cleaning pennies for pressing

[cgcw]

We are leaving in a couple of days and I've been trying to clean the pre-1983 pennies that I've collected. I'd like our DS's to be able to press them when we get there and I'd like to have clean pennies to start with, if I can. I know I've read about cleaning them here and have tried a couple of ways which just are not helping. First I tried salsa and it cleaned only about 2. The others brightened up a bit. Then I tried a solution of vinegar and salt. It seems to have tarnished them even more. Now what do I try? Anyone with any suggestions? TIA!

 

[AprilsZoo]

try brasso, but wear protective gloves.

 

[Crazy Hakim]

When we was kids, we cleaned pennies with soft pencil erasers. It works great.

 

[melk]

Try lemon juice, my kids said that's what they saw on ZOOM.

 

[marli]

hi,
this is probably going to gross you out, but when I was in school (many moons ago), we did an experiment- we put dirty pennies in a glass of coke- can you guess it, they came out all nice and shiny! Sorry if this turns you off of the soft drink.

 

[ToyStory Fan]

If you are cleaning pre-83 pennies the last thing you want to do is use things that are acidic...that will tarnish them more (actually turn them greenish). I'd use some type of brass/silver polish as that is more of a "base" cleaning solution the ammonia smell will tip you off that it is a base not acid.

 

[Tara8595]

Tarn-X. You can get this anywhere. Smells awful, but fill a bowl with it and dump the pennies in. Let them soak a few minutes and they come out sparkling. This even works after they're pressed.

Tara

 

[Sharper]

You deliberately want to use older pennies? My son took up collecting pressed pennies last trip. We made the mistake ONCE of using an older penny and it did not press well at all. Maybe you are looking for a different effect, but we all went "Oops, don't do that again!"

 

[SandraC]

I second the COKE theory, it works. S