You can clean as many pennies you want with a single pencil eraser. [3] 4 Copper, silver, nickel, and gold coins should strictly never be cleaned. Garret ACE 400 Review And if you're unsure of how to properly clean a coin and you want a second opinion, get in contact with a coin expert before trying any of the following methods. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. We hope you enjoy these tips and find the one that works best for you! Water is one of the best and safest ways to clean your wheat pennies. We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. Warm distilled water can be used to clean coins. Dry them off with paper towels. Use a soft cloth to rub the paste on the surface of the copper. Easy & Effective Ways to Clean Dirty Coins at Home, 10+ Ways to Clean Your Clipper Blades like a Pro Barber. This article was co-authored by Elias Weston. They include: Fresh lemon juice Salt White vinegar A toothbrush Baking soda A small container A paper towel. 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. Step 4: Add More Baking Soda & Hot Water. So here's how to clean a penny with vinegar: Get a small glass (or another kind of non-corrosive container) and fill it with some white vinegar - just enough to submerge a coin below the surface. How to clean green corroded copper coins Mix cup vinegar with 1 teaspoon of salt in a bowl that is non-metallic. By using this service, some information may be shared with YouTube. If you feel that it needs longer, you can soak it for up to 15 minutes. Like vinegar, ammonia has a strong chemical odor, so you may want to wear gloves when cleaning with this method. This method is the best way to clean your pennies, and it will produce a very bright orangey-copper color on your pennies. Can I use isopropyl alcohol to clean the coins? If there are still some stubborn stains on your pennies after rinsing them with water, try using baking soda next time instead; this should help get rid of those stainsand if not then maybe some hand lotion would help soften up those stubborn spots too! Ketchup. This article may contain affiliate links, How to Paint Concrete [From Preparation to Sealing], 14 Ways to Open a Stuck Jar A Helpful Guide, A Guide to Wood Finishes That Are Food Safe, How to Significantly Improve Your Charcoal Grill, How to Remove Scratches From Stainless Steel, Pickled Cherry Tomatoes are Definitely a Thing You Need to Know About. NEVER drink the solution that was used to clean the pennies. If needed, use a soft towel or soft-bristled brush to scrub the coin. You want something a bit more gentle for silver coins but you will need a heavier abrasive for your copper pennies. Anyone can use this simple technique. Pennies are made from highly reactive metals like copper or copper alloys, so it is only normal for them to get corroded with time. Removing the copper oxide by cleaning will give your penny a brand-new look. Brighten old, dark pennies in seconds! You should also rub the coin gently to remove debris, and rinse it under the tap to wash off the oil. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". This way, you should not have to worry about cleaning them on a regular basis. If this does not bother, you and you simply want to restore the coin for yourself you can use a baking soda paste. In fact, there are a lot of people who may suggest that using vinegar will hurt the integrity of your penny by making it tarnish. He has a hefty collection of wheat pennies that hes found with various techniques. Hold it there for about 10 seconds, then pull it out. Make a paste: Use a lemon juice/salt or vinegar/salt paste and a sponge to scrub the copper. The wheat penny was produced until 1958, with a few changes along the way. This means distilled water. It can be frustrating, but hang in there! The Minelab Equinox 800 is another of my favorite metal detectors. Remember, you can always try cleaning a coin again, but you cant reverse mistakes. 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. Soak coins in warm water mixed with liquid dish detergent to clean off light dirt and grime. Alicia Sokolowski is a Green Cleaning Specialist and the President and co-CEO of AspenClean, a green cleaning company in Vancouver, British Columbia. Use Water Sometimes the simplest methods are best. Next, mix baking soda and water into a thick paste and rub this paste over the penny using your fingers. If you decide to clean your wheat pennies, make sure you start with the least invasive cleaning method first. Metal Detector Reviews (for anyone), Garrett AT Pro Review Coins made of nickel and silver will be easily cleaned; however, coins made out of copper will be harder to clean as copper reacts to more materials than other metals. [2] 3 Now simply apply the paste to the penny wherever you want it to brighten up. For others, coins can be collected throughout the years, some of which become quite valuable. It might even be a good idea to stay away from even hiring a professional service to clean them for you. Rinse off excess mustard under running water until all traces are removed from both sides before allowing them dry completely upside down so they wont lose any color fading away while drying out naturally overnight.. What is the formula for calculating solute potential? Rinse the coins thoroughly with water to remove the baking soda and vinegar solution. First, gather your supplies. Do not leave the coin in the ketchup for more than an hour or two as it will leave a green oxidation on the coin. It only requires rubbing the penny with a pencil eraser. We use cookies to make wikiHow great. You can also seek the services of the Numismatic Conservation Services. Very old or dirty coins require the extra effort. How to Clean Wheat Pennies Safely and Without Damage - Discover Detecting How to Clean Copper Coins in Seconds: 4 Steps (with Pictures) - WikiHow Avoid rubbing where possible as they can scratch and damage the coins surface. Your fingers contain oils, acids, and minuscule pieces of grit that will adhere to the surface of the coins and cause them to discolor or suffer microscopic scratching. If it can clean oil off baby ducks, it should be able to clean your wheat pennies with very little damage! For this reason, only clean coins that have little value, such as standard pennies. As an added precaution, you should only mix one tablespoon of ammonia with one gallon of water when using this technique; over-mixed solutions will damage your coins surfaces quickly. This eliminates the possibility of abrasions to your investment. This natural acid can be used to clean coins, pots and pans, and more. Apmex is a well-known auction site for coins. "Knowing how to safely clean copper is big time helpful. Dissolve 1 tsp (7 g) of table salt in a bowl with of white distilled vinegar. Before you begin cleaning, sort through the coins to determine which coins need the most work. If necessary, a little bit of gentle soap can be used, with Ivory soap being the preferred brand. How do you clean old coins without damaging them? After brushing each penny, rinse with clean water and dry, it should be looking good as new by now. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. When a rare coin is found, it is often submitted to professionals, such as those at PCGS, or Professional Coin Grading Services. Salt and vinegar combinations have been used to clean coins for many yearsthis method is actually on display in one of the earlier videos I shared above. Its also an effective way to remove oxidation from copper and make sure that there are no stains left behind. Thats not necessarily to say the material so much as the purpose of the coin. The key is to ensure that you dont use anything super abrasive, especially on older coins. 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! If you do not sell your coin, you do not pay. Ultrasonic cleaners work by microcavitation. A professional coin valuer will notice these minute scratches on the surface from cleaning. 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. Tartaric acid is a weak organic acid, which means its not as corrosive to your penny as other chemicals. Some other options to use in place of vinegar include orange or lemon juice. Soak your penny in the vinegar for a minimum of 30 minutes. That way, if the cleaning method damages the coin, youre not going to be upset about it. Steel pennies were abandoned the following year, and brass pennies were introduced. Silver dollars, or any collectible silver coin, should only be cleaned under certain conditions. Finally, dry your coins with a microfiber cloth to get rid of excess moisture. It works similarly to ketchup. Using a soft cloth, apply your chosen cleaner to the coin and allow it to soak in for five minutes. How do you clean old pennies without damaging them? There will be times when you think your coin is clean, only to discover later that its still dirty. In fact, I use dish soap to clean my wedding ring, necklaces, and other jewelry. 1 How do you clean old copper coins without damaging them? Continue to slowly add water to the baking soda until it takes on the consistency of paste. only use vinegar to clean a corroded penny, Metal Detecting in Massachusetts: Laws, Tips and Beaches, Metal Detecting in Pennsylvania: Tips, Tricks, and Laws to Know. Well, the general rule is if you intend on selling your wheat pennies, you should not clean them. Soak the coins for 12 hours. This method you will help you to clean old coin properly without any damage to. For coins that are not terribly valuable, you can clean them yourself with little to no worry. Enjoy! After 5 minutes, wash the solution off the coins with warm water, since if its left on too long it can damage them. Last Updated: October 27, 2022 Repeat the treatment with more oil as needed. Instead, dip a soft-bristled toothbrush into the vinegar solution and scrub the coins with it. 1/4 cup white vinegar 1 teaspoon salt A clear, shallow bowl (not metal) 2 clean steel nails A clean steel screw or bolt Paper towels Put the salt and vinegar in the bowl. This website uses cookies to improve your experience, but you may opt out if you wish. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. 2. If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. % of people told us that this article helped them. The safest way to clean a coin is to send it a professional. Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered. Thanks. From there, use your brush to gently get the grime off of the coins before putting them back into the water again. This method and those that follow are going to be for everyday coins. ", "It is so amazing, the power of baking soda and vinegar.". 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. As a general rule, make the paste at a ratio of 3 parts baking soda to 1 part water. Shine the coins to make them look better. You can clean a dug copper coin by removing layers of dirt, gently, with a toothpick, piece of wood, or your fingernail until getting down to the patina. 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. So, in this article, Im going to explain to you exactly how to clean wheat pennies safely and effectively! The acid from the ketchup can help to deal with oxidation as it forms on your coins. Those are meant to clean items like antique silver vases and your wedding ring. "What stood out was that very common household ingredients were used.". Start with two tablespoons of baking soda, mixing it with water into a bowl. Clean at your . How To Clean A Penny Without Damaging It (Detailed Guide) Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. If you are planning to keep the coins for your own collection, you may certainly clean them as you see fit. Minelab CTX 3030 Review, on How to Clean a Copper Penny:10 Tips and Advices. Its found naturally in wine, and it works by breaking down the copper oxide coating on your pennies. When a coin has evidence of cleaning, it is valued as Genuine-Cleaned. This means that despite the condition of the coin, it will be valued less than Fine range coins that have not been cleaned. In this video I clean three old worn large cents. What is the best solution to clean copper? The advantage is it will not cause any decrease in numismatic value, but there are better options for cleaning materials. 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 clean as many pennies you want with a single pencil eraser. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.