Cleaning Pennies — Mr. Bond's Science Guys (2024)

FAQs

Cleaning Pennies — Mr. Bond's Science Guys? ›

Soak your pennies in ketchup to clean them like new. Well, after you wash the ketchup off, that is. The salt and acetic acid in vinegar do the trick. Hot sauce, like Tabasco or taco sauce, also will remove the oxides off pennies.

Pour ½ cup of vinegar into the bowl and add 2 teaspoons of salt to it. Hold a penny halfway into the liquid for about 15 seconds and remove it. Make some observations. Put the rest of the pennies into the vinegar/salt solution and wait 10-15 minutes.

When copper oxidizes, it turns a blue-green color, forming a compound called malachite. In Bowl 2, the vinegar and salt create a chemical reaction. This reaction dissolves the copper oxide (the dirty looking spots) and some of the copper on the outside of the penny. The result is a shiny looking penny!

Copper oxide dissolves in a mixture of weak acid and table salt-and vinegar is an acid. You could also clean your pennies with salt and lemon juice or orange juice, because those juices are acids, too.

Pickle or lemon juice works best. Let the pennies sit.

Ultimately, lemon juice will clean pennies better than vinegar, though both liquids are viable cleaning options for copper.

Ketchup contains vinegar, a weak acid, which breaks down the copper oxide on the surface of the penny. The salt in the ketchup goes on to add dissolved chloride ions to the mix. These ions bond with the copper, forming copper chloride. The copper chloride helps the vinegar further break down the copper oxide.

Lemon Juice did do the best, getting an average of rating of 7.5! Coming in second was Dish Soap which got an average rating of 7. A 3 way tie which consisted of Water, Cola, and Orange Juice, got an average rating of 5.5.

Lincoln cents were last issued in bronze in 1981. In 1982, the composition of the penny changed from 95% copper with 5% tin and zinc to copper-plated zinc because of the rising price of copper.

The 1944 Lincoln penny is particularly desirable in the eyes of collectors not only because of its design, but also due to its scarcity. Being that there are no more 1944 Lincolns being produced, the scarcity of these coins is constantly on the rise, thus making the coins more valuable.

What do professionals use to clean coins? ›

Ultrasonic Cleaners

These coins are cleaned by using distilled water with a small amount of detergent in a special vibrating container. Acid based cleaners will eat away at a coin's surface diminishing its value.

Lemon and Lime juice are both acids. They erode whatever they come in contact with if given the proper amount of time. So don't leave your coin in the acid for more than 30 minutes or your coins major features will dissolve. Put the acid in the jar along with the coin.

Another great way on how to clean coins without damaging them is by soaking them in isopropyl alcohol and salt. These two ingredients are coarse and acidic, which is an effective way to target built-up dirt. Here's how to do it: Combine one cup of isopropyl alcohol and two tablespoons of salt in a medium bowl.

Lemon and Lime juice are both acids. They erode whatever they come in contact with if given the proper amount of time. So don't leave your coin in the acid for more than 30 minutes or your coins major features will dissolve. Put the acid in the jar along with the coin.