Help Cleaning Pennies, I'm running out of time...

[jenharring]

I know I have read on here about cleaning pennies before. Does anyone know the best way to clean pennies for the pressed pennies? :confused3
We leave in 10 days and I am tring to get them done so I can get them in the tubes and packed. Thanks for any help!

[Kaler131]

I'm not sure how to clean pennies....but you may be able to go to a bank and see if they have any rolls of new pennies. My sons used to be soooo into getting pressed pennies and we would get the new, shiny ones to use and it worked out great!:thumbsup2

[MickeyDisneyFan]

Try putting them in a small saucer with some cola. It will dissolve the tarnish.

[Alesia]

In a small container, place a small amount of table salt
Add enough white vinegar to thoroughly moisten all of the salt.
Apply the paste to the penny wherever you want it to brighten up. The effect is immediate and obvious.


If you don't have any vinegar you can substitute it with Ketchup because it is also acidic. This works well for copper bottom pans, too!

[dvc at last !]

Put the pennies in a bowl of ketchup (overnite).

:cool1:

[jenharring]

thanks all, I found a really great website, go check it out. http://pennycollector.com/tips_clean.html
this is great
"What you are seeing is zinc, not silver. Before 1982, the U.S. minted coins that were about 95% copper and 5% tin & zinc. Beginning in 1982, the proportion of each metal was reversed because the value of the copper in a penny was becoming more valuable than a penny. When you elongate a post-1982 penny, the elongation process will reveal the zinc below the copper"

[mocame]

In ketchup overnight or in lemon juice for about 10 minutes or so.

[DisneyAsh32]

This may sound gross but hot sauce cleans pennies really well.

[mmeb144]

Lemon Juice works well, according to my DD. And so does baking soda and water, again according to my DD. Do it overnight and rub the coins.

[Snow Shoe]

Put them in bowl of Tarnix, it instantly cleans them. Then wash them in soapy water to finish the job. You can get it at Lowes.

[srwarden1928]

copper cleaner

Its available with other cleaning supplies--it should be near silver cleaner, but not the same thing.

[bopper]

I'm not sure how to clean pennies....but you may be able to go to a bank and see if they have any rolls of new pennies. My sons used to be soooo into getting pressed pennies and we would get the new, shiny ones to use and it worked out great!:thumbsup2

Except new pennies have a "sandwich" of zinc in them...when the penny gets squished, you can see that silvery zinc. So many squished penny collectors use pre-1982 pennies that are all copper...but they tend to be tarnished.

OP: you should do an experiment with your kids to see what is the best cleaner: vinegar, ketchup or lemon juice!

[Sleepymel]

I tried a bunch of home remedies like vinegar/salt, lemon juice/salt, baking soda, ketchup. They all worked somewhat, but for some reason the next day (I didn't leave them in the solution overnight - I just left them out after drying them) they looked awful again. Some just looked old and tarnished again, some were spotty, some had reddish marks, and a few had turned greenish.
Then I tried Mother's Mag and Aluminum Polish (use a small amount and brush lightly with a toothbrush, then wipe off residue with a clean cloth) and the pennies look amazing. Still do 2 days later. I got it from AutoZone, but I'm sure you can find it, or a similar metal polish, from any auto parts store.
For the record, I used all pre-1982 pennies so I don't get the zinc striations after pressing, so I don't know what the polish would do to a new penny, but I highly suggest using it on pre-1982 pennies. It's amazing how shiny and clean they are.

[jenharring]

Except new pennies have a "sandwich" of zinc in them...when the penny gets squished, you can see that silvery zinc. So many squished penny collectors use pre-1982 pennies that are all copper...but they tend to be tarnished.

OP: you should do an experiment with your kids to see what is the best cleaner: vinegar, ketchup or lemon juice!
that would have been a great idea to do with the kids, but we leave in 7 days and I am working all but 1 of those days, so I wont have a lot of time on that one day to do anything like that. I have them in ketcup now, I put them in it last night and forgot about them today. :rotfl: I will get my husband to clean them for me tommorrow.

I tried a bunch of home remedies like vinegar/salt, lemon juice/salt, baking soda, ketchup. They all worked somewhat, but for some reason the next day (I didn't leave them in the solution overnight - I just left them out after drying them) they looked awful again. Some just looked old and tarnished again, some were spotty, some had reddish marks, and a few had turned greenish.
Then I tried Mother's Mag and Aluminum Polish (use a small amount and brush lightly with a toothbrush, then wipe off residue with a clean cloth) and the pennies look amazing. Still do 2 days later. I got it from AutoZone, but I'm sure you can find it, or a similar metal polish, from any auto parts store.
For the record, I used all pre-1982 pennies so I don't get the zinc striations after pressing, so I don't know what the polish would do to a new penny, but I highly suggest using it on pre-1982 pennies. It's amazing how shiny and clean they are.
We are using all pre-1982 pennies. did you do a baking soda paste to clean them after the ketcup, it is suppose to finish up the job and make them shinny.

Thanks for all the tips!!

[Sleepymel]

We are using all pre-1982 pennies. did you do a baking soda paste to clean them after the ketcup, it is suppose to finish up the job and make them shinny.

Yup, I tried baking soda after each of my other experiments (vinegar/salt, lemon juice/salt, ketchup) and it did shine them up some immediately, but again, the next day, they looked bad again. None of my experiments had results anything near the metal polish, immediate or lasting.

[amberg@eastlink.ca]

fast easy and cheap???? KETCHUP!!!!!! i discovered this by pure accident one day when i was eating a hotdog and a penny fell into my ketchup(ick!) it came out sparkling!!!!

[jenharring]

Yup, I tried baking soda after each of my other experiments (vinegar/salt, lemon juice/salt, ketchup) and it did shine them up some immediately, but again, the next day, they looked bad again. None of my experiments had results anything near the metal polish, immediate or lasting.

wow thanks for letting me know. If it does that to me I will be sure and go buy that stuff. thanks

[KimDis]

Maybe some coca cola? I'm thinking the phosphoric acid should do a good job. I've even used it on a slow drain and it helped.

[klacey1]

Let sit in vinegar overnight.
Mix water and baking soda to make a paste and individually scrub each penny with the paste, then rise with vinegar. Should work well!:thumbsup2

[vacation4me]

How much does those pressed penny machines cost? Is it 50cents and penny?

Thanks,

[Alesia]

How much does those pressed penny machines cost? Is it 50cents and penny?

Thanks,

:goodvibes Yep!

[karen624]

I haven't read through all the posts. I bought copper pot cleaner at the grocery store. Worked like a charm in just a few minutes.

[tinkbutt]

I didn't read all the post so sorry if this is already out there but Arby's sauce works really well and quick! I think it might be the vinegar??? I'm not sure how much ya need but it really does work quick!!

[Sillybowtie]

How much does those pressed penny machines cost? Is it 50cents and penny?

Thanks,

Over in Europe (France and Germany) it cost 1 euro and 5 euro cent!

These are the souvenirs I get at Disney for myself, they are inexpensive and easy to carry home.

[veraletta]

We used lemon juice over night.

[CanadianPaco]

I tried a bunch of home remedies like vinegar/salt, lemon juice/salt, baking soda, ketchup. They all worked somewhat, but for some reason the next day (I didn't leave them in the solution overnight - I just left them out after drying them) they looked awful again. Some just looked old and tarnished again, some were spotty, some had reddish marks, and a few had turned greenish.
Then I tried Mother's Mag and Aluminum Polish (use a small amount and brush lightly with a toothbrush, then wipe off residue with a clean cloth) and the pennies look amazing. Still do 2 days later. I got it from AutoZone, but I'm sure you can find it, or a similar metal polish, from any auto parts store.
For the record, I used all pre-1982 pennies so I don't get the zinc striations after pressing, so I don't know what the polish would do to a new penny, but I highly suggest using it on pre-1982 pennies. It's amazing how shiny and clean they are.


Have other people who have used the ketchup and other combos also find they turned out awful a few days latter?

[wickedsmith259]

A little Brasso will work perfect. I'm using it now to clean my pennies. Just scrub them with your spouses tooth brush.:lmao:

[princessmom29]

There are 2 reasons the pennies cleaned with the acid based remedies tarnish quickly:
1. Acid left on the penny reacts with air
2. wet pennies oxidize very quickly wen left out in air to dry.

I suggest doing the acid treatment, rinsibg with baking soda in water then clean water, and drying them on a towel with a hairdryer.

[hthrbells]

popcorn::This would be a good project to help the 86 days pass!!!

[hthrbells]

84 even better!!!!!!!!!!:cool1:

[Sleepymel]

There are 2 reasons the pennies cleaned with the acid based remedies tarnish quickly:
1. Acid left on the penny reacts with air
2. wet pennies oxidize very quickly wen left out in air to dry.

I suggest doing the acid treatment, rinsibg with baking soda in water then clean water, and drying them on a towel with a hairdryer.

Ok, I understand that this is a cheaper option which is certainly valid if you're trying to save a few bucks, but it's 3 steps (acid treatment, baking soda treatment, drying). Why not just use the one step metal cleaner? The pennies I cleaned with all of the other types of cleaning (ketchup or lemon juice + salt or vinegar + salt followed by baking soda in water) came out mostly clean and certainly better than they'd started out, but when I used the metal polish, they looked noticeably better than the ones cleaned by homemade remedies (and this is all before the re-tarnishing I saw with the homemade remedies). The metal polish made them look brand new and really shiny. No comparison in my opinion.

[chabs]

I picked up Brasso metal cleaner (in the cleaning supplies aisle) at Walmart for under $3. So far it seems to work well.