Home >> Collecting >> Coin Collecting

How to Clean a Penny With Vinegar & Salt

You may have an abundance of pennies hidden underneath your furniture, in your bags and in your pockets. While some may look shiny and new, others may be tarnished and lackluster. The culprit is copper oxide, the product of an interaction between copper and oxygen. If you are interested in cleaning your pennies, look no further than your pantry. A solution of vinegar and salt will remove the copper oxide.

Things You'll Need

1/4 cup vinegar
1 tsp. salt
Small, non-metal bowl
Water
Towel

Instructions

- 1
  Pour 1/4 cup of vinegar into a small, non-metal bowl.
- 2
  Add 1 tsp. of salt to the vinegar. Stir to dissolve.
- 3
  Pour your pennies into the salt and vinegar solution. Allow the pennies to soak for about five minutes.
- 4
  Remove your pennies from the salt and vinegar solution. Rinse your pennies with water immediately afterwards to remove the solution. Allowing the solution to remain on your pennies for too long will cause them to turn green.
- 5
  Pat your pennies dry with a towel.

Coin Collecting