Want to be tough on the tarnish and not your coppers? If so this blog is could help, from the junk drawer coin stashers to the binder organizers. When I started I was that coin pocket plunger and nothing is wrong with that, I just never thought the fun times would turn into a collection. I would dig in the depths of my pocket and remove any penny tarnished or not for a go at the hand cranking penny press. Now that I’m into the collecting side, some of those pressed pennies aren’t the shiny copper I want.

       Looking at them and all the tiny details of tarnished covered treasured memories was a little overwhelming. Bring forth the toothbrush, expensive copper cleaner, and watching the clock as I scrub each coin. This really is a problem when you have a large amount of coins. To fix a problem you have to first understand the problem.

      So what is causing that brown dirty look on the pennies? It’s called tarnish. It happens when copper, a metal, reacts with oxygen and sulfides in the air. This forms a reaction called copper oxide and/or copper sulfide which causes the brown or green appearance on the pennies. This can vary too depending on the penny. All pennies made before 1982 are solid copper and tend to have a more green tarnish, whereas the newer pennies are made from a combination of zinc and copper giving them a more brown tarnish.

    To care for the pressed pennies you are going to want something thats not too abrasive because this can cause damage to the design or even the copper. So I set out to find just that something mild, not time consuming, and easy on my wallet. I searched the internet and found many, many possible solutions. Then I narrowed it down to two easy fast and cheap choices.

     The first was a mix of baking soda and lemon juice. Two easy to find and cheap to buy ingredients with simple instructions to use.  So, I grabbed a very tarnished Cabela’s pressed penny I had and, that I didn’t care too much for, to experiment on.

   I then placed the penny on a foam plate (for easy cleanup) followed by mixing a tablespoon of baking soda with a teaspoon lemon juice in a coffee cup. Then poured the mix on the penny.

  This was my first mistake of many with this experiment. Judging by the chemical smell that came off that bubbling concoction, I may have found the base ingredients of mustard gas. Y’all it ate right through that plate. Ok now to recover… I picked the penny up and an old toothbrush. I scrubbed the penny for a minute and washed it off. Here was my second mistake the instructions said to use a rag and gently buff the copper. Either way brush or “buff” the baking soda put some pretty nice scuffs on the penny. Side note, it didn’t clean it as well as I would have liked. Why did I tell you this? Well because it’s a lesson learned … just because it’s on the internet doesnt mean it’s right.

     Moving on to the next penny and the next hopeful cleaning candidate. No laughing here… I used ketchup. Yes, that wonderful red goo we use to smother and cover many tasty foods in. I used an extra Kentucky Down Under pressed penny that had seen better days. I mean it couldn’t go as poorly as the baking soda and lemon juice right?

    This time using a glass plate I laid the penny down and blobbed on the ketchup. Over it and under it I covered this penny. Now I waited…. 15 minutes to be exact. A quick rinse in the sink and a towel rub dry I had my solution.

    What I found was a like new penny under the tomato goo. How did this work though? The salt and acetic acid in vinegar, both ingredients in ketchup, caused a breakdown in oxides and/or copper sulfides that cause tarnish. When the breakdown happens it makes the tarnish easy to remove and causes little to no damage to the design or the penny. So while I kicked back and waited for a clean penny, I let science go to war with the tarnish. A wonderful side to this blog you can use it as a great educational experiment with kids. Enjoy the penny pressing journey.

    Jaclynn