Best way to shine pennies?

[suzct]

I am starting to collect quarters and pennies for my kids to get pressed pennies on our next trip. What is the best way to make our pennies the shiniest? Anyone have a "tip"?

Thanks

 

[solferino]

For my copper cookware I use *gasp* ketchup for shining/polishing. I hate the stuff so figure it's got to be good for something else! A soak in white vinegar might work too, but there's something magic about that icky red goop!

 

[bigmac5]

I never had to shine any. we just saved the shiny ones from our change.

 

[marathonmommy]

Ahhh, the pressed penny machine. This became my daughter's new obsession (age 5). Forget the pins - she loved this (yes, we have way too many pins, too). We bought the little book to collect them in, but didn't start until late into our trip.

 

[bigmac5]

Is there a special book to put them in?

 

[HaleyB]

Vinegar and salt works well.

 

[marathonmommy]

Is there a special book to put them in?

Yes, it is a vinyl/plastic book that folds into 4 sections and has little slots for the pennies. I think it holds about 48. It is about 5 or 6 inches tall and about 4 inches wide. It is blue and has Mickey and Minnie on the front. It is called "Pressed Coin Collection".

 

[tnhillbilly]

I clean with brasso before the trip.

 

[Diznenut]

I've been collecting pressed pennies from our vacations elsewhere for years. I'm really looking forward to getting pennies from WDW on our vacation.

Many people wonder why they should even bother with cleaning them. Aside from the obvious - i.e. they look better - dirty pennies will not press as clear. They will also gum up the die and make maintenance requirements more frequent. The reason so many presses are out of service so often is for that very reason.

I've tried ketchup, lemon, vinegar, brasso and all the rest. Hands down, the very very very best cleaner is the copper paste polish used for cleaning copper pans. But forget the sponge, use your fingers to rub it or an old toothbrush. It can be found in most grocery stores or in department stores.

A bit of advice - a lot of people just use new pennies and they do work well, but many times there will be a streak in the finished piece. New pennies are zinc with a copper coating. The streak is the zinc showing through. To avoid it, only use pre 1982 pennies. Also - be sure they are completely dry or they will turn green fairly quickly after cleaning.

We went through my daughter's penny bank and in 10 minutes had 2.00 worth of older pennies. A quick sort through them to remove the really grungy and pitted ones netted us about 120 suitable pennies. It took about an hour to shine them all up. We put them in M&M minies tubes - 2 quarters 1 penny at a time. Now we're set - just pop out the tube, slide out the penny and its accompanying quarters and finished.

Also - we use the empty 35 mm film "barrels" to store our pressed pieces in until we can get back to the room or home. Nothing gets lost and we don't have to carry the book with us. You can also use old prescription bottles to hold them.

I hope this helps.

 

[MrsKingTriton]

a pencil eraser works really well. use it like you would to erase writing on peice of paper. i have used this trick several times. it does not take long to do. i like the idea of using pill bottles and putting the quarters and pennys in them.

 

[bigmac5]

a pencil eraser works really well. use it like you would to erase writing on peice of paper. i have used this trick several times. it does not take long to do. i like the idea of using pill bottles and putting the quarters and pennys in them.

WOW I had to try it for myself and it does work

 

[littlelaura]

leave the coin in a glass of cola overnight

 

[gt0163c]

Taco Bell hot sauce (not the mild or the fire, the hot).
Squirt some on each side of the penny (or drop some pennies in a cup with the stuff in it) and wait a few minutes (about the time it takes to eat a taco) then rinse.
Works great.

One of the many lessons I learned from my high school youth leaders at church and have since passed on to my youth group kids.

 

[looo33]

Pickle juice works too

 

[psiprez]

In a pinch, or on the road, use a pencil eraser to "erase" the dirt!

 

[Elisa]

Hi , I've been obsessed about this topic and my sister thinks I've lost my marbles. She thinks if this is all I'm worried about in life then I must have it pretty easy ! Doing this planning just makes me forget about everything else . I forget about the real World about 6ms before the trip !Soooo..... Back to the thread... I've done the soda, hot sauce, pickle juice, ketchup, backing soda and vineger, and the last one I tried which worked like a charm in 4 minutes, a product called CLR. It's a liquid that removes rust ,lime ,soap scum buildup etc..I just put the pennies in a plastic cup with enough CLR to cover them and then stirred for 4 minutes to keep it in contact with all sides. Voila !
..Shiny and new. Just like someone else said, make sure you dry them well . Lay them flat on a towel. Not sure if this is just a Canadian product, but they have to sell similar stuff in the States. Give it a try ! Elisa

 

[Disneynutbsv]

if you did all of the machines in the parks??? Is there a place that shows the locations?? My daughter was thinking about doing this, and as I'm on a serious budget, want to make sure I have enough for her Thanks!

 

[scrappinmom]

bunp...'cause I'd like to know the number of machines too...but also, I've used the eraser thing many times & it always has worked for me!

 

[FairyAuntMother]

Can anyone give me an idea how long to leave the pennies in the vinegar?

Thanks!!

 

[Chattins]

If CRL works then I'de bet Lime Away works too and I have some onhand.

Thanks for all the tips.