Cleaning Pennies
A Small Guide To Cleaning Pennies
Cleaning pennies used to mean much more than it does now, and the most common reason for doing this these days is collection. Some pennies are worth far more than others are, and collectors will want to preserve their precious finds in the best condition possible. Cleaning pennies is not a very difficult task, as it turns out, and can be rather fun. Even if you just want to do a little project with your students or children, this is a simple and very inexpensive project to undertake. All you will need is some filthy pennies, the dirtier the better, some vinegar, and a little bit of salt. For the more stubborn pennies in your collection, you may want to grab an old, firm bristled toothbrush.
A little bit of vinegar will go a long way when using it for cleaning pennies, so grab a bowl and pour about ¼ to ½ cup of vinegar into it. White vinegar contains the most acid, so it will be your best choice, but any vinegar will do. Take anywhere from ¼ to ½ teaspoon of iodized salt and whisk it into the vinegar. You will want to stir until the salt granules are completely dissolved before adding your dirty pennies. Put your pennies in the vinegar salt solution. You may want to do this in smaller batches of ten to twenty if you have a lot of pennies, as they will have better contact with the solution this way. Stir the pennies up every few minutes, and leave them soaking for a total of fifteen minutes. It won’t hurt them to sit longer, but this should be all the time they need.
You are ready for next step to cleaning pennies, which is to begin rubbing and rinsing them. If your pennies still look black, give them a good rub with your finger. You should see the dirt and tarnish rubbing off of the surface of the penny and onto your finger. This is what you want, and you can now begin to work it gently with your toothbrush.
Small circles or side strokes will both work well, and rinse your toothbrush in the vinegar salt solution periodically. Once both sides of the penny have been scrubbed, you can rinse it under warm water and reassess its condition. If it isn’t clean enough for your liking, it can be placed back into your bowl while you work on the next penny.
Once you have finished these steps for cleaning pennies you will be ready to rinse and shine them for all of the world to see. Any old rag or towel will do for this job, but keep in mind that some residual tarnish may come off onto the towel while you dry polish.