event, you would want to avoid anything highly abrasive that could damage the surface of the coin. Please do not clean collector coins, I don not take responsibly of any damage done. Cool the copper: Leave the copper item in the solution until it is cool to the touch. Heat safe container. Wheat pennys face value is 1 cent, but every single one of them is worth more than face value, regardless of condition. They include: Fresh lemon juice Salt White vinegar A toothbrush Baking soda A small container A paper towel. They are too harsh and abrasive to clean wheat pennies with. By using this service, some information may be shared with YouTube. 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). You can also use baking soda and salt to clean your pennies. Fisher F22 Review Thats not necessarily to say the material so much as the purpose of the coin. This method and those that follow are going to be for everyday coins. The presence of salt and vinegar as its ingredients explains why this method works. If your pennies still dont get clean after the fifth step, you can mix baking soda with a tablespoon of water, then use an old soft toothbrush to gently scrub the surface. 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. These coins range in value from a few cents to a small fortune, if you, Read More How to Clean Wheat Pennies Safely and Without DamageContinue, ABOUT|AFFILIATE DISCLOSURE|PRIVACY POLICY|TERMS OF USE. This method is the best way to clean your pennies, and it will produce a very bright orangey-copper color on your pennies. Dish soap is also a good and very gentle way to clean coins. Since we are also concerned about safety, it is important for you to know that the acidic substances that these rust removers contain could be harmful to your skin, so you should protect yourself with gloves and a mask when using them. PCGS offers a restoration service that can aid in cleaning your coins professionally. Mix equal parts distilled water and lemon juice into a container. This natural acid can be used to clean coins, pots and pans, and more. Cleaning them can be a daunting task. This is a simple, inexpensive method that works well on pennies that arent too tarnished. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. Different types of coins require different cleaning solutions, so ask an expert if you are not sure. If you do use an abrasive like vinegar or salt, make sure that you dont rub the abrasive in as it could scratch up the surface of the coin. If you decide to clean your wheat pennies, make sure you start with the least invasive cleaning method first. Pennies are made from highly reactive metals like copper or copper alloys, so it is only normal for them to get corroded with time. If you dont see any results after trying a method for a few minutes, move on to something else. Remove the coins and dump out the lemon solution, and then pour the olive oil and one teaspoon of lemon juice into the container. Warm distilled water can be used to clean coins. It has 3 search coil options, all are waterproof. Clean copper coins in a vinegar and salt solution. Easy & Effective Ways to Clean Dirty Coins at Home, 10+ Ways to Clean Your Clipper Blades like a Pro Barber. If you are keeping them for sentimental value or for your own personal collection, you may certainly clean them.